One of those Light Bulb moments..

It's going to be a short entry today but a very important one none-the-less. I was sitting at my computer just reading up on travel sites like travbuddy.com and lonely planet's Thorn Tree forum, and I really felt like I needed to go scuba diving soon. Then almost instantly I remembered I only had until June to do. So that began the whole thought process of planning a dive trip.

As I went through possible time frames for this trip, I realized I had to do it in April. Why? Because the first two weeks of May is block leave; meanwhile I'll take my leave in the middle of May for my sister's graduation. I can't do it in June because that's when we're leaving. Then I remembered our Brigade Commander, COL Kandarian, telling everyone to get ready for a bunch of 3 and 4 day weekends this and next month. Mind you, this thought process took about 5 seconds in my head.

So I figure that's PERFECT! Now, I have to choose where to go. Originally I thought of Guatemala cause its closer. But it turns out the tickets for Central America are pretty much all the same price. Now I've boiled it down to either Costa Rica or Panama.

The trip itself will probably cost a grand total of $1000 (including ticket, hostels, food, and activities). That's a lot more than I can afford right now but that's why we have credit cards! I figure I'll be making enough money to pay it back while I'm deployed in frickin Afghanistan. Might as well enjoy my time here before a year of suck.