It began with a desire to get away to someplace warm this winter. It was two years ago that I went to Brazil in January and I have not forgotten how good that felt. Good and fun and oh, so warm.

I realized that we'll be celebrating 30 years of marriage this month... how in the hell did that happen? And, it got me thinking...

The traditional and modern gifts for a 30th anniversary are pearls and diamonds. I already have a pearl in my wedding ring (from a ring that was my mother-in-law's), and I can count on about one finger the times in the past 30 years that I've wished I had a diamond. There must be another way...

"Diamond Head" came to mind and fits right in with the "experiences, not things" philosophy that I love more and more! It's unisex, one-size-fits-all, and HAWAII... so warm.

Pretty much decided on Maui, with a trip over to Oahu to visit Diamond Head, we could easily have booked an all-inclusive package and be done, but that's not how we roll 'round here. Personally, I can see the advantage of an all-inclusive resort, but it is so NOT Rusty! It wasn't coming together very well, and it was adding up!

Where else could we go?

Mexico had been on the table all along -- Rusty's especially wanted to visit Baja. Plus, it turns out that he'd already visited Maui -- the exact location I was looking at -- on his first-marriage honeymoon. And, well, NO... not this time, anyway.

VIVA MEXICO!!

We'll spend a week at Todos Santos. Flight - check! Car - check! House near the beach - check! And, man, what a nice, l-o-o-o-o-o-ng beach. Perfect.

I was able to book our flights with miles (thank you Brazil, Scotland, and L.A.), which leaves almost all of the budget for lodging and doing... though I'm leaning way toward not much. So excited.

I haven't found the "diamond" angle yet, but we'll get creative!