Tuesday, August 19, 2014

WHERE'S MY VACATION?


As the summer moves along swiftly toward the beginning of a new school year, it seems people everywhere are talking about vacations they've taken – they speak of Disney Land, Virginia Beach, an Alaskan cruise, Colorado, the Cayman Islands, Turkey, even Cuba.

I listen with envy – where's my vacation? I'm a grown woman, for goodness sake, perfectly capable of planning and arranging to take a real vacation. Yet my one trip to Disney World was in July 1976 during the Bicentennial celebration. I don't know that I've ever seen Virginia Beach; if so, I don't remember. I certainly never saw any portion of Alaska. We made a trip from Texas to Yellowstone National Park – almost 25 years ago. We once drove to Branson, Missouri. At the time, I'm thinking we were the youngest people in the city. If we went back today, we might fit in just right, age-wise.

Are we over-due for a real vacation or what? It's not that I don't have plenty of vacation days to take from my law firm job. Where have they gone? Not to the Caymans, that's for sure. I sometimes spend a week with my Mom who lives across the country. Other days are used for writer's conferences or family events – weddings, family reunions, and the like. Of course, I use some days to stay home and write – especially now that I'm faced with a very real book deadline.
To tell you the truth, I'm not longing to leave home and fly to some faraway place on vacation – I mostly wish I were longing to do so. If I could snap my fingers and magically be standing before Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon I'd do it. Do I want to see foreign countries before I die? I'm not sure – it seems like a lot of trouble to go through and a large unnecessary expense.

Why doesn't the joy of vacation out-weigh the hassle of getting there for me? Is it because I'm a homebody at heart? Or because I'm just as happy sitting home and reading books? Or my thrifty Pennsylvania Dutch upbringing won't allow me to spend the money? Or all of the above? Seriously, I keep saying – in a very vague way – that we need to get out and see the U.S.A.
I really ought to make plans now – because time flies – tempus fugit as my mother-in-law liked to say. She's not with us anymore – her time to travel has passed. Which ought to send me a very real message.

Do you love to travel? Where's your favorite place to go?

Mystery author Kay Finch is currently writing her new Bad Luck Cat Mystery series set in the Texas Hill Country to be published by Berkley beginning in 2015. Her Klutter Killer mystery, Relative Chaos, features a professional organizer who finds a dead body in a hoarder's garage. Kay lives in a Houston, Texas suburb with her husband, two rescue dogs and a cat. Visit her web site at www.kayfinch.com.

9 comments:

  1. Good for you for not longing to be somewhere you're not. Remember Dorothy's words after visiting OZ. Thanks, Kay, for a different look at travel. Have to say I like to travel, though I haven't done so all that much.

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    1. That's right, Sandy. Maybe that's why The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite all-time movies.

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  2. I hate to travel, but love to get there.

    I actually have a travel mission. Been to Iceland 4 times and still have not seen the Northern Lights. each time it has been too cloudy or raining. The last time - cloudy again - I was told that the Northern Lights could actually be seen from the planes when landing. Of course, it was the day BEFORE i got there. So I have another trip schedule for February 2015. December - early March is the optimum time to see the Northen Lights in Iceland (unless I happen to be there at that time - LOL). But there are plently of other things to do. The Blue Lagoon is just the best place ever. Nothing like being in a geothermal pool when it is snowing all around you. Heaven.

    And, of course, since Game of Thrones shoots in Iceland, I may also get to see my fantasy hero, Jon Snow - Kit Harrington. Sigh.

    I have a few countries on my bucket list - Italy, Scotland, France, Spain. Have crossed out Belgium, Iceland and Ireland.

    You got me thinking, Kay. How can I get to Florence this year?

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    1. Kathye - you sure are dedicated to seeing the Northern Lights. You make a good point - hate to travel, but love to get there. I agree - even on my few and short trips.

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  3. Like you, I'm a homebody, but whenever I do a booksigning or workshop somewhere, I add hotel days to my itinerary for sightseeing. This way I don't feel cheated. I *have* to go, so now I get to visit other cities and get a mini-vacation (several every year!)

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  4. That's a good idea, Gina. I might have to do the same the next time I go to a conference.

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  5. Half the fun of traveling is the planning. I love reading travel books and articles before I go. Kathye, we spent 4 very cold nights in Alaska last Mar and never saw the Northern Lights until we flew out. Maybe we'll try Iceland next time.

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  6. Kay--
    Even homebodies need vacations, too. Travel just expands your world and gives you new insights. Maybe you could benefit from "enjoying" the travel. I have my iPad stocked with ebooks I can only read while traveling, movies installed that I can only watch while traveling, a Wheel of Fortune game, my favorite music playlists, and hundreds of photos. I have three or four really cool apps for writing. I LOVE to travel just so I can pull out my iPad. Even longer 5 hour+ flights don't bother me. Time whizzes by.
    Victoria--

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