What is the point of Vacations??

From past blog entry’s, you can probably see that there are several different places people can label as “vacation spots”. Most people don’t consider summer camps to be a vacation or they don’t think they can consider a place a “vacation spot” if it’s in their town or not at least 500 miles away. So than what is a true “vacation spot”?? And what is the whole point on going on vacation?? We go to different places all the time, but I don’t think we consider why we go to these places and why it’s such a blast.

Probably the most common reason we go on vacation is to get out of the house. Most everyone lives in the same house for about 90% of the year, and it can get pretty dull and boring looking at the same walls for that long. So, vacations become great getaways, places that give you a new view. In Puerto Rico, I would wake up to the sound of birds and the ocean sweeping along the sandy beaches. At my upstate house in New York, my view in the living room for the morning is the lake itself, with the sun coming up over the mountains. The different perspective is refreshing and keeps us on our toes.

Another very plain and simple reason we go on vacations is to try something new. This reason is very similar to getting out of the house, expect instead of just having a different location, you have dissimilar activities to entertain yourself with. Vacations open up new activities for you to experience. I have never been on a ferry since my trip to Burlington Vermont, nor have I set foot on a stage since the Washington Street Players camp. Different places allow you to try different things, and not just activities. Food also becomes an experience. Hamburgers and pizza can get a bit boring after a while, so when you do to different countries, they offer diverse types of foods to enliven your taste buds. Variety in activities and food make going on vacation a much more accepted idea for the family.

There are though, reasons we go on vacation that we as teens don’t really consider. One of these reasons is to spend time with our family. I completely understand that at home mom and dad can really be pains, and don’t get me started on all the arguments with brothers and sisters, and how unnecessary most of them are. The truth is, we get sick of our family a bit too quickly. Vacations give us a chance to spend stress-free time with our siblings and parents, and maybe some of you relatives as well. Almost every place I have been to has been with my family, immediate and extended. I go to New York with my entire family, cousins, grandparents, you name it. I feel as though, vacations give us the opportunity to see our family from a different perspective. They become the people we experience all of these different things with. We are able to share laughs and meals and rime together. Away from a normal schedule, where the kids have homework and sports, and the parents have work, it gives us an opportunity to fully appreciate each other away from the hustle and bustle. But, going on vacation doesn’t mean you always go with your family. Many people also go on vacation with their friends. Camps are an example of being on vacation with your friends. I have gone to the summer homes of my friends in past summers, and I find that’s it’s the same concept. When you’re with a friend, it can make the place you’re at a lot more fun and exciting. If you are one on one with good friends, you become that much closer. It’s like with your family. When you take a person out of their element, or their every day routine, they become a “different” person, and you learn that much more about them. Friends are the most important people in your life when you are in high school, so going on vacation with them makes it that much better. There is a saying that goes “it’s not where you are, it’s who you’re with”. That basically sums up that whole paragraph into one sentence.

Vacations also give us something we really don’t really consider. We mention these things all the time whenever we tell friends or family about where we went. The places we see, food we eat, and activities we do all give us memories. The main point of vacations is to gain memories, and hopefully memories that will stay with us for a long time. All of the places that I have been to have “given” me the best memories I have. When a place isn’t exciting to us, or if the vacation we took was too similar to our normal home, we don’t really have positive things to share about it. These memories are forgotten, or placed in the back of your our minds. Vacations where we really enjoyed ourselves, or where we did something or tasted something for the first time, create the best memories. When we return home from these vacations, we can’t wait to tell our friends all about the trip and what you did that they didn’t. Memories are very important. They allow us to remember the good times, and learn from the not so good times. Vacations create these memories that we may or may not treasure for the rest of our lives. But the main intent for going on vacation with family of friends is to give us the opportunity to have remarkable memories forever.

I have only been to about a dozen different places, but I probably have a million memories from them. All of the vacation spots that I have mentioned in my blog, whether I have or haven’t gone to them, will definitely create some amazing memories. Remember, vacations do not need to be a “by-yourself” experience. Go with family and friends, because they make the ride that much more interesting. The different places you see, the diverse people you meet, and the original food you try all contribute to who you are. I have no regrets from my past vacations. They were all completely breathtaking experiences. So, vacations aren’t just excuses for getting out of the house. They are meant to exciting and memorable experiences.

Word Count: 1,073

Vacation Spots I want to go to

In all honesty, I haven’t been anywhere. The furthest away I have gone was to Puerto Rico, and that was not even out of the US. So I guess you could say that I really have not experienced any of our worlds amazing places. That is the downside, but the upside would be that you’ll never hear me say “Oh, I have already been there a bunch of times”. I guess, in the future, I’ll be able to look forward to visiting new places all the time, rather than be bored to tears with the old ones. Speaking of the future, there are plenty of places that I wish to travel to, and hopefully some of them will not be in the too distant future.

Okay, don’t laugh. I have never been to Disney World or for that matter, Florida itself. So of course, Disney would be on my list for places to visit. I guess the reason my family has never really considered Disney, is because my mom and I are not roller coaster fans. Both of us are horrible on roller coasters, so we just stay away from them. Of course, I know that there is more to Disney than its huge rides, such as Epcot or MG Studios. These are the places I really wish I could visit. I’m sure that Disney is a more memorable experience if you go as a little kid, when Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, and Donald Duck are huge idols to you. My age does not really matter to me; I would still want to go to Disney even if I was in my twenties. Disney sounds like an amazing place, so hopefully I will be able to go there soon.

