Trying to Do It All

It doesn’t matter where we go on vacation, we want to see it all. We just don’t want to miss anything, because honestly, we don’t know when we will be returning. I watch people at the Disney parks do this all the time. They rush from one ride to the next, grumbling about long lines and a crowded park. They are only there for the day and they want to get in as much as they can so they can go home and brag to their friends about what they have done and seen. It’s why we stayed Sunday in Savannah after everyone else had gone home. We wanted a closer, slower look at City Market and River Street. We had been there already, but felt rushed to get it done and checked off so we could move on to the next sight that had to be seen. We walked for another five hours, slowly meandering the stores, enjoying some ice cream, snapping photos. We love snapping photos. I think it drives our kids and friends crazy at times when they go on trips with us. Yet, I look for things to remember in writing and the girls take the scenery and candid shots. It’s nothing for us to come back with over a thousand pictures on just one four hour excursion.

I have news for you, though. You won’t see it all. We’ve tried. Not at Disney. Not in Savannah. Not anywhere. You might as well stop trying. The minute you get it through your head that you are going to miss some of the sightseeing wonders, you can relax and enjoy what it is you will be able to accomplish. You’ll enjoy the vacation a whole lot more, as well.

That is probably the reason we tend to return home after a trip exhausted. We’ve spent four days away running our asses off, snapping photos and walking at exercise paces just to get it all in. It’s the only time I actually exercise, I believe. It’s really not worth it.

We’ve tried in all of our trips to build in some downtime, knowing we will miss some things. When we go to Disney, we plan three rides and then the rest is browsing, soaking in the sights and the crazy tourists. When we took the kids to Gatlinburg last year, we planned time in the cabin, shooting pool and chilling on the back deck. Our trips with our friends has time sitting out back reading or around the table talking. We go slowly when we eat out and enjoy the company as opposed to rushing through it, inhaling our food, so that we can hobble off to the next attraction or event.

Part of the reason for going on any vacation is not just to see what there is to see, but to enjoy the people around you that you are seeing it with. You can always make plans to go back and see the things you’ve missed, but you will never recapture those moments when family and friends gather around, laughing and sharing stories. Those moments are never the same even if the destination is and it is those moments that you will remember more than the tacky tourist traps along the main drag. Relish them. Savor them. And you will breathe their lingering aroma for years to come.

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