Monday, July 20, 2009

Combining Business with Pleasure

This past week marked the first time my family tried to combine a business trip with a family vacation. The business portion of this trip was me in DC for the RWA National Conference. The family portion of this trip was my husband and two of our children in VA (about 45 miles from the hotel I was staying in) hanging with my husband's brother and his family.

It worked out okay, for the most part. Iwish I'd had more time to spend with my family as they checked out the area sights, but my days were fairly filled with one appointment/meeting after another. Not to mention the lunches, workshops, and evening get-togethers. I did, however, manage to finagle a little time to spend with family, and while I enjoyed it, I definitely wished we'd had an extra day or two on either side of the conference.

But sadly, we didn't plan this all that well, and we needed to get home. Maybe next time. Today, I am ready for a true summer vacation, because I am exhausted. I LOVE summer vacations, because for a little while, the rest of my real life evaporates in a blink. My entire focus is soley on recreation, reading, sight-seeing, and staying up and sleeping in late. So--uh--what's not to love, right?

I have two favorite vacation spots, depending on if it's an adult-only vacation or a family vacation. My favorite adult-only vacation is Las Vegas. I LOVE that city, I love the lights, the noise, the pure spectacle of Las Vegas. Going there is like visiting another dimension, and I can honestly state that while I'm there--I forget about everything that exists in the "real world." Because of this total immersion, I can only handle Vegas for three or four days, so it's the perfect getaway for a long weekend. Even better, they like me there, so normally I can get a comped room. Gotta love that!

Now, for family vacations, I love heading out to the pseudo-wilderness to camp. This comes from a childhood of summers camping with family (when I was younger), and friends (when I was older). I don't need a flashy camper (I'm cool with a tent), but I am partial to official campgrounds that have showers and toilets and hayrides (for the kids..really, for the kids!). Yeah, yeah, I know, but I'm not a complete wilderness freak. And it's not really the outdoorsy value of camping that I like...it's the ability to really slow down without a lot of outside distractions. It's telling ghost stories over a campfire, making smores, and finding those moments to really connect with your family.

Somehow it seems so much easier without a television, a computer, and all the other distractions that exist at home.

How about you? What are your favorite vacation destinations?

3 comments:

Jillian Cantor said...

Tracy, I agree about Las Vegas! One of my favorites for a short getaway-- so much to do and so much good food :-)

Maureen Lipinski said...

I appreciate the outdoors, but it's so much easier to enjoy from inside a camper! :)

Tracy Madison said...

Jillian: Exactly, and Vegas is stil affordable (well, except for the gambling!)

Maureen: LOL, I really enjoy tenting it...as long as it doesn't rain!