Europe is also another place I hope to see very soon. Anywhere in Europe would be amazing. Italy, Spain, England, France, Greece and Ireland are my top places, mostly because a lot of my heritage comes from these places. Ireland has the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen. The mountains and coast line are absolutely remarkable and are completely breathtaking. Spain and Italy just sound like a bunch of fun. Spain with its food, entertainment, and history make it seem like such a wonderful place to visit. I just want to go to Italy to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. England and France have unbelievable sites and food as well. Paris and London are said to be two of the most beautiful cities in Europe. The Eiffel Tower is definitely a place I wish to visit. In London, all I need to do is ride on the top deck of a double Decker bus. I don’t know why, but that would be the highlight of my trip to England. Lastly, I want to go to Greece. After seeing both the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants one and two, I want so badly to take a vacation to Greece. It sounds like the most breathtaking place in the world, considering the bleach white houses against the crystal blue ocean. The weather and food is supposed to be absolutely remarkable. If there was only one place in Europe that I could visit, it would be Greece. I guess the next time my family or I need a vacation, Europe certainly holds plenty of options for a memorable experience.

Continuing even further away from Holliston, another place I wish to see is New Zealand. I’m not sure if anyone else watches this show, but The Bachelor just recently concluded its thirteenth season, and the last three episodes were in New Zealand. After seeing the landscape of this country pop up on the TV screen multiple times, New Zealand was added to the list of places to see in a heartbeat. The beaches and mountains looked so unbelievable and relaxing even on the TV. And while I am already there, I might as well take a side trip to Australia, and visit Sydney and the kangaroos. :)

One of the last places I want to go to would be the islands of Hawaii. I have been to Puerto Rico and the beaches and weather there were absolutely outstanding. Hawaii has its beaches and weather just like Puerto Rico, so it should be just as fun. Any tropical island is a great vacation spot, and Hawaii certainly fits that description. Maybe instead of going back to Puerto Rico for a family vacation, my parents could consider going to Hawaii for a change.

I know that I will not be able to visit all of these places while I am still a teenager and living with my parents. I’ll probably need to wait until I am done with college and have moved out of the house before even half of these places become an option to visit. Still, being able to travel to all of these remarkable places would be so much fun and wonderful learning experiences. Many of my friends have been to Europe and Hawaii and they have always needed to send me a postcard or tell me about it at school. Maybe in a few years though, I will be able to say “Oh yeah, I’ve been there”.



Word Count: 862

Burlington, VT

I know it’s the next state over and we all know that we get the best maple syrup from Vermont. In all honesty, I thought our vacation to Vermont during the summer was going to be boring, even at age 10. I was definitely mistaken. While in Vermont we visited the Ben & Jerry’s factory, the Teddy Bear Factory, and an alpine bobsled ride. We were able to have dinner in downtown Burlington and stay at an amazing lodge.

We took a ferry over Lake Champlain to get to Burlington. Our lodge was called the Black Bear Inn, complete with an outdoor pool and hot tubs off of the rooms. We spent the first day at the lodge checking it out, but the next day we went to the Ben & Jerry’s factory and the Teddy Bear factory. At Ben & Jerry’s we were able to taste test any three flavors we wanted to at the end of the tour. I was amazed that there’re actual jobs as flavor tasters in the factory. That’s probably one of the best jobs around J Later that day we took some time to visit the Vermont Teddy Bear factory. Being 10 with a little sister of age 6, we were pretty excited for this place. At the end of the tour, you were able to make your very own teddy bear. My sister actually made a dog, but I made a blue bear with a soccer ball attachment. It was way, way better than Build a Bear in the mall, let me tell you. After visiting two very unique factories we headed back to our hotel, but the next day was horrible for me.

On the second to last day of our visit we went to a ski resort that had an alpine bobsled open during the summer. You would ride these little carts down a track built into the mountain that was made of concrete. The chairlift would carry you to the top and than you would ride done the track. Built into the carts were these small levers in between your legs that were used for controlling the speed of the cart. Pull towards you and it acted as a brake, push away form you and you would gain speed. My sister was only 6 at the time and she had gone down with my dad every time before. During our last run though, she had to go by herself. Since she had never controlled the cart on her own, I was booking it down the track behind her attempting to catch up. Not a good idea. Taking a turn with too much speed, I flipped over in the cart and slid on my stomach for a good 3 yards. This spill resulted in my arms and legs being shaved of skin. Yes, it was pretty disgusting. The worst part of it was, I was too scared to get back on the cart to ride the rest of the way down that I walked in the brush alongside the track to get to the bottom, scratching my already scraped legs even more. I will never, ever go on one of those things again. My second to last day in Burlington will be a memorable one for a long time.

Vermont had its up’s and down’s, but I would definitely go again (just not ride on that alpine bobsled thing). Family vacations are supposed to create great new memories, and our trip to Burlington certainly did just that.

Word Count: 586