Choosing a destination is only the first step. After that
comes the more difficult step of assembling a vacation crew. Over the past few
years, we've done a pretty good job of badgering almost every single person we
know to come on vacation with us. At times, I feel we're one PowerPoint
presentation away from being like those creepy people you're vaguely aware of
that are always trying to get you to join their pyramid scheme. Heck, sometimes
I think we'd have more luck if we just went the extra mile. Nothing says
"Awesome Vacation" like a great slideshow.
When searching for a good crew, there are certain types of
people that you want to avoid. The first of these is my least favorite, the
kind of people that try to overload a trip with as many vacationy things as
possible. While I love to experience new things while I'm in a new location,
there has to be a limit. My ideal is researching most of my options prior to
arriving and coming up with a vague sense of some of the things you'd like to
do with no real definite time frame. I've gone on vacation with people that
have actually made reservations for things before the trip ever started.
My problem with this is that when you stick to such a tight
schedule or try to get too much accomplished, it hardly feels like a vacation.
One of the points of getting away, is to actually get away from the kinds of
constraints you feel at home. When you find yourself running around trying to
adhere to any sort of vacation, it starts to feel less like an escape and more
like work.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are the people that use
their vacation to behave the exact same way they would at home. Sure, TV is
great. But I can't fathom the idea of spending a week in front of the TV when
there is a very vast ocean just minutes away.
Fortunately for us, this year proved to be easy. Matt,
Katie, and I were in as we tend to be awesome. Our friend Nathan, a veteran of
both Virginia Beach Part 1 as well as OBX Part 1, happened to have a week free
before he moved from Memphis to Virginia to start an
externship. He invited his friend Tim along and that made five.
After that, nobody else wanted to go with us. The older we
get, the harder it seems to be to get people to come with us. Friends are
married now, some of them even have kids. Some of them really don't seem to
like to have fun.
Once the group is set, you get to start the more exciting
task of finding a place to stay. And that is what we shall discuss in the next
entry. Back to you, Matt!
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