Technically, I’ve Never Been on a “Vacation”

Before we get to talking about romantic castle stays and picturesque mountain scenery, let me first tell you HOW I began traveling and why, technically, I’ve never been on a “vacation”.

I grew up in a single-family home in the south without A/C, a dishwasher, or a clothes dryer. In college I made it week to week on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Kraft macaroni and cheese made in a percolator coffee pot.  I’ve lived in the same area code my entire life. And, until our honeymoon to the Bahamas, I’d never really been out of the great state of Texas – only heading out of town for the weekend to visit family.

You’ll see me struggle in my writings to use the word vacation.  I usually refer to them as getaways or trips. As an adolescent, going on “vacation” meant getting in an RV (specifically a Winnebago) and heading out for a long weekend.  There were no dreams of international destinations or week-long stays at fancy resorts. I had no idea those options existed – and if I did, I knew there was no way I would be able to experience them. Even now, when I see a RV traveling down the freeway, I say “oh look, they’re on vacation”.  So, to this day, I always say I’ve been on fantastic trips but never a vacation (because I have yet to set off to the Grand Canyon in a Winnebago lol).

When I met my husband, he began showing me a life I’d never experienced.  He promised to show me the world (and he is)! Sometimes I’d join him at fancy hotels when he travelled for business – thinking this must be how the other half lived! We spent long weekends out of town (for leisure!).

When our kids were young, we’d take trips to the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa and week-long family camps in the Ozarks of Arkansas. Spontaneity became the norm. We would often wake our kids up at 10pm on Thursday and say, “we’ve called and got a last-minute room at Hyatt Hill for the weekend. You’re going to miss school tomorrow, so grab you pillow and meet us downstairs.  Bags are already packed.” My husband is notorious for asking exactly when we need to be back home or changing our outbound flight to leave a day early – he is always trying to figure out how to squeeze a few extra days out of our vacation (a method we’ve perfected). It wasn’t until all three of our children were out of the house, though, that we even took a trip just ourselves!

Empty nesting was the catapult for our traveling. Our careers finally afforded us both time and money to start checking destinations off our bucket list. Traveling is a passion we enjoy sharing with others – often convincing our friends and family to join us. In this blog, I hope to inspire you to start making plans for your next getaway – but YOU can call them vacations!