 |
| Arlee at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park (summer of 2015) |
The bad thing about vacations is that they have to end. But of course if they never ended then they wouldn't be vacations anymore would they? I'll admit that as our trip was coming to a close I was looking forward to getting back home and back to my usual schedule. Now that I've had a few weeks back on the job of being at home I'm dreaming about vacation travel again.
When I was still in school, the end of summer was looked upon with some sadness mixed with the anticipation of entering a new school year. It was a cycle I came to expect year after year: Go to school for a few months--with a few nice vacation days during the school year--then be off for the summer. Things changed once I was in college as I had to work through the summer to pay the rest of the year's schooling. I still found time to work a lot and have fun nearly every evening. Who needed sleep back then? I was in my early 20's and filled with much more energy and stamina than I have now.
During a decade of my work years I was fortunate in being able to manage a touring show and be able to have my wife and kids along for the year long tour. It was a grand life where it was almost like being on vacation and working at the same time. We were getting paid to travel and had a job that was fun. This was a dream come true as far as I was concerned.
Even after I settled down and started a stationary job with somewhat regular work hours, I still was given opportunities to travel. The travel wasn't like the kind of vacation most people think of, but the trips were treks to visit family. That's the way it's always been for me. We try to do a few touristy type of things which makes the trips more vacation-like, but the real mission is to be with our loved ones.
Maybe one day our circumstance will change. Perhaps if we lived closer to family we could actually take vacations to destination places rather than going to be with people. Then again, I don't know whether people we want to spend time with will ever totally be out of the equation. Relationships are important to maintain if we can manage to do so.
Did you go on a vacation this past summer? Are your travel destinations where people you know are or are they more based on place? What is your dream vacation?
We have often used vacation time with 'touring' time as we live so far away from both sides of our families. We wanted our kids to know their grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. . .but we have also taken vacations to a place or several places (Paris, Key West, NASA, Orlando, Disneyland -west coast. This year no vacations as hubs is still recovering from his heart attack two years ago and travelling isn't an option until he's stronger. I'm thinking of vacations we can do which I can manage - because I'm tenacious. . .and one daughter is moving to the east side of Canada, so we'll have to visit her one day.
ReplyDeleteDG, that drive across Canada is a wonder. It's also very long. Some driving days felt like two days. But it's well worth the trip especially when seeing family at the end of it.
DeleteLee
How did you kids feel about that year of travelling and nomadic life?
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a vacation (I don't mean just travelling somewhere, but not working) since January 2015 :) I'm in high demand and I have to use it while it lasts :)
Dezmond, my first two kids were born into the road life so for a long time that's all they knew. Later they adapted to the settled life, but I think all my kids have a craving for travel. Hope you can get your travel some day.
DeleteLee
Too broke to go anywhere, sadly. Plus dog care issues. My dream vacation would be to get in an RV and just tour all over the USA and Canada. Do Rte 66 to the west and then take Rte 6 back. That'd be one trip. Then I need to hit the northern states I haven't been to like Michigan and North Dakota, and do a whole bunch of things in WA I didn't do while I lived there.
ReplyDeleteJoJo, travel can be very expensive. I've seen a lot of people on the road with dogs, but I wouldn't want to do it. Your dream trip sounds epic--I'd like to do that one.
DeleteLee
Some of us are definitely descendents of Marco Polo. I know economics played a role in many of our ancestors coming to North America; but, I feel wanderlust and adventure was surely a part. I love to travel.
ReplyDeleteWhen we are young, we move easily to work far from family. It indeed catches up with up later. I was lucky to transfer my teaching pension back home when my mother needed some help. There are disadvantages to moving so far away when family needs help.
Ann, I have a love for travel still, but my body calls for more comfort as I grow older. In my younger days I endured a bit of hardship and inconvenience more than I do now. Those travelers of old were hearty sorts, but everything was tougher than it is now. We take so much for granted.
DeleteLee
It's always nice to get back to routine and regular schedule after a vacation or holiday. We are like you-- our trips are and always have been to visit family. When we were young it was the grandparents we'd visit. Now we are the grandparents and our kids either visit us or we visit them.
ReplyDeleteKaren JG, The trips are nice, but sometimes I wish seeing the grandkids entailed a trip across town at the most. Seeing them once or twice a year is not enough for me.
DeleteLee
I went on a driving vacation this year. Originally, I wanted to do Cooperstown, NY (BB HoF), then to visit a FB/writer friend in Kentucky. Did the first but was unable to do the later (sadly, family issues she had). But I had a nice drive through CT, MA, NY, PA, MD, VA, TN, KY and WV.
ReplyDeleteI do plan on doing the same thing next year though, this time taking a train to the left coast to visit a friend in Oregon then a leisurely drive back home.
Father Nature's Corner
GB, a cross-country train ride sounds pretty cool.
DeleteLee