How Not to Go on Vacation

Like I mentioned last week, I’m taking a little more time away from the blog until life calms down. Today, Amy from Buffalo Roam is here filling my void, and if you’ve never “met” Amy, you’ll want to head over to her blog right now so that you can: she’s funny, she’s sweet, she’s about to move into an amazingly unique house that she and her husband designed. And because it’s vacation time for a lot of people, she’s sharing some of her best tips for how not to go on vacation. In her words: “I'm the girl who can't enjoy time off, because I'm so worried about making sure I enjoy my time off.” Are you that girl, too?

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Hey. I'm Amy. I'm usually here, but am so happy to be at Erin's today. Seriously, I stalk her blog like my local Chipotle. Most of my comments to her are usually just laughing noises in capital letters because the girl just tickles me, but I honestly really enjoy the heart of her blog and am so pleased she would invite me over.

I’m sure vacation is on everyone's mind with summer just around the corner, so I thought I'd throw my two cents in. My advice can best be summed up in four little words.

"Don't be like me."

I'm the girl who can't enjoy time off, because I'm so worried about making sure I enjoy my time off.

So all you traveling people, whatever you do:

1 – Don’t too caught up in packing. We girls like to look our very best at all times, am I right? But especially when you're in some exotic destination and you know there will be approximately 500 pictures taken. There is much added pressure to look perfect. So what I generally do is pack cutesie stuff that I never wear in real life so that I feel awkward and uncomfortable the entire time I'm gone. Plus, I pack way too much so that I'll have several outfits to choose from on any given day and never leave enough room to bring anything back with me.

2 – Don’t plan anything too carefully. I like schedules. I like knowing what my next several steps are in sequential order, and I hate to be late. This mentality doesn't work well on vaycay when your only task is to go with the flow. It has been my experience that if you try to plan anything too precisely, Murphy's Law will kick in and you'll never make it.

The expectation...

The reality...

3 – Don’t follow the rules! I'm a rule follower, for the most part, and I have a hard time steering off the straightest path, and I've probably missed out on making some really great memories, because it doesn't occur to me to do anything that isn't on my printed brochure.

4 – Don’t take yourself too seriously. Vacation is a time to truly enjoy yourself, relax, be in love, eat fattening foods, skip the sunscreen, go barefoot, and most importantly, make some wonderful memories...

So, everyone, if you do find yourself on vacation soon, just remember the phrase "Don't be like Amy" and you are guaranteed to have a wonderful time!

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There you have it: you are now granted permission to dress like a bum, rebel against schedules, and come back with 10 pounds that you didn’t leave with. Sounds good to me! :)

Which piece of Amy’s advice resonates with you? Who will burn and absolutely not tan if they skip the sunscreen? Am I the only one who sometimes eats breakfast for lunch even when I’m not on vacation? ;)