I recently got back from a short vacation. Technically, it was a trip to a conference, but I stayed the weekend to the turn it into a mini vacation. Now I’m working on getting back into the swing of things, and it has been a little rough. Vacations always surprise me. According to the dictionary, a vacation is:
a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel
While all of that sounds great, I always seem to come back from vacation more tired than I left. I think it’s because travel and recreation take more time and effort than expected. Making plans for a trip can be a strenuous process. Then once you get there, you want to make the most of your vacation time by doing as much as you can in a short amount of time.
Going with a group of friends also makes things more complicated. You have to coordinate schedules, flights, transportation, lodging, etc. Then you have to figure out activities that will please everyone in the group.
After throwing a few ideas around, my friends and I ended up at the beach one day. While bumming out in the sand probably would have been the most relaxing thing to do, I couldn’t resist jumping into the ocean and taking on a few of the waves.
The sun, sand, and water were a blast, but it was draining. That seems to be a recurring theme on every vacation I go on. Everything I end up doing is really fun, but by the end of the trip, I’m exhausted.
Does this ever happen to you on vacation?
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
MoneyGrubbingLawyer 08.19.08 at 6:05 am
That pretty much sums of the majority of my vacations :). Between travel time, planning, and trying to cram as many activities into a limited time as possible, I usually come back more tired than when I left.
That’s why I took last week off and had a mini-vacation at home- I went camping one night, but aside form that I spent my time sleeping in, relaxing, catching up on some reading, and just generally acting like a bum. I came back to work with a new spring in my step!
Shtinkykat 08.19.08 at 7:07 am
Since I live a normally drab life, I have great (read: unrealistic) expectations for my vacations. I spend so much time and energy planning and fantasizing about my trip, often times, I’m exhausted by the time I get to my destination!
Whenever I plan a vacation now, I take one extra day off before the trip and one extra day after the trip to rest and recuperate. I live for my vacations!
Doctor S 08.19.08 at 10:54 am
This happens every time with every single vacation I go on! The pressure to figure out plans and then when you are actually on the trip it takes all of your energy to get a group of people awake and coordinated to do things. God forbid you go on your own and do something because someone will get mad! Always happens. I enjoy vacations with a group of 4 at the most. We are all on the same page and have the same expectations and it usually produces better results. Being tired at the end of a vacation is always going to occur, especially with the whole “going back to work” thing looming on the horizon!! Great practical post!
moom 08.20.08 at 6:16 pm
The only thing that is ever tiring about vacations is if long distance travel and time zones are involved in getting there and back. Well I never travel long distance just for a vacation, for just this reason, but do fit in fun stuff on trips that are required for other reasons.
Broke Grad Student 08.22.08 at 12:48 am
Shtinkykat: I might try the extra day after the trip next time to give myself some time to recover. My youth is my worst enemy though. I actually took a weekend vacation earlier this year where I flew back Monday morning and went straight to work from the airport.