Vacation's All I Ever Wanna Do ...

I loved the Go-Gos when I was in high school, not that I'd ever admit it to anyone. ;-)

But that's not the point.

The point is that vacation is good, but when vacation is free, it's smack-em, yack-em, googly-eyed good!!

Jay has been employed with his company for 10 years as of May. And said company takes all employees who've reached 10, 15, 20, 25-year milestones on a weekend getaway on the company tab.

This year employees and their guest of choice will be flown to Florida where they will be rewarded for their hard work and loyalty with a long weekend at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. The company covers the cost of staying at the hotel and will provide a fabulous seafood buffet one evening on a yacht that the company owns. We can sail the ocean while eating its bounty ... how's that for plush?

I don't have much in the way of details yet, which drives me bonkers since I'm already well into the plotting / planning of our October trip. I derive a sick kind of joy from vacation planning, I'm not proud but there are worse addictions to have.

I don't know what type of room we'll have and I don't know if there is only one work related event planned for the weekend or if there are a bunch of them. I don't know how much free time we'll have (the resort spa is begging me for a visit) and I assume we won't have a food budget (so many restaurants so little time). I don't even know if we're responsible for getting a rental car or if something else will be arranged.

Personally I'd rather have a rental car - we want to stop by the HRC and swipe Jay's pin collector card and get him a few souvenirs from a cafe in Florida that he hasn't been to. And I'm hoping for lots of free time for us to have some spa treatments and try some of the restaurants and maybe even take a resort sponsored excursion.

Here's the list of restaurants that the Resort has to choose from. We were particularly excited to see that Chef Morimoto will be opening a restaurant there later this Spring. If all goes well we're going to try to get a reservation there.

Old Homestead Steak House: the resort's newest restaurant, featuring fine prime beef and fresh seafood, modeled after New York's finest steakhouse.
Lucca: featuring innovative Tuscan cuisine and an award-winning wine list.
Cathedral: featuring a vast breakfast buffet and a-la-carte items.
Lobby Espresso: ideal for a rejuvenating cup of coffee, a light breakfast, or lunch on the go.
Gazebo Bar & Grill: an open-air, poolside bar serving light fare and tropical drinks.
Cappy's: serving light fare and drinks at the Boca Beach Club.
Mulligan's: located at the Golf Clubhouse, it provides light lunch fare, refreshments, and beverages between rounds (I assume they mean rounds of golf).
Cielo: by Angela Hartnell, this is a newly opened restaurant that the resort describes as a modern Italian masterpiece. This is not only pretentious but it's quite ambiguous ... what the hell is that description supposed to mean?
Morimoto: opening Spring 2008, this will be an upscale Japanese sushi bar created by Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto!!!
Bar Luna: offers more than 3,400 bottles of wine and champagne in a casual setting. Casual, right. I'll be sure to bring my Jackie O wanna-be wardrobe.
Mizner's Monkey Bar: an ideal setting for cocktails, martinis, and cigars.

Initial thoughts ... we're definitely trying for Morimoto if it's open and we have free time to devote to the pursuit of food. I'm sure we'll try one of the Italian places but your guess is as good as mine as to which, especially because not all of the menus have been posted for review.

I think we may need to try Cathedral one morning if only to gauge for ourselves a "vast" breakfast buffet. Is it the length of three football fields? Will the number of breakfast selections be so varied and numerous that mental collapse is likely due to my inability to make choices in the early morning hours? I'm intrigued ... I confess.

And how could we not stop in and pay a visit to Mizner's bar? Not only does it share a name (of sorts) with that lovely little lounge at the Grand Floridian that we visited before our Chef's Table dinner at V&A last May, but any bar that's got Monkey in its name sounds like Evolutionary good times to me!

That's enough for now, I suppose. Later I will come back and tell you about the spa offerings and talk about the pool and the beach and I hope to Gawd that they give us some details before July or I may have to take matters into my own hands.

And then they will wonder who the hell this crazy woman is that poor Jay ended up married to.

EDITED TO ADD MORE STUFF...

I went back to ogle their spa facilities and thought I'd share their signature treatments with you. Although they're still on the pricey side these look like screaming bargains compared with the prices I'm seeing for spa treatments in Vegas. I think we'll just hold out until August.

Palazzo Ritual Bath
Inspired by Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon's search for the mystical fountain that could cure illness and restore youth; the Palazzo Baths envelop guests in a restorative water ritual designed to instill total well-being. Stress and tension melt away as you enjoy our aromatherapy-infused sauna, steam and inhalation facilities. A tranquil soak in a customized therapeutic bath completes your ritual. $35

Restful Sleep Ritual
This new signature lavender experience promotes relaxation and restful sleep, addressing common insomnia-related issues. After a gentle exfoliation to increase circulation throughout the body, luxuriate with an energy stone ritual using lavender and high crystal content stones. 80 minutes $230

Sevruga Caviar Facial
Developed to produce unprecedented results in treating drier and more mature skin types. The active ingredients include an extract of caviar, a rich nutrient containing vitamins, minerals and amino acids. This ultra-luxurious signature facial, which also includes a hand and foot treatment, makes skin feel silky and luminescent.80 minutes $215


Eminence Custom Organic Facial
Using a combination of fresh ingredients that are hand-mixed, these products contain only 100% pure organic fruit, vegetable and herbal extracts. This signature facial is exclusively tailored to the guest’s individual skin care needs to deep cleanse, exfoliate and hydrate the skin. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alicia Silverstone are quoted using Eminence.50 or 80 minutes $140/205

Swe-Thai Massage
The perfect blending of East and West massage therapies, this unique signature treatment combines advanced soft tissue therapies with passive yoga-style stretching derived from the ancient healing art of Thai massage, increasing energy, blood flow and range of motion. 80 minutes $215

Cranberry Pomegranate Skin Polisher
A new Eminence body scrub, this signature treatment hydrates and refines using vitamin-rich and antioxidant-rich extracts of cranberry and pomegranate to brighten and promote youthful looking skin. 50 minutes $135

All Spa Palazzo Signature Treatments include a complimentary Palazzo Ritual Bath.

They also offer a spa package that I find very appealing and if there's enough time in our schedule and enough money in the piggy bank I may just have to go for it. Considering the number of treatments that are included with this package, the price is a steal!

Relax and Revitalize
Revitalize with this popular mix of services. Your rejuvenation begins with our signature Palazzo Ritual Bath, followed by a 50-minute Aromatherapy Massage. Complete your relaxation experience with our Customized Tropical Sugar Scrub and 50-minute Double Oxygen Facial. A revitalizing treat for you. $390

I wish we were there right now.