Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Eating Sand

Sometimes when I am on the beach I end up eating sand. This is one of the reasons why I can never truly, fully enjoy the airy blue universal beacon of relaxation that is the beach. Sand makes its way into everything, even warm salami sandwiches. Anyway, I once expressed this sentiment to an acquaintance who snidely remarked that I must be a barrel of fun on vacation. That acquaintance was right. I am no fun on vacation.

In recent years, I have forgotten how to relax on trips. I am not sure I ever knew. I knew leisure as a younger person the same way a cat knows it. It doesn’t know anything else. Going away on vacation almost always causes me stress these days. I dislike being a tourist. The not knowing. The being had. The feeling like a rube. The pressure to “see things” and be “wowed” by them tempered by the desire to do disgusting amounts of nothing.

Tell me, what’s your vacation strategy? Do you plan every minute? Do you research a lot, or do you just head straight out chasing the horizon?

2 comments:

  1. you just need a longer vacation.

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  2. my thoughts exactly. as a cultural anthropologist I have had the chance to live for several months in different locales while doing research.

    "just head straight out chasing the horizon." relax, go to local spots, alcohol helps, and if you are there for a week, stopping by to see one major attraction is not such a chore.

    i read a lot of blogs. you really have a talent for writing...no doubt.

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