It's time to chill

It has been a long winter and heck, it's only just begun. The snow is piled high and the streets in town are packed ice. For the last two months the thermometer struggled to get above freezing -- and failed most days. In short, it's been too darned cold.

So I can't begin to tell you how I'm looking forward to heading the pickup south. Southeast that is. Florida. My husband and I will load up the truck, hook onto the boat and we are out of here for over a month.

I know it sounds terribly decadent. It is. Within days I will sitting under a palm tree with a cold drink (probably Coke Zero or my latest addiction Arizona diet green tea) reading a book. No TV, no phone (the cell phone only gets checked once in a while for messages) and no distractions other than that warm breeze coming off the Gulf. It's my vacation time.

I've worked almost every day for months writing. Now it is time to relax, kick back and let my mind think about absolutely nothing -- or at the most, what to have for dinner.

We will play some tennis, boat, fish, read, nap and take long walks. The most we will do is pack up and move to the next spot on our itinerary, then set up the tent again, pull out the lawn chairs and chill. Is it any wonder I look forward to March every year?

I know, you're saying to yourself, a TENT? That's right. I call it the circus tent. It's rather large. Plenty of room to stand up -- and to have the queen-sized blowup bed, the Rubbermaid boxes-end tables, a real lamp, a cooler with food, two very comfortable chairs and a few rugs. Did I mention that the tent has 4 large windows so we don't miss any of the Gulf breeze?

It's not everyone's idea of the perfect vacation escape. But it is mine and my husband's. We get antsy this time of year to start loading the truck. This year my husband will have to dig the boat out of the snow. In two days time on the road, hopefully it will be the last we see of snow for a while.

I can't wait for when we shed our winter clothing, pull on the sandals and shorts and t-shirts and dig out the sunscreen. Or when we see the first palm tree. Or the first green grass. Or smell saltwater.

It's just a month and it goes fast. And by the time it is drawing to a close, we're ready to get home to the dogs and the house and our real life. I will be anxious to get back to it -- especially the writing.

What will make it all the more fun is that I'll be coming home to the Winchesters -- six more books in the Whitehorse, Montana series. Meanwhile, the Corbetts will be arriving in Whitehorse starting in April. I think you're going to like the Corbett brothers.

Okay, I need to go pack. Another snowstorm is coming in tonight. Now where did I put my summer clothes?