Friday, October 21, 2005

I Need a Vacation

That may seem an odd thing to say, considering that I'm in the second day of what is essentially a four-day weekend, but read on.

I have an old spiral-bound notebook that for years I have kept as a vacation journal. The only time I used it was to record thoughts, impressions, and a daily record of where I was, what I saw, and what I did while on vacation. Earlier this afternoon, I was thinking about airplanes (due to a recent spat of movies about airplanes and trauma/violence), and was wondering when the last time I actually flew on a plane was. (For the record, it was 1991 when I went to New Mexico. Those who know me well, know that for a variety of reasons, I'd much rather drive than fly somewhere.)

As a teacher, I get quite a number of days off, and I truly appreciate that. I don't work a lot during the summer months, and essentially take those weeks as vacation time. (Well deserved vacation time, mind you.) But long weekends, spring and winter breaks, and even summers I tend to spend pretty close to home. I might go to the Cities for a day, or home to Winona for a few days. And, of course, my comic book geek buddies and I have our annual trip to Chicago every summer, but even that is only four or five days in length.

When looking at my long-unused vacation journel, I realized that it's been since 1995 that I actually took what most people would consider a vacation-type trip. You know, getting in the car, driving a long ways, staying in motels (or maybe with friends or family), and looking at scenery, tourist attractions, etc. I don't mean to sound whiny, but ten years is a long time. In '95, I drove through Canada (stayed in Toronto and Ottawa) to upstate New York to attend and take part in my friend Stix's wedding. I'm counting that as my last vacation experience.

I've been feeling the itch to get out of town for awhile now. Next April, we've got a ten-day spring break (about twice as long as ones in recent years). I'm hoping now that I can take that time and visit my brother in Phoenix, Arizona. I'll be driving, of course.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Been thinking the same thing myself. Of course, I get back to MN/WI as often as possible, but I'm not certain those count as vacations. I was up in Boise two or three times last year to visit my now ex-girlfriend, but other than that...hmmm, I think it's been since Oct. 2001 (France) that I went on a true vacation. I'm planning on going out to Montreal for a week in the spring. Maybe that will cure the itch.

2:17 PM  

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