Okay, let me set things straight here before I delve any further into this tale of intrigue and mystery.  Remember in Part I where I said this:

And it’s not as if I’ve traveled to many places in my life.  I am not a world traveler by ANY stretch of the means.  Mostly I just dream about and research places that I would like to visit.  And then I talk about it for a while, look at my non-existent bank account, and decide that I better get back to work.  But a girl can dream, right?

It’s all true.  My traveling experience is chalked up to a handful of trips to here and there, but nothing real exotic.  I don’t want you to get any preconceived notions at this point that I’m going to whip out a trip to Zimbabwe on you.  If you’re expecting that kind of stuff, you’ll just have to go visit a real honest-to-goodness world traveler—Kim at Follow That Elephant.  Now that girl has some real world experiences under her belt.

As for me, I’ll just continue the pitiful little story of my wanderlust…

When I was 19 years old, I was lucky enough to snag a job in vacation planning for a mega travel corporation—even though I had no prior travel experience at all.  For that matter, I didn’t have any prior work experience!  Luckily, my then mother-in-law was a big-wig at the company, and she basically set me up with a pretty decent job.

And back in 1989, there were perks in the travel industry, y’all!  Today, I think that they have diminished a bit.  But back then, if you had an IATA card, you could fly stand-by for free, stay in hotels and resorts for ridiculously cheap prices, and take part in agent FAM trips.  That is, if you had enough vacation time AND the funds to partake.  Of course, being a very young mother at the time, the time off and funds were always a bit short for me.

However, I did get to take advantage of some travel benefits.  Once a year, the company that I worked for sent each employee packing on an all-expense paid FAM trip.  The down side was that I had to travel with 12 of my co-workers, take part in site visits at the hotels that we promoted, and write a formal report upon return.  There was work involved, but it was FREE!  And drinks were included.  Them’s some magic words, y’all. 

And because my area of travel planning involved the Latin American countries, my first FAM trip was an 8-day tour of Guatemala.  Here’s a picture of me with a couple of my co-workers doing a little shoppin’ in Antigua (don’t laugh at the hair, people…we’ve discussed this)…

And the next year, I was sent on a 6-night trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  Again, here’s a picture of me with a couple of my co-workers at some fancy-pants resort where we spent the day drinking, eating, lounging, and drinking.  Did I mention drinking?  Those travel agents are some partying folk, y’all.  And for some strange liquored-up reason, this is the only picture that I can find from that trip…

And the next year, the lucrative, company-financed FAM trips abruptly came to an end (a sign of things to come).  However, there were other companies offering FAM trips that travel agents could book for a small fee.  So, GR and I packed our bags and took off to Cancun, Mexico for a long weekend of Dos Equis and pina coladas.  We paid only $200 per person for flights and a 4-night stay in a fancy-pants hotel.  Sadly, my most vivid memory is of cursing a mariachi band with my right cheek against the cool Mexican tile of a bathroom floor.  See?  What did I tell you about those travel agent folk?

And the next year, the mega travel corporation that I so loved?  Announced that our tour division was being phased out.  That meant me. And so my lucrative career in the travel industry went kaput.  As did my travel perks.

And even though my short-lived career was over, the travel bug had already bitten and left an indelible mark on my soul.  However, with our first mortgage on the horizon and me out of a job, it would be several years before the travel bug would rear it’s beautiful, glorious, Aloha-loving head again. 

To be continued next Friday…

FYI:  I came across a great article today at CNN.com—Top 25 Travel Web Sites.  You should check it out!