My vacation takeaways

I like pinpointing the peak of an experience — sometimes during, sometimes afterward. Any experience can have a peak — eating a sandwich, a day at work, a weekend away. Whatever.

A couple of weeks ago I took my first true solo vacation. I hit the road by myself and drove a total of about 1,800 miles. I wasn’t sure I’d have much fun without a traveling companion but honestly, it was great and I did have lots of fun. My trip involved revisiting a familiar place — the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, including Cades Cove and Townsend, TN. I also picked a couple of new places to visit — Beaufort, SC and Savannah, GA. Both new places were towns I’d heard nice things about. A few years ago, my scattered family and I had talked about meeting up in Savannah for a vacation but that trip never materialized. But I’d researched Savannah online and it sounded really cool.

My southeast tour part III: Savannah, GA

Thursday I did maybe 10 minutes of yoga in the a.m. I was tired and my shoulder and elbow were sore. I ate another good Hampton Inn breakfast, including a pre-made bagel half loaded with eggs, bacon and cheese, then loaded up the car for Savannah. MapQuest says it’s 47.25 from Beaufort to Savannah.

My southeast tour part II: Beaufort, SC

Tuesday morning after coffee in my room and another fine yoga practice, I packed up and left Townsend around 10 a.m. According to MapQuest, it is 392.91 from Townsend to Beaufort, SC.

About the time I was getting into Beaufort, Kim from Beaufort Kayak Tours called and said the historic Beaufort tour was canceled due to storms in the area. I told her I’d call her back for the salt marsh afternoon tour the next day. After checking into the Hampton Inn, I did 30 minutes of laps in the pool. Afterward, I sat on a bench overlooking the water and a huge oak draped in Spanish moss and updated my trip journal.

My southeast tour part I: Townsend, TN

My solo vacation itinerary included Townsend, TN, just outside of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, plus Beaufort, SC and Savannah GA. I left my house in Pensacola around 6 a.m. CST on a Sunday. My Saturn Vue was fully loaded with crap — bicycle, yoga mat, water-jogging belt, noodle, aqua gloves, cooler, clothes, tote bag full of food like cereal and Triscuits, cutting board, apples, yadda yadda. According to MapQuest, I had 519.89 miles to go. By 3 p.m. EST, I was checking into Headrick’s River Breeze motel. Townsend is known as the “quiet side” of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. And compared to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, quiet it is.

Making your own vacation fun

A couple of weeks ago I did what I always advise people to do when they leave one job to take another — give yourself a break between gigs to have a carefree vacation. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no job that offers an adequate supply of days off. The best I’ve gotten was five weeks a year — and that wasn’t nearly enough. Of course, if you take a week or two off between jobs, it’s unpaid but still, it’s completely and 100 percent yours. Ahhhh.

Can you really fall in love online?

Do you think you can fall in love online? I do although it hasn’t happened to me yet. I happen to know at least one person who’s very happily married to a woman he met and fell in love with online. I’ve tried my best to find romance online but with less than stellar results.

I’m not complaining, though. I’ve had a lot of fun and met some fascinating and wonderful men online.

Please tell me tomorrow

You won’t believe this but I started this post weeks ago. And guess what? I put off writing it. Hmm. Why is it that someone who loves to mark completed tasks off a list or plow through a month’s worth of housecleaning in one morning cannot write a simple blog about procrastination without procrastinating like hell? I’ll tell you tomorrow.

Update 7/19/08 I thought I was done with this throwaway post, until not once but twice, Martin asked me about it. It’s tomorrow, he said, So when are you going to finish it? he asked me, or words to that effect.

How can I tell if he likes me?

The signs indicating whether a guy likes you depend on how old you are. If you’re under 10, he likes you if he pretends he doesn’t. No, wait, that also applies to some egotists of any age. Avoid them.

The bottom line is that usually, unless you’re still in grade school, you can tell whether a guy likes you if you’re honest with yourself. He pays you compliments or keeps calling you or emailing or texting you. In short, he follows up with you. He pursues you. Sometimes he’ll give you a hint by saying something like I really like you.

I’m here for the vacations

I think people need to sign a legally binding document committing them to return the winning ticket if they decide to continue working after they hit the lottery jackpot. What a crock. Why waste your money on lottery tickets if you love your job so much?

It’s not that I hate my job. I’ve just got better things to do. The only reason I keep going back to work every day is that I’ve gotten used to the luxury of a roof over my head and food in my belly. Kinda hard to feed my habit without a paycheck.

Making the switch from plastic bags

Over the weekend I bought a canvas bag at the local food co-op. It’s for grocery-shopping so I can stop carrying home those awful plastic bags. I bought it on impulse when I noticed it was only $.99. I recycle grocery bags but still knew it was irresponsible of me to use them at all. If I’m buying only a couple of items, I refuse a bag altogether but they seem to accumulate rather quickly, regardless.

Next Page »