Spring Break Ski Trip:

For the snow bunnies among you, take advantage of the newfound warmth and drive at least 12 hours to where it’s really cold!

Your intrepid editors are themselves doing something of the sort. Having diligently published newspapers all year, we’re taking a week off to head for the highlands.

Stay away from the popular getaways like Breckenridge or Keystone, unless you drive a Mercedes and don’t live in Waterview. Or if Daddy’s paying for it.

Try a lesser known frosty locale – like Wolf Creek in southern Colorado where the lift tickets are half the price. Lesser known places like this make a semi-affordable ski trip possible.

Still, skiing is unlikely for anywhere near the price of a beach vacation.

Expect to spend at least $500 after tacking on lift tickets, ski rental, some grub to keep you going on the slopes, and somewhere to stay.

While staying in your car isn’t such a great idea, places like the Abominable Snowmansion, a Taos youth hostel, combine convenience and affordability.

Like in beach areas, hostels on the slopes are not lavish, but the trip should be about more than hotel accommodations.

At the base of Wolf Creek, there aren’t any swanky hotels – most people can’t spell concierge anyway – so score a room at one of the motels in nearby Southfork.

Have a good spring break. We’ll see you there. Just don’t ruin the powder.

Spring Break Beach Trip:

So a quick trip down the slopes isn’t your cup of tea. Flip your compass and head south. With a full tank of gas, a beach towel, and some suntan lotion, jump in the car with your friends and hunt down the shoreline. Dallas is relatively close to the beach and there are many options to choose from.

To stay fairly close to home, take I-45 south and keep going until you splash into the Gulf of Mexico. That murky wet stuff isn’t pollution (trust us, it’s all in the air you breathe down there), it’s Mississippi outpouring, and, so they say, it’s great to swim in.

The Texas coastline only gets better as you curve southwest toward Mexico. Only a few more hours beyond, and the beaches of Corpus Christi or South Padre Island at the very southern tip of the state beg to be basked in.

With a little more time, it is about a twenty-hour drive to Destin, Fl. There will be crowds to fight, but a few phone calls to local motels and hostels could result in a week-long vacation for surprisingly little cost.

Wipe away the pale I’ve-spent-my-weeks-in-a-lab skin as you roast on the sands.

For the more adventurous and less poor, flash out for a plane ticket, snag some pesos, and shoot for Mexico. Viva la tequila. However, finding a decent deal this late in the game is unlikely without being utterly scammed.

If absolutely necessary, find an overnight parking lot and sleep in the car. Even without a Pontiac Aztec with a tent in the back, at least you can to check out the back seat of your car!