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If this is your first time visiting, welcome. If you are returning again, welcome back. While this blog was originally not going to be about me or my life, it seems to be morphing to include more of myself and experiences. I will still strive to add a different perspective to the news and events around the world that impact everyone's life,however, I will focus more attention on issues that relate more tangibly to our personal lives. We all live in a world that is increasingly interconnected yet it seems a lot of people are turning inwards, shying away from human interaction. Lets step away from ourselves and see what we can do to make a difference. There are ads on this page and 65 cents of every dollar earned will be donated towards helping the homeless. If you like what you are reading, please share it with your friends.




Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Impending Vacation

In a few days, I will be leaving for a week with my family.  There will be no computers or distractions, just a week at a rental house on the beach in Cape Cod.  I must say, the thought of Cape Cod brings back many memories for me of past vacations with my family.  Days were filled with sand, salt water, and relaxation.  There were no worries, nothing planned, and only tourists to contend with.  You see, I never really considered myself a tourist when I went to Cape Cod, and probably still won't.  For the longest time, my grandparents had a house on Cape Cod where we would retreat to between 2 and 3 times a year.  As such, I got to know the Cape like few tourists actually do.  We didn't just head out to the Cape during high tourists season, but also during the winter months, my favorite being during Thanksgiving week.  I got to know all the little hideaways, the back roads to get around traffic, the best beaches, and the best places to have ice cream.  To this day, my Uncle and Aunt still live out there, so while most people would consider me a tourist headed out to the Cape for a week, I don't.  There is a great distinction between a tourist and vacationer/traveler.  A tourist implies that someone is there to see the sights, do as much as possible, get in the way of the locals, and leave without a sense of belonging.  A vacationer/traveler goes somewhere to become one their surroundings for a time, to embed themselves in the way of life of a certain locale, and when leaving, they always take a little something with them.  Next week, my goal is to become a vacationer/local.  I may have out of state plates, but I won't be clogging the roads with my snail paced driving.  No, I will be sitting on a beach most of the week, soaking up the sun, and of course, watching our son do his thing (whatever that might be when we get there).  To be honest, we may try and sneak in a round of mini golf on one of the evenings, but even that might be a stretch.  I am not quite sure yet if I want to deal with long waits and ornery tourists just to play a round of mini golf at one of the fantastic courses that I remember from my youth.  Of course, they probably seem a tad bit different now, but all in all, mini golf used to be a passion of mine and I would love to rekindle that passion at least for one night. 
 
I can't honestly remember the last time I took a whole week off of work to go on vacation.  Wait, I do, it was my honeymoon over four years ago and since then, I have just had a few days here, a few days there, but nothing of substance that would have allowed me enough time to truly relax and unwind.  The thing with vacations is, you need at least a week of doing nothing to get to the full state of relaxation that we all seek to gain from a vacation.  The first day is always the travel day; leave early, waste some time, check in, unpack, get settled, and continue the next day.  It isn't until the third day usually that you can finally start relaxing, getting into the rhythm of a vacation, and forgetting about any worries that might have followed you on your trip.  By day four, all thoughts of home are slowly diminishing, releasing their tenacious hold, and allowing relaxation to creep in a little more.  Day five is when you truly feel like you are on vacation, you forget the time, you walk a little slower, you breathe a little deeper, and take more breaks to smell the flowers.  Day six is more of the same followed by packing to return home.  That, for me, is always the most depressing part; packing to go home.  After a whole week on a beach, I start thinking that I have become one with the beach and nothing can get me away from it.  I feel like I could live there, breathe the salt air all day long, and just relax for the rest of my life.  Yet, I know that none of that is possible, however, to suspend reality, to keep it at bay for a little bit, is priceless.  Some people like to fill their vacations with as many activities as possible.  Not me, my friends.  Vacation for me is about spontaneity and relaxation.  I don't like planning anything more than a day in advance.  If something is planned, it is mostly what time we should head to the beach.  If what I hear is correct about our rental house in Cape Cod, it is on a private beach and the most I'll have to do to get there is walk.  Oh, I don't know if I will be able to handle the walk, but I will do my best.  I don't care if we don't even leave the house the whole week (although I know we will at some point).  But for now, I still have work to attend to, money to make, bills to pay, the whole nine yards.  Vacation is calling me, the Cape has my name in its log book waiting for me to sign away, and its only a matter of time before I call the Cape home again for at least a week.  For now, its work...

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