Posts Tagged ‘traveling abroad’

My Typical Vacation

| by Jason on August 20th, 2024 | 12 Comments » | Reflections

Vacation with My Family

Vacation with My Family

We have been enjoying ourselves while vacationing in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with my family for the past 4 days.  It’s early Thursday morning and we are now boarding a flight to Miami, Florida to visit with Aracely’s family.  I still feel full and slightly ill from overeating and we are both confident we gained few pounds. Our decision to leave for Guatemala on August 27th, 2024 was based primarily around vacations we already had planned with family.  We had originally struggled deciding on a departure date.  The three scenarios we created were as follows:

• Leave immediately (May), before we consider changing our minds

• Leave late August, after the booked vacations with family

•Leave towards the end of the year (2009) in an effort to accumulate more savings

After a month of debating we agreed on the second choice.  It made the most sense to us and for our families.  Our vacation was originally scheduled for a half week in Myrtle Beach with my family and a half week in Miami with Aracely’s family.  Instead of flying back to the New York area from Miami, we now have booked a flight on American Airlines to Guatemala City.

Uncle Jason, Aracely and the Boys

Uncle Jason Aracely and the Boys in Myrtle Beach, SC

I am trying to imagine the radical contrasts that will exist between these last 4 days and our backpacking journey.  We ate like kings, we slept like kings and we were chauffeured around like kings.  It might not seem that way today, but after a month in Guatemala, it will probably be an accurate description.  Who wouldn’t enjoy a vacation like that?  These are the vacations I am accustomed to.  We rented cars, went out for dinner and lay on the beach most of the day.

My expectations for the year long trip are based on reading and following other backpackers on-line.  That is the extent of my backpacking knowledge.  Yes, I have backpacked the Grand Canyon, but it was a tourist location where the culture was familiar to me.  Backpacking in foreign lands from city to city with no reservations doesn’t even compare.

I have enjoyed this vacation with my family very much, but its time to try something different.  It’s time to challenge myself culturally, experiencing how others around the world live.  Thanks Mom and Dad for the wonderful vacation. I am plenty fed and plenty relaxed for the long journey ahead.

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What Will I Miss

| by Aracely on June 22nd, 2024 | 7 Comments » | Reflections

As we prepare for our journey, I can’t help but imagine us already there; backpacking our way from country to country and loving it all.  Time is flying by and The Day will be here sooner than we realize, even if the official launch date is still TBD. I am usually a reflective gal, but events like these (I never had an event like this) put me on maximum reflective mode.  One of the more interesting questions I think about is what will I miss the most (aside from family and friends) and what I will be glad to be without.  I thought it would be interesting to put them on paper/on-line and document it for reference when we return.

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Are We Really Doing This

| by Aracely on June 22nd, 2024 | 2 Comments » | Reflections

hanglidinglandingHow many times have you had conversations about doing something crazy, adventurous, new, exciting, or different?  How often do you actually follow through, satisfy that urge or as they say, ‘scratch the itch’?  How often do you instead, forget that conversation and just carry on with daily life? What if one day, after one of those conversations, you decide to actually do what you said you would someday love to do?  Now, you have to face your family, friends, and co-workers with your decision.  Now, you actually have to plan your great idea. Imagine that.

Our particular idea is probably a bit extreme; okay, it’s probably very extreme (relatively.)  I mean, how many people (in their late 20’s to early 30’s) do you know have the great idea to quit their jobs, sell everything they own and go backpacking?  How many actually do it?  Regardless of how extreme the urge, following through or scratching the itch, is quite intimidating, scary at best.  Now I know why most people don’t execute on those conversations. (more…)

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