Saturday, July 12, 2008

Summer Vacationing

The biggest problem with being retired is the seasons have a way of blending, so that ones sense of immediate need gets kinda toned down----like hello maybe tomorrow I'll think about that. Now here it is almost the middle of July---and I haven't even begun to plan a summer vacation.
Now one has to give some serious thought to what one wants vacation wise----first what kind of Geography appeals to ya-----ocean views, Mountains, Plains??. Usually one picks something different than one lives in most of the year. Mountain people go to the beach and Vice-a-versa. People who live on the plains -----tend to stay close to home, ----unable to make a decision, to vacate to the Mountains, or the Beach----everything scenic being so far to travel too. I mean like it must take a good week just to drive across Kansas--least sure seemed that long, so anyway they hem and haw and next thing they know its State Fair time again, then school starts, and one has to get ready for winter---and maybe next year----.
Having decided on a Geography, one now has to decide we flying there, driving there or maybe taking the train there. Well Passenger Trains are fairly limited ,in that they don't really go very many places---mainly they run up and down the east coast between Boston and Washington DC.---like I said, they don't go very many places. So basically its Drive or Take the plane.
Now the planning starts to take on serious overtones. If one is planning on staying with family , or avoiding family like the plague, and staying in Hotels. One needs to make reservations in advance. One can't just walk in off the street and expect to get a room in a Hotel---like Hello, with rooms running well over $50/night----most hotels are booked up well in advance. You should have made those reservations three months ago or even earlier. You might get lucky and find the hotel does have A room, but its running $200/night with a minimum 5 night rental. (woof that puts a dent in ones vacation fun monies don't it?), but then ya figure, instead of flying one might save a buck if one drove there. Actually might not be so bad, one could see some of the countryside, sample the various colorful locale food and drink, see the natives in their colorful costumes----yes driving would work. So with a pencil and a Pad, you figure it out. Gas for the car, assuming you get 25 miles/gallon, its 900 miles to your destination, should be able to drive that in two days, so one needs to compute the cost of two nights in motels, six meals, oooh, oooh maybe something for buying impulse souvenirs , hmmm better get a couple new tires for the car before we go, and get a tuneup----that will cost--?? and yeah need some clothes to where when we get there, the weather being so different----oooh oooh, better talk to the boss at work and make sure I can take those two weeks off, damn should have done THAT a couple three months earlier too----okay so whats the cost now come to?-----OOOOOOOOOH JEEEEEEEEEEZ----forgetabout it----maybe next year.

5 comments:

  1. Nope next year it'll cost twice as much. The only good thing I can see in that is that nobody else will be there. You'll have the whole place to yourself. : )

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  2. if nobody is standing in line to get in---who wants to go THERE?

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  3. With the gas prices who can afford to go on vacation?

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  4. Time out! Plains people have no trouble deciding. At least I don't. At frankly it's much ore fun. Everything is different than here so we have the befenfit of mountains one year beach the next. As far as the fair goes, it's in my home town, so yes that is something we plan for almost yearly. At least here we have very finite seasons. I wouldn't want to live somewhere where summer spring and fall are all the sam and winter in about ten degrees cooler.

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  5. I guess you won't be going on a vacation this year. It really isn't that bad

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Speak up, don't be a nebish---your opinions do count.