Saturday, May 15, 2010

Saturday's List- What a Vacation Must Include


With four days of school left, I am thinking about vacations.  This week's list is everything that a vacation must include in order for me to feel like it is actually a vacation:

1. Water.  I need an ocean, river, or lake at the vacation destination.  I guess in a pinch a water park would work, but I prefer the natural kind.  I don't have to swim in it or boat on it. I can just sit and look at it and I'm happy.  For some reason, I am always attracted to water.

2.  Educational or historical places.  I can blame this on my mom and dad.  Childhood vacations or travel were supposed to be educational as well as relaxing.  I remember the childhood trip through the Civil War grounds of the South, and another trip was a visit to Lincoln's Springfield, Illinois.  Even when the Mr. and I went to Cancun we took a trip to see the ruins at Chichen Itza.  I like to go to museums and historical sites.  Washington D.C. was a dream vacation for me, though I had to travel a bit to get to the water.

3. Cemeteries.  Weird, I know.  I kind of like to see where famous people are buried.  I have visited the  graves of Sacajawea, Buffalo Bill Cody, Abraham Lincoln, Laura Ingalls Wilder, John F. Kennedy, and quite a few others. (One of these days I'll tell you about the college project where I visited cemeteries and compiled a report on unusual epitaphs.) There are still a lot of cemeteries I want to visit.

4. Somebody has to get sick or hurt.  I hate to say it, but L is usually the one.  She took a nice little crash on an unforgiving sidewalk when we were in Hot Springs, Arkansas; visited an emergency room with strep at Two Harbors, Minnesota; and took a header going down an Alpine Slide at Park City, Utah. (That one required a trip to the emergency room, too.)  It never fails, and we're to the point where it isn't a vacation unless someone ends up feeling rotten.

5. Winery.  Any time I see a sign for a winery, I am game to pull over and do a wine tasting.  A tour of their facilities and vineyard is just an added perk!

So where are we going this year?  I think there is a good chance we are staying at El Tiny Town and painting the house.  Sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it?  There will be water to clean up the brushes, and I'm sure painting a house with the Mr. will be quite educational and informative.  No cemetery.  Well, at least I hope not. I am thinking of playing hooky to get out of some of the painting so that will cover the sickness.  Oh, and there better be wine!

This is sounding more and more like a perfect vacation.  NOT!!  Don't think I'm still not expecting to do a little something fun, Mr.  You're not getting off that easy.  (I'm guessing you already knew that!)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

You should make a summer tour of the cousins. Cousin A and family would be happy to have you visit!

Mary said...

Hey, maybe you can get a little kiddie pool!
We enjoy learning the historical aspects of where we are, too. Not a big fan of visiting cemeteries, though. It was neat to see all of the tombstones at Arlington, but I didn't have any interest in going around and seeing where certain people had been buried. JFK's grave was interesting, and George & Martha's tomb was, too. Guess maybe I just need to be entertained?
Summer's almost here...WOO-HOO!

Anonymous said...

We have a cemetery right at the end of our driveway, a beach 20 minutes away, ALL the history you want in Fredericksburg AND a new winery 5 minutes from the house.....all you have to do is bring my "main man" and come on out! J & V will here until wednesday so they can go with us!!! PARTY AT MY HOUSE!!! Love you cousin! R

Paula said...

We could go together! I adore the water...no, I NEED the water. I can wander for hours through cemetaries, and my sister and I set a goal last summer...to stick our toes in each of the Great Lakes, and to visit the wineries nearby. Sound like a plan?

Anonymous said...

I would like to nobly nominate Pensacola, Florida for your consideration. First, you have the Gulf and the Bay! Beautiful water abounds. It was the first capital of Florida, and founded before St. Augustine. There are lots of museums and historical things to do. Also, there is Ft. Pickens, which was used during the Civil War, and even held a captured Geranamo at one point. For the Mr. (and maybe you) the National Museum of Naval Aviation is in Pensacola and FREE! Lots of the other museums are FREE too! As for cemeteries, there is St. Michael's. There are people who are "famous" in terms of local and state history, but what makes this one neat is that it is OLD! It goes back to the 1700s and there are lots of neat epitaphs etc. I dunno about wine, but I am sure you could find some somewhere. :)

gayle said...

I love your vacation list! Well, except for the getting sick or hurt part. That seems to happen to us, too. Not fun. I'm hoping we get to visit some colleges this summer, but I know that summer isn't the best time to visit. We might not go anywhere until some weekends in the Fall when colleges are in session.

A said...

Sooooo I am thinking New York City can satisfy almost all the things on the checklist (with the hopes that #4 doesn't fit... then again - a taxi ride might just leave one feeling a bit rotten) Keep NYC in mind as a possibility! You're always welcome to visit and I'll be your personal tour guide (as long as you come after June!) :)