Monday, August 8, 2011

Musing Monday...Sitting By The Dock of The Bay..



This week’s musing asks…from Miz B at Should Be Reading

If you were (are) going on vacation, what books would you take with you?

I have said this before, to the disbelief of many readers, that I don't really read when I am on vacation.

Yes, I usually take a book or two with me, but it is not unusual to return having never opened them. What would I take? Most likely what I happened to be reading at the moment, so long as it was not too dull or too big. A tidy trade paperback or two would be nice.
Then I will place them in my suitcase, quite likely never to be touched again.


Why is this?
Why is it that I don't go to work without a book or two in my bag and yet can be gone for a week or two with nothing to read?
Well, part of it may be the sort of vacation that I usually take.
I don't want to sit on the beach, catching the rays, for hours on end. I have very fair skin and burn very easily. I am not sitting in an Adirondack chair on a porch or by the side of a lake. No, as lazy as I am...and I am quite a lazy person...when I am on vacation I want to be going places, seeing things, doing stuff!

A road trip is an idea vacation in my mind. Up early in the morning, going places, seeing the sights all day, until late into the evening, when at best I may read at a few brochures that I picked up before I fall into a sound sleep.

Have I ever mentioned that I love to see visit Giant Things?
One of my favorites is the world's largest basket, at the Longaberger headquarters in Newark, Ohio. Actually they have two there. A real giant basket and a giant basket shaped building. I drove hours out of my way to get there and it was totally worth it!
But there are so many still out there. The World's Largest Paint Can, in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, and the World's Largest Rocking Chair, Belton, South Carolina...and somewhere a Giant Ball of Twine.
And let us not forget my local favorite, a Giant Elephant.
So many Giant things, so little time.

Now, if you are observant, you may say, 'But hey! You went on a cruise recently. Certainly you brought several books on a two week cruise?"
Well, yes and no. I meant too. I took along my Nook, but due to some technical difficulties (read 'I am an idiot.') my Nook was unreadable. But there was a library, quite a nice library, on the quite nice ship. So I checked out some books and placed them on my bedside table.
But there was not a great deal of free time. Almost every day we were at a new port, many with very early disembarkation times. And even when on the ship, there were lectures and cooking demonstrations and meal venues to plan and the pools and..BINGO!
So yes, I took out a couple of books out and over the period of two weeks I read.. One Book.

The worse part it that is probably the most I have ever read on a vacation!


16 comments:

  1. I totally agree with you, as you know I too, pack light when I vacation, it seems we are so busy doing other things, I never have a free moment to do much reading. But that all changes when I get home to my easy chair. Out comes the books.....

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  2. Yep...I read so much more at home...and at work, in the middle of the night.

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  3. When hubby and I go away it is usually to our fave destination and do nothing but be on the beach all day, relaxing and "catch the rays". However, even though I have intentions of reading many books, my average is 2, because we end up talking to each other(hubby is a non reader)and people we meet on the beach.

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  4. Geez, I thought you were kidding about the giant things when you commented on my Elvis comes to Podunk post. I guess you were serious, lol. I'll have to keep my eye out for some giant things you can go visit.

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  5. Giant things? I love destination vacations! How fun.

    Here's my MM: http://diannehartsocksalex.wordpress.com/alexs-blogs/

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  6. Well, we all have different kinds of vacation-types that we enjoy. Yours is obviously more of an active/sight seeing type, which results in little extra time. Other people just like to laze by the pool etc day in and day out, hence all that free time for reading :)


    Here's my Musing Mondays (August 8) post!

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  7. Hello! Thanks for visiting my blog!

    Hey to each his/her own. I am very glad that you do what you want to do while on vacation. It is your own time after all.

    I on the other hand, am a very lazy person even while on vacation. I mostly sleep, eat and laze around. Reading is often a part of that lazing around. ;-)

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  8. See, my idea of a perfect vacation is parking my butt on a beach (under an umbrella mind you...I have German skin) and reading all day. But that never happens. I love my airplane time, and I read a huge amount while in Poland. But I guess if I were in Rome, or Turkey, or all the places you went, I wouldn't be reading either.

    You visit large things, eh? You learn something every day! I'm sure our lovely state of Florida has a few things like that.

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  9. there is Orange World, in Kissimmee, but I am not sure it can compete with Lucy the Elephant. Look at her painted toe mails!

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  10. I like busy vacations too, but my hubby enjoys the beach. I read a lot on our beach trips but not on the others. We're not too far from Belton and I've never heard of that rocking chair. I need to do research.

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  11. We finally took the Little One to Lucy last summer. He was quite impressed with the fancy inside!

    I worked with a girl who had a Longaberger basket fixation and wanted very badly to see that building.

    I usually plan to read a lot on vacation but usually end up falling asleep earlier than planned due to exhaustion.

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  12. Wow, I can't believe that you don't read on vacation. (: *Shock!* Haha, great post!
    -Katie @ Magic Is In Words

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  13. I am the total opposite. When i go on vacation ANYWHERE, I want it to be a beach and books vacation --no site seeing, just beach, books, restaurants and sometimes a casino...(I usually read a book a day on those kinds of vacations.

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  14. Even before I got my Nook, I never went on vacation without packing a stack of books. I always made such a big deal of what I was going to bring along. LOL

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  15. That is totally my idea of a vacation. If I don't see a giant roadside piece of kitsch ... er ... americana - then it's just not a vacation.

    I heart the longaberger building.

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  16. I'm from Newark and every time we drive home we drive by the basket! A few weeks ago we stayed in the Dresden Inn (or Inn of Dresden) which was Dave Longaberger's old house and it was great. You should keep it in mind if you happen by again :)

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