BETWEEN THE LINES: E-MAIL, TOLL-FREE NUMBERS ARE YOUR GUIDE TO BETTER VACATIONS

Sometimes I think it would be great to be wealthy. Since I'm not, I can only imagine what life would be like -- traveling to faraway places and posh resorts would be top on my list.

Television commercials show great cruises to the Caribbean or Alaska. These are terribly persuasive devices but aren't as tangible as brochures.

I could spend hours pouring over travel brochures and magazines without ever deciding where to visit. Maybe it's a good thing I'm not wealthy. I'd spend all my money on travel.

However, since I'm on a limited budget, I bought a plane ticket for a much-awaited vacation to Florida. No brochures or travel guides involved. Just a toll-free number for the airline.

After having lived in Florida, if only for a short time, I now realize it's a great vacation spot.

Besides, I can't afford much else, and free room and board are included when you have friends living in the state.

Although I have no idea what my plans are going to be for the week, I've been planning this vacation since November. My friends, Jennifer and Lisa, have taken care of the small details.

I've come to the conclusion that planning a vacation is nearly as much fun as actually taking one.

You can map out all the activities you'd like to do while on vacation and then decide which are most important to actually accomplish.

When my dad and stepmom came to visit me in Florida last July, I had a full week's worth of activities planned.

I'd spent months collecting brochures and catalogs about tourist locales in the state. Since I only needed places within short driving distance, I was a little more limited.

But Tammy, my stepmom, said I planned well. We went deep-sea fishing, toured historic St. Augustine, visited Orlando and even the beaches. Everything worked out fine, expect for that downpour and thunderstorm at Sea World, but then I don't have control over the weather.

The only thing I didn't plan was a day of rest -- a necessary ingredient for a fun-filled vacation.

Although that vacation was lots of fun, the best time I had was a vacation I took with college friends.

It was our first "real" vacation. We'd just finished college and were actually getting a PAID vacation. It was sort of a working trip for Melissa, who was looking at graduate programs. We planned our trip around her top choices -- Tennessee and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

We stayed in the mountains and went sightseeing in between campus visits. We shopped, ate lots of junk food and had a fabulous time.

But there have been vacations I planned but never took.

About two years ago, I had this desire to visit Ireland. I would still like to go, but the longing has faded slightly. Anyway, I was greatly influenced by television commercials advertising trips for as low at $1,500 for a week.

I called the toll-free number for Ireland's travel office and put my name on a mailing list. I perused the brochures and planned my driving tour of the Irish countryside. It was probably the best vacation I never took, and the most cost-efficient.

After I didn't visit Ireland, I moved on to Australia. Again, I saw a commercial and decided to call the toll-free number for the travel office.

Now I've moved up to e-mail. I was interested in the Memphis in May events coming soon, so I went online to find their CVB website.

There was no calendar available so I e-mailed their webmaster asking for a brochure. It came about a week later by snail mail.

Even my mother has taken to looking at the events listings and announcing all the things she'd like to see or concerts to attend.

Maybe the invention of toll-free numbers and e-mail has been my downfall. Information is too easily accessible.

Now if I could just get some cash and time off that easily, I'd be set for another vacation.

~Laura Johnston is a copy editor for the Southeast Missourian.