As the owner of eight businesses, my idea of retirement is when the good Lord takes you. But I learned the lesson of how valuable it can be to take some time off to recalibrate and recharge. Getting away and taking your mind off things for a little bit puts things back in perspective. That's why my wife and I chose Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas as our first WorldVentures DreamTrip—it was the honeymoon we never had.

After 27 years, 57 countries and all but one continent courtesy of the Navy, I'd been to places I didn't know existed. But my wife, Karlen, grew up in a small Texas town, and she didn't travel with me because we wanted to maintain a home. She never had the opportunity to see the world. To watch her experience new cultures and foods for the first time was like seeing it through the eyes of a child. It was so different from what she had encountered. I had forgotten what it was like when I experienced the world 30 years ago.

When we arrived at Atlantis, we were fortunate to be upgraded to a villa by the pools and water activities—not bad for a trip that only cost $369 each! We took advantage of the many water activities, such as slides, lazy rivers and the beach. Our room wasonly 20 steps from the beach.

The service pretty well spoiled us. Everything was brought to us. They had astrawberry daiquiri concoction that was out of this world. We only imbibed in those for the vitamin C. of course, and I found them to be equally as good for breakfast as they were for dinner. One of our favorite activities was to jump on a float and cruise the lazy river while enjoying a frozen strawberry drink. It was so relaxing.

Because it's all-inclusive, we didn't have to go far to have a good time. They had a comedy club that was a ball. When we did venture out into the town, Karlen did some shopping and enjoyed the bargains. She'd never experienced bartering.

We enjoyed going to the resort's different restaurants and trying the distinctive cuisines. She'd never experienced Japanese or Italian food, other than the basic pasta and pizza. The variety of seafood on the menu was fascinating for her. The majority of the enjoyment I had on the trip was watching her experience new things. Take something as simple as calamari. I'd eaten that for years, and when I ordered it she tried it, said it was good and wanted to know what it was. I didn't want to tell her, but when I did she said, "It's still good."

The convenience of this trip made everything so easy. Check-in, transfers, activities, check-out—it was all so convenient. This trip lived up to our expectations, and it is one that we will undoubtedly repeat in the future.

Find your next Dream Trip by clicking the DreamTrip tab at: www.Envisiontravel.com the official travel site of The Poor Chef.

(As told to Renee Jones, DREAMTRIPS Magazine 2008; by Dream Trippers Larry &
Karlen Watson)