“I have vacation coming up!” ”I am going on a holiday!” ”We’re going away!” Usually, when you here one of these phrases, an image pops into your head. Is it sightseeing, map navigating, learning new cultures and customs, walking until your feet fall off? (ie: trip) Or is it beaches, sunsets, lounging in pool chairs and walking only to get more food? (ie: vacation) Both images are our reality. And we do both really, really well. Fully, completely, all in. Somehow though, the two rarely meet.
Our trips in the early years were typically time constrained. This meant we had to maximize our time on the ground to see, experience, taste, and learn every bit of the culture possible. Up at the crack of dawn, on the go all day long – stopping only to eat and soldiering on until well past all our bedtimes. Up the next morning, again at the crack of dawn and the next and the next to do it all over again.
Exhausting? Yes. Exhilarating? Yes. Exciting? Yes. Extremely chaotic. Also yes. Worth every minute? 100% yes. Our kids have acquired the ability to go with the flow because of this type of travel. We have all learned to go hard when necessary, always have an abundance of snacks and water and to rest whenever possible. Leaning against a lamp post while waiting to cross the street? Check.
Trips for us mean thousands of pictures to sort through, along with pages of notes explaining said pictures. Each and every trip gives us hundreds of stories, dozens of experiences and countess memories.
On the flip side, are vacations. Aaahhh. I can physically feel my shoulders relax just thinking about them. After experiencing only trips for a few years, we knew we had to do something different. Truth be told, it was our children who wanted to go to Mexico, ’like all our friends’. This is how we ended up at an all-inclusive resort in Puerta Vallarta. Turns out, we can do nothing just as well as we can do everything. Our biggest decision of the day was to decide to sit by the pool or the beach. It was glorious. It was relaxing. It was something we vowed to do again.
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico | 2016
Vacations for us mean quiet. Quiet in mind and body. We read, we play games, we catch up, we play in the ocean, we swim in the pool. It is a time to recharge. Sure, we take pictures, but because our scenery doesn’t change, there are only hundreds, not thousands. We still have stories and memories, just of a different ilk. We love our vacations and fit them in whenever we can, but for as many times as we’ve been to Mexico, we’ve never actually been to Mexico.
We will one day, but for now we appreciate the poolside relaxation that it offers us. So, if you are ever invited to come travelling with us, be sure to ask us what type of travel to expect. Is this a trip? Pack your walking shoes and some A535. Is this a vacation? Pack your books and some sunscreen. Either way, be ready to be all in.
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