I realized that in my business of being busy and on-the-go nonstop, I forgot to write about the one exciting thing I have done in recent months, and that was my first "real," "adult" vacation to Key West, Fla.
Now, for my faithful readers, at one point I was talking about going on a cruise with my best friend Candace. However, due to financial and time constraints, we opted for Key West, since we have a mutual friend who lives there, meaning a free place to stay. Free beats a cruise any day of the week.
So, after a very long flight, a three-hour car ride from Fort Lauderdale and an obscene amount of Mountain Dew later, Candace and I arrived in Key West for "P.I.C. Vacation '09." (Partners in Crime. Candace even made us matching shirts. It was cute.)
It was my first adult vacation - my first non-dance related, non-work related, just go-for-yourself vacation. The only problem was, I didn't know how to vacation.
In my 28-years of existence, I had never been on a leisure vacation, whether it be with family or friends. When I was young, our "family" vacations revolved around either my dad's softball tournaments (Mansfield is lovely in the summer) or dance nationals (which isn't much of a vacation if you're the one dancing).
So my vacations were always on a time schedule. Pool time was based around either when I danced or when Dad played. Same with eating, relaxing and sleep. For all my life, that's what I've known vacations to be. So this go-with-the-flow vacation took me awhile to get used to.
Actually, it took me only a day. I adapt pretty well.
When we first arrived, I realized I could do whatever I wanted to do without the pressure of a schedule or pleasing other people. So I did exactly what I wanted to do: I slept.
I didn't sleep the whole vacation, but it was nice to be able to sleep whenever I felt like it.
Without getting into the whole dirty details, and honestly some stories aren't fit for print, the vacation was a blast. We danced, we drank, we ate, we laid by the pool drinking fun drinks with umbrellas. I went sailing on a boat (and sang the song "I'm on a Boat" about 10 times), and we sometimes we did absolutely nothing while ordering $50 worth of Dominos delivery. It was the perfect mix of relaxation and fun.
Though I had gone my entire life without having a "me" vacation, I'm kind of glad I didn't have one until my adult years. It gave me more freedom to do what I wanted to do, but I also knew my limitations, so I wasn't a crazy college girl on her first spring break.
Hopefully, next year I'll get to have another one. Maybe the cruise? Maybe a faraway state? Heck, maybe back to Key West. Who knows.
Either way, this time I'll know how to vacation. Because, let's be real, it takes a special talent to be able to balance sleep time with party time with a side time of sunbathing.