The Vacationer's Rulebook. vol. 1
Under normal circumstances, I'd say I probably vacation as often as the average person... once every 18 months or so. (By vacation I mean dip out for more than 3 days for the expressed purpose of doing absolutely nothing.) But recently, family, friends, and fate have conspired to get me away more often than usual. In the process, I've developed a few vacationing principles, Best Practices if you will, that I'd like to share.
1. When deciding whether or not to take a vacation, there are two questions (only two) that one must ask. First, "Can I go?" If the answer is No, as it sometimes will be, you're done. If the answer is Yes, ask yourself "Is there a good reason not to go?" The key here is goodness. Unless you are a genuine baller, there is always a reason not to go. You could put the money toward retirement or pay down a credit card or some other responsible nonsense. But unless you're putting away so much money in lieu of vacationing that you'll actually be able to retire early, or you're paying a credit card off, you don't have a very "good" reason not to go. So bounce.
2. In packing, I've found that the appropriate number of outfits to take for N days is approximately 1.5 x N. Now this varies depending on the environment. For instance, if you're chillin pool/ocean-side, you could probably get a away with N outfits, plus one or two extras (N + 2)... since there will be some days when all you rock is a bathing suit or trunks. On the other hand, if you're kickin it every night, you wanna take at least 2 outfits per day, with a few spares (2N + 3).
Also, the number of pants/bottoms (P) should not exceed .8 x N for trips longer than 4 days. This means for a 5-day trip, you gotta rock the jeans twice. Tops (T) are a little more sensitive. You should prolly take a new shirt for every day up to about 10 days. After that, it's time to recycle. Maybe .5T for each day over 10. Or 10+.5(N-10) for trips longer than 10 days.
3. Location. Sometimes this one takes care of itself. A homie calls and says "let's go to so-and-so." When it's up to you though, you wanna consider a few things. First, cost. Everywhere is cheaper in the off season. Maybe you'll get caught in a hurricane, maybe you won't. Yours truly has had fantastic luck with off season travel. Others might prefer a sure thing.
Second, weather. The summertime temperatures are great. But you wanna minimize the temptation to sit up under somebody's air conditioning all day. If you can keep your daytime highs under about 90, you can do just about anything during the daytime. Also, don't sleep on fall for your travels. 50 degrees and sunshine in a new and interesting place makes for a lovely day.
Finally, language. I wish this one wasn't an issue. Unfortunately... trying to explain to a taxi driver where you need to go when he so clearly hates your English-speaking guts is not a good look. I'm not saying stick to Anglo places. But maybe lean toward Anglo-speaking parts of non-Anglo places.
4. Picking your team. I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't vacation for any amount of time with someone you wouldn't welcome to come stay at your spot for the same about of time. This goes for your traveling companions as well. If X and Y are both cool with the group but not necessarily in love with each other, leave one of them fools at home. Nothing ruins a vacation like having the group split down the middle halfway through. Of course, this is a difficult rule to follow. Who wants to tell one of the homies they're not invited? Still, if you can finesse it... I'm just saying.
1. When deciding whether or not to take a vacation, there are two questions (only two) that one must ask. First, "Can I go?" If the answer is No, as it sometimes will be, you're done. If the answer is Yes, ask yourself "Is there a good reason not to go?" The key here is goodness. Unless you are a genuine baller, there is always a reason not to go. You could put the money toward retirement or pay down a credit card or some other responsible nonsense. But unless you're putting away so much money in lieu of vacationing that you'll actually be able to retire early, or you're paying a credit card off, you don't have a very "good" reason not to go. So bounce.
2. In packing, I've found that the appropriate number of outfits to take for N days is approximately 1.5 x N. Now this varies depending on the environment. For instance, if you're chillin pool/ocean-side, you could probably get a away with N outfits, plus one or two extras (N + 2)... since there will be some days when all you rock is a bathing suit or trunks. On the other hand, if you're kickin it every night, you wanna take at least 2 outfits per day, with a few spares (2N + 3).
Also, the number of pants/bottoms (P) should not exceed .8 x N for trips longer than 4 days. This means for a 5-day trip, you gotta rock the jeans twice. Tops (T) are a little more sensitive. You should prolly take a new shirt for every day up to about 10 days. After that, it's time to recycle. Maybe .5T for each day over 10. Or 10+.5(N-10) for trips longer than 10 days.
3. Location. Sometimes this one takes care of itself. A homie calls and says "let's go to so-and-so." When it's up to you though, you wanna consider a few things. First, cost. Everywhere is cheaper in the off season. Maybe you'll get caught in a hurricane, maybe you won't. Yours truly has had fantastic luck with off season travel. Others might prefer a sure thing.
Second, weather. The summertime temperatures are great. But you wanna minimize the temptation to sit up under somebody's air conditioning all day. If you can keep your daytime highs under about 90, you can do just about anything during the daytime. Also, don't sleep on fall for your travels. 50 degrees and sunshine in a new and interesting place makes for a lovely day.
Finally, language. I wish this one wasn't an issue. Unfortunately... trying to explain to a taxi driver where you need to go when he so clearly hates your English-speaking guts is not a good look. I'm not saying stick to Anglo places. But maybe lean toward Anglo-speaking parts of non-Anglo places.
4. Picking your team. I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't vacation for any amount of time with someone you wouldn't welcome to come stay at your spot for the same about of time. This goes for your traveling companions as well. If X and Y are both cool with the group but not necessarily in love with each other, leave one of them fools at home. Nothing ruins a vacation like having the group split down the middle halfway through. Of course, this is a difficult rule to follow. Who wants to tell one of the homies they're not invited? Still, if you can finesse it... I'm just saying.
posted by Puff at 4:47 PM
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