One of the tasks a couple plans is a vacation. This should be a very happy task. There are so very many choices these days - far/near, beach/mountains, sports or not, fly/drive, city/rural, etc. How much money is available? Do we charge everything or have we saved? If we have children, will they go? What about pets?
Although some vacations could be spontaneous, most need to be well-planned. Who will make the decisions? It's truly a vacation for both parties if both are involved in making choices. One of the 'perks' of a vacation is in the planning: it's almost like going twice if you can look forward to your trip for a few months.
As soon as I know I'm going to a particular place, I like to sign up (on-line) for their tourist brochures to be mailed to me. These help you know what attractions are available so you may choose. Some places will include maps and coupons. I'd be surprised if there was one single country in this world who did not have its own tourism website.
For years, I worked hard at vacations, spending nearly every waking minute going to new places. I enjoyed it, but it was exhausting. Now I try to have some quiet time, 'down' time.
A relationship will flower if a couple agrees on a place and enjoys the trip together. I wonder about couples in which the man always goes fishing or hunting with his buddies and the woman takes the kids to visit relatives. I've known several families like that; one gentleman, in his later years, expressed regret that he missed so much of his children's growing-up years. You can never go back to those years after they're gone! Now, much to his credit, he won't miss anything that goes on in his grandchildren's lives. The wise couple would talk about vacations before they get married. We can never assume the other person will Love what we love; he or she might hate it!
Some people I know take no photographs during their vacations. They say, "I'll just get a guidebook or bunch of postcards to help me remember." I prefer to take lots of photos, the ones that aren't perfect but may show local flavor.
I recently bought a new travel 'toy' I wish I had available years ago: a digital voice recorder. It's small and I can whip it out anywhere for things I want to remember and put into my travel blog. If you need a few more 'tried and true' travel helps, check out my travel blog at www.rockingthruworld.blogspot.com, the "P" helps. "P" stands for "Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance," a mantra drummed into me and my classmates years ago in nursing school. I've included a few things I found useful while traveling. If you would like to add to it, please free to comment on anything.
Then there's the vacation I've never yet taken but would like to try: the "stay-cation," or stay-at-home vacation. Perhaps all the summers I stayed at home with the children would quality as "stay-cations." We looked forward to the summers home without all the school hassles. The children would make a new "Summer Fun Chart" every April or May. Included would be every category we could think of for them to do fun things, with their siblings, their friends, their parents, or just themselves. Most things didn't cost a thing. We taped this poster to the refrigerator. They would consult it if they ran out of things to do.
Dear God, we thank you for the times we get to try new things, go new places, or just rest and relax. Thank you for your beautiful world; help us to get to know every corner of it!
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