Vacation or Staycation?

 

I looked it up in a dictionary and read that a vacation is a period of suspension of work, study other activity, usually used for rest, recreation or travel. Now, the dictionary didn’t say how long the period has to be for a trip to be a vacation or how far. And, my dictionary, being nearly as old as myself, didn’t even have a “staycation” entry, so I had to ask Cortana on my computer. It turns out, a staycation involves doing things within driving distance from home, and sleeping in my own bed.

Well, we needed a break, but couldn’t get completely away from work for a “real” vacation.  We started off with an overnight with some friends to an old hotel at a village about an hour and a half away. Okay, we didn’t return home to sleep that night, but was it still a vacation? And, I took my computer and did some writing. Isn’t that work? Well, it’s something I love doing when I travel, and getting back to work on my next novel feels more like enjoying a suspension of projects than anything else. Most importantly, it was really enjoyable. The food was terrific, (always a big thing with me), and conversation with our friends in lieu of nightly television was wonderful.

The next few days, we couldn’t readily get away from home for other overnights. Lesley had writing commitments for multiple blog tours, etc., and our newly-seeded yard needed to be watered every night. Besides, with a little self-permission to go off our diets, (breaking from normal routine), we were able to come up with some great meals on our own, not to mention the pleasure of sitting on our back deck with a glass of wine, reveling in the fact that our stream bank project is finished. We also visited an art museum, went hiking and ate out whenever it suited our pleasure. On top of that, I got in my first round of golf for the season. Oh, and I got in some more writing on my next novel, Murder in Key Largo, (or Killed in Key Largo, I haven’t decided which yet), in my Bobby Navarro mystery series.

At some point, I asked myself whether Bobby would take a vacation. He rides all over the country on his Harley whenever he gets the chance, but that’s often a matter of taking the long way home. In the current work-in-progress he is actually attempting to take a vacation, but, what with becoming involved in solving another murder, can I really call it a vacation?

So, vacation or staycation? You decide. I learned something though. I learned how refreshing an afternoon hike, or visit to some local attraction can be. It was certainly worth the time away from most of our regular work. My hope is that we will do more of this in the months ahead. Your thoughts?