I have a new kind of vacation favorite: the vacation rental with staff. That is, you turn over cleaning, marketing and cooking to the pros. That means everyone gets to surf, go horseback riding on the beach, play in the pool, kick a soccer ball around or just sit back, sip a cool one and watch the sun set into the Pacific. We rented a drop-dead gorgeous house, Creando Olas (http://casasaladita.com/).

I have a new kind of vacation favorite: the vacation rental with staff. That is, you turn over cleaning, marketing and cooking to the pros. That means everyone gets to surf, go horseback riding on the beach, play in the pool, kick a soccer ball around or just sit back, sip a cool one and watch the sun set into the Pacific. We rented a drop-dead gorgeous house, Creando Olas (http://casasaladita.com/).

It's only just that I work off the pounds gained on our last few trips of the summer--eating my way down the coast of Maine from lobster shack to lobster shack, enjoying lobster rolls and fried clams and then continuing on to New Orleans (ostensibly for work) for fried oysters washed down by AllyGator beer while sitting in a bar watching the Packers beat the Saints. But the time has come to pay