I’ve always wanted to take a two-week vacation. One week just doesn’t cut it. You arrive with all kinds of hopes and plans, and all of the sudden it’s Wednesday, and you’re staring at the end of the week and starting to think about packing up.
But this year, we did it. Two weeks at the beach. Two weeks of island living. No McDonald’s. No chain hotels. No traffic. No alarm clocks. Who needs a watch? Who needs a hair dryer? We slathered on 50 sunscreen and spent most of our time outside. Yes, it was hot on Dauphin Island, Ala., but not as hot as it was here. And if it’s going to be hot, I’d rather be at the beach.
Re-entry has been a little rough.
I took an extra day off just to re-acclimate myself and get my kids situated at school, get the laundry done and stuff put away. Then back to work. But I was doing OK until I downloaded my vacation photos this weekend and started to remember all the great moments.
Best feeling: Sitting on the beach with my mom (she and her husband came the second week) in the late afternoon sun with my feet in the surf and a book in my lap, watching a sand piper skitter around.
Best friends: We met several nice families, but my daughter made fast friends with a girl from Jackson, Miss., the first week, and they were pretty much glued at the hip.
Best breakfast: Leftover Alabama shrimp and cheese grits with scrambled eggs and turkey bacon.
Best lunch: Tuna salad sandwich with chips and a diet Coke, prepared by my husband and brought out to me on the beach by my daughter. An unexpected pleasure on a paper plate.
Best lunchtime dvd: After lunch, we usually stay in the condo and take a nap or watch a movie during the hottest part of the day. Our favorite — “Akeelah and the Bee.”
Best dinner: Fresh red snapper caught by my husband and son, black bean and mango salad, saffron rice and garlic bread. Fresh peach custard pie for dessert.
Best beach reading: “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Best non-beach activity: Playing ping pong with my son on the carport under the condo. (Yes, we just happened to have our ping pong table with us. Long story.)
Best fish tale: My mom’s husband hadn’t been fishing since he was a kid and used a cane pole in the creek. First time out on the boat, he catches a 3-foot shark.
Best sunset: On the last day, we took the boat out in the bayside and watched the sun set over the Dauphin Island Parkway bridge. Mom and I sipped wine while the boys fished. Just enough clouds in the sky to make the sunset really beautiful.
What was your favorite moment from vacation this year? What was your favorite vacation ever?
Responses to “Two weeks of un-reality”
August 27th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Oh, man, Jeni, I can almost FEEL how wonderful your vacation was. I completely agree about taking two weeks. It seems impossible to get away, but the rewards really are worth it. My favorite vacation spot when I was a kid was one of those family resorts on a lake in Michigan — dune buggy rides, trampolines to jump on, sand and sun and cold lake water. I even remember the old-fashioned soda machine that contained nothing but grape soda. Wish I were there right now!
August 27th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Tammy, that sounds fabulous. I’ve heard of that cruise before, and it has always intrigued me. Sounds like it’s worth the trip!
August 27th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Last week we took a two-week vacation to Alaska. It was, without a doubt, the best vacation ever. We had 15 people in our group to go on a cruise. Most of us went up two days early. My sister, brother-in-law, my husband and I went to Denali National Park for day. Absolutely beautiful — the scenery and the wildlife. Then on the cruise of the Inside Passage. We love cruising - this was our third, but some in our group were novices. Again, the scenery was breathtaking — glaciers, volcanoes, eagles, whales, bears, etc. In Juneau, I went dog-sledding on a glacier. It was expensive, but you can’t do it in Memphis! We ended up in Vancouver, British Columbia, which is probably beautiful when it isn’t raining! Truly a trip of a lifetime! My husband is ready to move there!
BTW — we are still waiting to take vacation this year. Looks like it will be fall before that happens because we are trying to avoid the heat.