My husband and I recently returned from a wonderful vacation. We were lucky enough to spend a week with our daughter, son-in-law and grandsons in a rented house just a few blocks from the beach, stores, and restaurants. Spending time with the people we love is a good thing, and spending time with them in a vacation setting is even better. Overall, it was a very good week.
Very good, but not perfect. And yes, few things are perfect, and the key to a good vacation is to overlook the things that don’t go quite right. We did that. When it rained, we read and did jigsaw puzzles. When it was too windy to walk the beach, we swam in our pool instead. But the problem that we couldn’t quite conquer was the house itself.
It was a very nice house, but it also equipped with “state of the art” technology. I know that sounds like a good thing, and in some houses, it probably is. But in this particular house, it meant we spent way too much time just trying to figure out how to turn out the lights at night.
Every room had several switch plates that operated the various lights and window shades, and every switch plate had several buttons and finger-operated “slides.” The trick was to push the right button and use the right slide in the right sequence, which apparently varied from day to day. What worked to turn off the porch lights on Monday night did not work on Tuesday night. Other lights turned on by themselves a few minutes after we turned them off.
And the problem wasn’t just the lights. The front door refused to lock from the outside, so we had to lock it from the inside and then exit via the garage. The ultra-sophisticated dryer started to make strange, loud noises instead of actually drying the clothes. We decided we could air dry our clothes as long as the washing machine worked, so of course the washing machine promptly broke down, mid-cycle, with our clothes inside and the door still on “lock.”
But the worst was the stove top. It was equipped with a control pad and six invisible burners that were supposed to light up when you placed a pan on them. So I put my pan on, adjusted the temp and waited for my pan to heat so I could scramble some eggs. The burner stayed cold, and the control pad informed me the “pan is not detected.” I muttered words I didn’t want my grandsons to hear and pushed the setting button on the control pad, which produced a recipe for New England Clam chowder, complete with photos. Eventually we discovered that the stove top only works with certain pans.
I’m not against state of the art technology, per se. But I am against making things so very complicated that people who are trying to have a peaceful vacation have to waste time trying to figure out how to turn off a light or scramble some eggs. I can do those things at my house, I swear. My stove lets me use whatever pan I want, and I can dim our lights with a simple dimmer switch.
Sometimes complicated doesn’t mean better. It just means more things that can go wrong. The KISS (keep it simple, stupid) motto may not be nice, but it’s not wrong either……
My husband and I try to take a Florida vacation every January. We’re not fans of the month’s cold days and long nights, so it makes sense for us to spend a week of it on a warm Florida beach. We also like having something fun to look forward to after the holidays wind down, and have found that nothing beats the post-Christmas blahs quite like throwing shorts, swimsuits and sun screen in a suitcase and heading south for a few days of rest and relaxation.
And miracle of miracles, it all worked out. The house had a gorgeous view of the lake and plenty of room for everyone, and the weather was great. We found time to relax and unwind, while some of us golfed, fished, visited a nearby winery, made crafts, went horseback riding, played games, or went for walks in the woods. The lake was warm enough to try the paddle boards and I even managed to go kayaking without falling into the water (another miracle).
My husband and I had really been looking forward to our vacation. Last Fall had been particularly busy and stressful, followed by a hectic Holiday schedule. By mid-January, we were both more than ready for a week of relaxation in the Florida sun and counting down the days until our departure.
There’s nothing quite like a little get away to restore the soul, and my recent one did just that. It was wonderful to escape the cold of Winter for a little while, and to have the chance to walk along a warm beach and enjoy colorful flowers in the middle of January. The stresses of the past few months melted away a little more with each passing day, and best of all, the cold that I’d been fighting off and on since November finally went away.
We shared meals together, played games, swam in the pool, worked a puzzle, watched some beautiful sunsets, laughed, and just talked about whatever happened to be on our minds. Living with my grandson for a week reminded me of just how much work, and just how much fun, caring for a toddler can be. It was great to witness my daughter and son-in-law’s impressive parenting skills, and to watch my grandson grow even closer to my son and daughter-in-law.
But those were just minor glitches that didn’t matter at all. We still had a wonderful week together. Our recent vacation gave us the perfect chance to grow just a little bit closer as a family, and to truly strengthen the bonds that hold us all together. And in that sense, it was all I possibly could have asked for, and more.
I have always believed Sanibel Island is a beautiful place. And this visit didn’t change my view, despite the signs of damage and the piles of debris from the storm. Because this time, the beauty I saw wasn’t limited to the palm trees and the sandy white beaches. This time, I saw a community coming together through hope and hard work, repairing the damage and moving forward with determination and optimistic pride. And that was the most beautiful thing of all.
When my husband planned a weekend getaway for my recent birthday, I was a little embarrassed to tell my friends and family exactly where we were going. Not because there was anything embarrassing about our destination (Sanibel Island), but because whenever we get a chance to go on a vacation, our choice is usually Sanibel. We are definitely in a bit of rut, travel-wise.
Sanibel Island is, hands down, my favorite place to vacation. It’s a beautiful little island which has no high-rise buildings or traffic lights, with stunning tropical vegetation and tons of small-town charm. I can always count on seeing lots of natural wildlife, possibly due to the nature preserve that takes up about a quarter of the island. My husband and I first visited the island almost thirty years ago, when I was six months pregnant with my daughter, and despite having to wear a maternity swim suit that looked like a circus tent, I fell in love with Sanibel.
Even though our kids are grown up, my husband and I still enjoy Sanibel, and we just returned from a week-long visit there. We had a wonderful time, right up to the very last day, when we noticed what looked like a thin brown line on the eastern horizon, right where the ocean meets the sky. As we watched, the line of dark, murky water grew larger and larger, spreading across the bay toward the Sanibel beaches.
I know that this has been a problem for many years, and that environmentalists and the government agencies who authorize the massive release of the lake water into the rivers and ocean are at odds with each other. As a rule, I try not to take sides in a dispute when I don’t know all the facts, and I definitely do not know all the facts about this issue. I am not a Florida resident and I know almost nothing about marine biology or water resource management.
Muddling Through My Middle Age 