The 2 Types of Holidayers
Washington, United States 2015
A while ago I saw a post online that said to make sure you know whether your significant other's family drinks mimosas or runs 5km on holiday mornings. I had a little chuckle because I have a theory that there are 2 types of people: Holidayers and Vacationers. Holidayers are those who respect that time off should be dedicated to switching off and recharging. They do very little with their time. Generally, they go away, to the beach, a game reserve or the mountains just to chill; this doesn't mean that they don't enjoy their getaway, they just know how to take it easy. Days aren't jam-packed and scheduled down to the minute, they are taken as they come.
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Now Vacationers, they're the type to have printed itineraries, who travel around at pace to try and get as much out of their time as possible. They either stay at home and do chores, visit friends and book their days out with hardly any left uncertain. Or, they travel somewhere new and plan to experience everything the enchanting place has to offer.
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Neither types are entirely good nor entirely bad and some may even find themselves in between. They may want to do as much as possible but not have their life pre-planned. They amble at a steady pace, in no particular rush, stopping at whatever attraction catches their eye. Nothing is booked in advance and their intentions to do a lot are good but don't usually come to pass.
Colorado, United States 2015
When I plan a holiday, I have every aspiration to be the Ambler, to not be on a time crunch but to go about finding hidden gems, talking to locals for recommendations and simply seeing where the tide takes me. Unfortunately, I was born into a Vacationer family spearheaded by a father who spends hours making sure each activity is prebooked and paid for and scheduled to give us just enough time to travel from the previous venture, considering traffic conditions and gas station stops. He is the perfect man to have children because we were never bored and our trips were a consistent blur of magic and excitement.
This doesn't go to say that the planning always goes perfectly, there have been many instances that have left us with stories that will make you laugh until your tummy hurts and that we will use against him until the day we die. The one that always comes to mind is the Skyview Motel incident of 2015. Dad had booked this hotel online in Pagosa Springs for a ski trip and proudly showed us all photos of this beautiful place we were going to be staying in. We almost drive past the shack that stands in the place of this so-called fancy accommodation. The guy at reception was smoking weed as we walked in and had a long beard that blew in the wind. Dad gives him a piece of his mind but the guy is too far gone to care. Since it was so late, we had to stay there for the night. My sister and I slept on beach towels on top of the bed because the sheets were so badly stained but I ended up caving half way through the night because it was so cold. Safe to say that we now mock dad mercilessly; even my New Orleans mix up doesn't trump this one.
My mom is the type to stay at home and have a list of chores lined up for each day printed and stuck on the fridge. To this day, we have our Holiday Routine hanging up at home to be judged by visitors who happen to see it. If we happen to sleep in until 8am, we are woken up, curtains loudly drawn open with a flourish and told to stop wasting the day.
To my boyfriend, M's, dismay, I inherited the same genes from my parents; more so my dad's though, thank goodness. M comes from the Holidayer-type family and uses a break as a break, not a circus run. As much as I try to research just enough about a place to see what happens, I get sucked into the rabbit hole of finding too many things and trying to make sure we get to do them all. So poor M gets woken up at 5am for a sunrise hike or cold plunge and instead of lying on the sand for hours we're on a boat going whale watching or getting terribly sea sick while deep sea fishing.
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No matter what type of person you are, the way you spend your day should be determined by how you feel and what you need. If you'd like to be the planning type, but have no idea how to even begin, get in touch and I'll do all the hard work for you! Just fill out the form below so we can get the process going. My Type A personality cannot wait to start haha!