I recently went on a four-day cruise with my girls. Sun, great beaches, a nice chance to get away from it all. Leave all the technology behind and relax, yes?

I did. Others, not so much. I was astounded at how many people couldn’t take a short break from their phone and their laptop, even in the sunny, warm Caribbean.

Example: we spent a day in the Bahamas at Atlantis. This resort has an amazing water park, beautiful beaches and pools, a huge aquarium, even a casino for those child-free adults. Plenty of things for people to do. Get this: the chairs in the lobby were occupied by adults/teenagers on their iPhones or iMacs. Seriously. I wanted to tell them to get off their duffs, apply some sunscreen and get outside.

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With the economy melting down around us, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that I strongly suspect more than a few families have scaled back spring and summer vacation plans? Never fear, my friends, I am here to help. There really is a mid-point on life’s vacation highway between a Disney cruise and taking the kids along on a daytrip to the Unemployment Office. Look at it this way, any old parent can take a kid to Disney World. It takes a special kind of insanity to take a child on a vacation to a coal mine.

My best friend (and coincidentally cousin) and I have been taking vacations together with our respective children since the children were in diapers. That right there is all the proof you’ll ever need that something just isn’t right with the two of us. It’s probably genetic.

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I have a sty in my eye.  It appeared while I was on vacation and then it moved around.  Sometimes it was in my right eye, sometimes in my left, sometimes on the top lid, sometimes on the bottom.  This vacation was a really active one, where we woke up and blasted out of the hotel, eager to get to some Canadian adventure or other.  So, I did what was necessary—I put my contacts in and coated that gross little bastard with a thick streak of eyeliner every morning and didn’t give it a thought until bedtime.  Being a family of five, we brought everything with us on our vacation but the kitchen sink, oh, and anything to remove eye makeup.  So, I used baby wipes.  Yes, I realize that they have drug stores in Vancouver, too, and I could have easily popped in to any one of them and bought myself some proper eye makeup removal products.  But, we were always in kind of a hurry to see the sights and I didn’t even think about it until each night, when I stood there, baby wipe in hand, gazing at the red pustule on my eyelid.

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On vacation in Victoria.

Teen: This hotel has free internet! Awesome!

Mother: This hotel has a laundry room! Awesome!

Waking, baking,

breakfast in the making.

Dressing, no stressing,

schedule is not pressing.

Preening, sun-screening

saftey has new meaning.

Bikes, Hikes

outings and the likes.

“Water, daughter!” 

sun is getting hotter.

Lunching, munching

sounds of kiddies crunching.

Rest, nap fest

mommy knows what’s best.

Energize, bright eyes

Return to grass and sunny skies.

Explore, outdoor

Who could ask for more?

Befriending, play pretending

popsicles unending.

Mess up, dress up

“They look so cute!” I fess up.

Sunning, funning

Until the day is done-ing.