I’m slipping into a daytime fantasy…

As my work computer screen sucks the life from my eyes, shriveling them into zombie raisins, my mind expands and floats like a hail of dandelion fluff away, away from my desk and catches the current of a jungle-scented ocean breeze. Gently I paddle in azure water as nearby dolphins break the surface in an arc, welcoming me to my own Fiji Island. There’s not a soul in sight. Only the long fingers of the coconut trees tipping delicately over the water’s edge.

I rise from the  waves tan and fit (hey, this is my fantasy) in a white bikini with native orchids tucked behind each ear. Crabs scuttle by and seabirds shriek as I make my way across the white-sand beach to a lone Bure (hut), lofted and simple in its design. I will gather my food from the lush rain forest and spear fish in the shallow lagoon. At night, just a green sea turtle and I will stare at the full moon and sigh meaningfully.

Dang, my office phone just rang and “poof” goes my daydream. My fruit roll-up brain refocuses on the screen and finds I’ve been staring at airbnb, an amazing website that connects you to more than 19,000 cities in 192 countries. The concept is brilliant. People list accommodations from a single room to a castle for you to reserve when travelling instead of staying in a traditional hotel. My Fiji Island is real and I can book it for only $400 a night! Shell out an extra $30 a day and one of the handful of locals will deliver to my doorstep fresh homemade meals prepared from the island’s bounty.

Maybe an island getaway is not what you desire. You might want a room in Paris for the weekend or a beach-front bungalow in Santa Cruz. Whatever your preference, wherever your longing, airbnb has the destiny of your dreams.

Here we go again. I’m climbing a vine to the first floor of my jungle tree house in Costa Rica…