Vacations

This week’s topic is vacations, and … whooooooooooooooo I am all over the place with this one. On one hand I’ve been travelling since I was about six weeks old. On the other hand, they didn’t start to feel like vacations until my 20s.

Let’s get to it!

Did you ever have a really amazing family vacation? Or perhaps there was one that felt more like a blundering comedy. Write about it.

Well… we didn’t really take what people would call “vacations” when I was a kid. We traveled to science fiction conventions, but to my family that was work, not time off. As a kid, yes, I got to do what I want (and I still do, other than times I’ve helped out in the SFWA suite) so it was a little more vacation-y for me than it was for my parents, but it’s not like I got to go to the zoo or museums while we were in whatever city. I really just saw the hotel and the convention.

Think about a vacation you’ve planned. Why did you choose that particular place? Did it meet your expectations?

In 2024, I took three vacations that I spent about a year planning – three weeks in Ireland, three weeks in England, and five weeks in Scotland. I chose Scotland because there was a science fiction convention there – Aunt Gay and Uncle Joe were going, and to say “thank you” to Jeff for everything he’d been doing, I took him on a three-week trip after the convention. I’d say that Scotland met my expectations as far as beauty and history goes, but as I did have Covid from about the minute before I got there, and was can’t-move sick for about ten days and still-dragging-hard sick for the rest of the trip… I can’t say that I had a really great time.

Tell us about the most interesting person you’ve ever met while on vacation.

Well, keep in mind that I just said that most of the vacations I’ve taken in life have been to science fiction conventions. So whatever you can imagine….? It’s probably that. Some of them are more people I saw than people I interacted with, like the guy who used to walk around with a backpack/drink dispenser on his back that had a bright green liquid in it that he’d give out to people in hallways and elevators if they held out an empty cup. Don’t know a single thing about him, not even his name, but he seemed interesting.

Here’s the thing.

I’ve met famous people. I’ve met every day people. I’ve met artists and writers and buskers and little old ladies and cab drivers and people I’ve randomly sat next to on airplanes and… everyone is interesting. Everyone has a story and most people just want to feel heard. So to me, the cabbie who doesn’t know any good museums but has a favorite pub and the writer that everyone fans over and wants the autograph of … they’re the same, to me. They’re both interesting. They’re both human and they’ve both had loves and losses and big wins and good days and days when they were helped and days they did the helping. They both have stories worth hearing. Everyone is interesting.

What’s your worst vacation memory?

Getting Covid while in Scotland.

What is your most treasured vacation memory?

If I shared it, it wouldn’t be a treasure! But really, there are too many, because of how I generally live my life. I try to find something beautiful in every day. A scene, a moment, a sunrise, an experience… and all of those things, I treasure. How do you hold up one treasure and say it’s better than all the rest? Is seeing the power of Niagara Falls up close better than walking up the Tube steps and seeing Trafalgar Square for the first time? Is seeing the tiny town in North Carolina that Tim loved and called home growing up better than seeing all of New York City from the top of the World Trade Center? I know how to tell someone about amazing things I’ve seen but I don’t know how to tell them “this one singular thing is the best.”

What does it feel like to come home after an extended vacation?

I tell ya, five weeks to Scotland and back was a little much. Three weeks is a good time. Well, TWO weeks is a good time, three weeks is extravagant. Five weeks is too much. So coming back home after anything two weeks or longer? It is about that time when I want to sleep in my own bed with my own pillows and my own dogs snuggling me. The feeling is one of glad to have gone, wish I had the money and temperament to stay longer, but glad to be home amongst the familiar.