Sunday, June 6, 2010

Vacation, Excuses and Inspiration

Confession: I went on vacation and did not hike. It’s my mother-in-law’s fault. She’s quite a temptress. She dangled free beach front lodgings in front of us. We salivated, nodded and said something nearly as articulate as, “yeah, uh huh, that sounds good.”

So last weekend I found myself on the Cape (that’s Cape Cod for you non-New Englanders). The weather was fantastic and I spent most of my time under a beach umbrella smelling the roses. Their sublime scent was strong enough to carry across the patio on the ocean breeze.

But my vacation was not all sun and roses. Nope. There is nothing like sitting around for three days to make you feel like a slug. I am not complaining; it’s just an observation. It felt like I gained two pounds a day. I told myself I could find a trail and hike but I was just talking to myself. I didn’t budge.

Not that we didn’t do anything. We did swim. OK that’s an exaggeration. Our aquatic experience would be more honestly described as splashing, suspending and bobbing about. Swimming implies exertion. I did no exerting.

Don’t worry about my body mass index. One does not gain two pounds a day subsisting on microwaved oatmeal and burritos. There is a plus side to budget vacationing. But after four fun filled days of reading, getting wet and waiting for the microwave to go ding, I was completely exhausted. Resting really wipes a girl out.

That’s what too much rest will do. You've got to earn physical laziness or it will lead to a downward spiral and you’ll end up a slug. It nearly happened to me. You could say The Cape Slug Incident was inspirational in it's way. Next year I’m going to hike to the Cape instead of drive. Or perhaps I’ll spend four days hiking the Appalachian Trail and three days recovering on the Cape. I like that plan.

[Facts: The above pictured rose is actually one I snurfed on the beach, it's not some random flower. On our way to the Cape we were lucky enough to get stuck behind the Cape Cod Express for the extra hour we spent in Memorial Weekend Traffic 2010. FYI foreigners, Cape Cod is in the great state of Massachusetts. Excuses: Sorry I’m late in posting. The power went out this morning. It was as it turns out highly convenient inclement weather.]

4 comments:

  1. It sounds like a great weekend. We all need to be slug-like once in a while.

    You were able to go into the frigid water this time of year? I can barely do it in August. I'm used to the Long Island Sound, and haven't properly acclimated.

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  2. Ahhh, I will play slug in July! My turn in July. It's the student in my talking. Ciao Bella

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  3. Love this post. I always feel that way after those kind of vacations and you put my feelings into the perfect words.

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  4. Theresa, It was a wee bit nippy in the ocean but there was a pool. I however take salt water over chlorine any day, hypothermia or not. Fairin, here is to a slug-filled summer! Tara, here's to slug-free vacations!
    Thank you for the wonderful comments.

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