It's been weeks since I have been with you on the air. I finally took the opportunity to do something I have wanted to for years: Take a multi-week vacation with my family and clear my head. All told, I had more time off than at any time since 1990.

My family and I spent time at the beach and then we also went to Beaver Creek, Colo., for a ski trip just before Christmas. After that, as my wife rehearsed for her next play, I took my three kids to England.

Going into it, I wasn't sure the European trip was a good idea. There was some bickering between the kids, but mostly it was a great experience. But my six year old's favorite part of the whole trip was the plane ride over to Europe and the plane ride back from Europe! So the whole idea of being abroad was lost on him!

Back to our skiing trip, there's a real chance to get a deal on accommodations because people aren't booking right now, particularly if you book further out. That's because of the crummy snow conditions. As for me, my ski took a direct hit to a rock on a mogul run! But the conditions were perfectly acceptable for my kids who are green level skiers.

Speaking of deals, going to Europe is a deal because of their economic trouble. We paid $98 in London for a decent place. In Reading, we paid about $85 for beautiful accommodations. Food was cheaper than it's been because of the exchange rate. The trip was, relatively speaking, fairly economical.

The opportunities for travel to Europe are really kind of interesting. You have a situation where airfares are higher because of special conditions involving competition among carriers from the U.S. to Europe. Once you arrive, however, your stay is generally cheaper everywhere except for Switzerland. (The Swiss nation is too rich for even the Europeans right now.)

But everywhere else other than Switzerland in Europe is a deal now. The only deal killer could be the weather you have this time of year. I say just wear more layers of clothing and go have an adventure! It's your opportunity to get a deal.