Summer is almost here. Time to finalize your vacation plans. You could book your family into an all-inclusive resort. OR………. You could hop a plane with a guide book, rent a car, and have an adventure.
FOUR REASONS TO WING IT ON VACATION
- If you travel to an unfamiliar destination, you will probably get lost. Sounds like a bad thing, but it can be a great thing. Every time I have gotten lost on vacation, I have met someone cool, or found something that I would have never seen if I was riding in a bus full of sunburned tourists.
- Self reliance. It feels good to plan things out yourself. Sometimes things even work out the way you want. Other times not so much. I like to wander. Six months after our first son was born, we took a trip to Puerto Rico to see family. I decided to take us to a somewhat remote beach that I was familiar with. We drove out, had a nice day,,,,, and then I locked the keys in the car while it was running. I broke out my inner Macgyver and took a spoke from our beach umbrella to try to break into the car. I know I said self reliance, but in reality we ended up relying on two park rangers and three cops who took turns trying to pop the lock while my father-in-law and wife took turns holding the baby and giving me dirty looks. They got it eventually, but I’m sure that given enough time, I would have gotten it,,,,,,,,,or we would have run out of gas.
- It gives you a chance to interact with people in their own environment. Traveling to a tropical country to spend time on a resort makes little sense. You might as well just go to Florida. You probably wouldn’t know the difference. It can be kind of intimidating to step out of your comfort zone. Believe me, most of the time I’m as introve
rted as they come. It’s a character flaw. I saw something on the internet recently that said, “My first instinct when I see an animal is to say hello. My first instinct when I see a person is to avoid eye contact & hope it goes away.” I realized with both amusement and dismay that my brain operates just like that. When I travel, I make an extra effort to be social. It always makes the experience more worthwhile when you participate in your surroundings. As an added plus, it reminds me that people in other places are much nicer than people from the northeastern US. - Guidebooks will take you to some unusual places. Every travel guide book will help you get to the major attractions. But, if it is a good one, it will help you get to some out of the way places. Lonely Planet books are good for this. Last year when we went to Puerto Rico, we took the book’s advice and tried to find a trail to the Bahia de Jobos marine estuary. We ended up parked in a farmer’s field under a tree. We picked up the trail there and didn’t see another person the whole morning. But we saw bunches of lizards and birds, and we even found a hummingbird nest. It was memorable.
LINKS
- Some cool video of a lightning storm in eastern India, as seen from the international space station.
- B.B. King died yesterday. Here is his Rock n Roll Hall of Fame bio.
- The forty best quotes from the Simpsons, according to the UK Telegraph.
- Summer travel can be cheap, especially if you’re willing to rough it. Budget Travel has listed their best places to go camping.
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