Vacation

Our Word of the Shay today is VACATION.

Ah yes, whether it’s a tropical trip, a swanky destination, returning to your roots, or a staycation (where you simply relax at home), everyone needs a break now and then.

I just recently returned from a 3 week vacation, I visited family and friends back in my hometown, where I enjoyed lots of nature and the outdoors. Unfortunately my significant other could not join me, but myself and the girls (my two dogs, Rory and Onyx) hit the road regardless. This brings us to an aspect  common in most vacations, travel. Some people love to travel and some people hate it. Others, well how they feel about it, depends on the method of transportation.

My personal feelings? Road trips are something I love, but I’m certainly aware that they are not everyone’s cup of tea. Sitting in a car for hours, especially if stuck there with family, can qualify as hell for some. In my case, as long as I’m riding shotgun and have control over the radio, a cross country trek would be heaven. I’m a huge fan of taking the scenic route and finding little roadside attractions along the way, with plenty of photo ops. Flying certainly may be faster, and in a lot of cases necessary, but you sure do miss a lot.

Flight does not tickle my fancy. I can’t truly say that I’m afraid of flying, since I’ve never done it (crazy right?). But I can admit that the idea/thought of flying on a plane makes me very anxious and nervous at this point and is something I have no interest in experiencing anytime soon. That being said, I will eventually have to bite the bullet and fly if I want to visit Europe and many other destinations I plan in my future travels. But until then, I’ll keep my feet planted firmly on the ground.

Another option, one that has slowly went the way of the dinosaur, is travel by rail. I would love to someday hop aboard a train to start a journey, but sadly there are fewer and fewer place to do that as time goes by.

Once you’ve arrived at your destination (hopefully safe and sound), your real holiday begins. How each person vacations and chooses to spend their time is different, but generally there are two camps. We have those who jam pack their vacation with activities, events, and sights to see, the Go-go-go! type. And on the other side of the spectrum we have those that only plan one thing, to relax. They sleep in, read, lounge, tan, nap, and just take it easy. Most people fall somewhere in the middle of course, which is probably for the best.

Personally I fall closer to the Go-go-go, I like to take full advantage of time off to fit in as many new fun things, or old favorite activities as I can. In my kind of vacation there is little downtime. I’m one of those people who returns from vacation worn out! I need a vacation after my vacation just to recover and relax, as sad as that might be, haha. For this reason, whenever I head out of town, I always return a couple days early to recuperate before it’s back to the grind.

What does your ideal vacation consist of? Is there a place (whether near or far) that you’ve been longing to visit? Do you enjoy flying? Ever ride a train? Please share your thoughts on everything and anything vacation in the comments! I would love to hear from you.

And for your viewing pleasure, here are a few shots from my most recent vacation. Enjoy!