I’ll admit it – I’m biased. I love Mexico. I’ve been twice so far this year – once to Riviera Maya and once to Riviera Nayarit – and am hoping for a third trip later this year.  That may be a little aggressive, even for a super fan like me, but the deals are so good right now, I’m not sure I can stay away.

I've been slacking a bit on posting deals, I know, but this one is so good I had to share. Also, it has a short shelf life so time is of the essence.

Bermuda's Fairmont Southhampton 99 Hour Sale

Rooms at the five-star Fairmont Southampton from under $99 per night. Travel now through 2010. Book on Travelocity.com/bermuda

Editor's note: I just booked this as a surprise for my parents' upcoming 40th wedding anniversary over July 4th weekend, so it seems there are few or no blackout dates. Hurry and book your trip now!

I get absolutely giddy with joy around spring time.  As an avid whale watcher, the spring season means that humpback and gray whales make their annual 12,000-mile journey from cold Alaska waters to breed in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean further south.

Starting now through early April, state parks, recreation departments, and beaches throughout the West Coast have set up a string of whale-watching sites for visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of a humpback or gray whale diving, jumping, or gliding over the top of the water.  Volunteers are usually on hand to guide visitors, too.  In Oregon, the parks and recreation department has volunteers stationed at 28 different locations to help curious seekers find good whale-watching spots.

Do you have a vacation spot that has been a constant in your life? A place that you’ve returned to again and again at different ages and vantage points?

For me, my vacation constant was always Bethany Beach, Delaware. When I was little, my family went there every summer in August, for vacations filled with magic sandcastles and holes to China, fireflies and glowsticks, outdoor crab feasts and locally-made blueberry cobbler served up hot in the salty air. Each summer, I'd let the sun turn my hair nearly white while my face became a fireworks display of freckles.

Photo courtesy of Samantha Berg.

With Memorial Day weekend just around the bend, it’s time to start planning your summer beach reading list. Yesterday, the AP came out with a list of books that “blend food and travel,” including the appetite-worthy titles of Hamburger America and Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris, the latter of which the author blogged about here on TWS just last week.

As far as my list is concerned, I’ll kick off my summer with Zadie Smith’s White Teeth, which is my book club’s next selection, but beyond that, I’m not sure. Should I go with a Pulizter Prize winner, the best-seller list on the New York Times, or one of my friends’ picks on the book recommendation sharing web site Good Reads?

If you’re looking for a suggestion, here are five books I’ve recently read that I think will pair well with sandy toes:

Editors’ Note: To celebrate Earth Day on April 22, The Window Seat is devoting this week to exploring some of the world’s natural environments, hereby declaring this Nature Week. Through our Nature Week posts, we hope to inspire all travelers to get outside and interact with nature no matter where they happen to be. For more ideas, visit our collection of Children & Nature road trips and volunteer opportunities.

Allow me to let you in on a little secret. You may think you've frolicked on the best beaches of Panama City, Florida, but you haven't. A long time ago my hometown parceled off a portion of our beaches and gave it over to the tourists who come every year with their boom boxes, cans of Natty Light, and coolers.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member wheretogonext.

As far as U.S. vacation spots go, beauty-queen Oahu, social-butterfly Manhattan, and flamboyant Key West always grab the limelight first. But what about the best American islands that you’ve never been to? Read on for five unique and close-to-home island getaways rich in Americana and natural treasures.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member Reiflame.

If you read Genevieve’s last post (and I hope you did!), you’ll know the difference between those who feel that summer means vacation and those who don’t. Like Ms. Brown, I am of the former category. Whether it is a hardwired impulse or simply a remnant of schooldays when warm weather and responsibility were inversely proportional, I can’t help but get restless when the days are long and the breeze blows balmier. To be honest, I’m on vacation now! This year, as we’ve done for the last 25 Augusts, my family and I put some time aside, drop just about everything, and go to Nantucket. That’s right, I’m on vacation right now. Of course, I have used just about all my vacation days to do it, so don’t be too jealous (though I just came in from the beach).

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member richardhall99.

I once made the mistake of bringing Sophie’s Choice with me on a beach vacation. Not that it’s a bad book, but with a perfectly blue sky overhead, the book's dark subject matter seemed totally out of synch with the lighthearted vacation mood I was going for.

Now that summer’s coming, the reading lists are starting to roll out, and I found this one by NPR’s All Things Considered commentator Alan Cheuse to be a great start to the beach-reading season. His list is a nice blend of modern and classics, fiction and poetry. You can check out the list right here. From Chekhov stories to a collection of travel tales, happy reading everyone!

And please feel free to send any of your favorite summer reads my way. I'm always looking for a good book recommendation.

Since we evolved out of the primordial soup, we humans sure like to keep our gaze fixed firmly on the water--and we’re willing to pay more and more to keep it there. Take the case of the double-wides over in Briny Breezes, Florida. In December, a group of trailer home owners were offered millions of dollars. Why? The lots overlook a spectacular stretch of Florida beach. This week, by an overwhelming vote, the mobile home owners ratified the agreement. And that’s the way it goes. Whether it’s a cruise ship or a Maui hotel, rooms with a view always fetch a premium price.