Holidays vs. Home

Why go on a holiday when I can stay around the home and really relax?

I think I have gone a vacation, slash holiday, maybe once or twice in my life.

I am not a camper.

If I ever get time off in my schedule I like to just hang around the home and fart around. I don’t have to make plans or spend copious amounts of money, except for pizza’s and the occasional visit to an Italian restaurant to eat a nice lasagna. I’m easy to take care of myself and enjoy my simple pleasures.

I’ve schedule time away from work during my birthday this July. Depending on the weather I will take our dog for walks, ride my bike, visit the museums and just plane fart around the homestead. Like I said, simple pleasures.

I may drive up to the local hills and walk into the forest and enjoy a day with nature. Of course I will take my camera in case I see anything worth photographing. If anything, I would like to drive out where there are no city lights to gaze up into the cosmos and take in the night sky’s. Hopefully I might see an alien spaceship! I haven’t seen one of those in a long time.

I might even think of sleeping in past six o’clock. I’m an early riser now and I like getting to bed earlier. Maybe I will change that up a little, but knowing me, once I’m up I like to get out of bed and start my day.

I’ve only gone a holiday once or twice in my life. Once I went to Las Vegas with some friends. That was a trip! I felt so out of place. I enjoyed the sights and eating, but wow!, the heat was intense! That and all the people flipping cards in my face to go see the local girly shows was a bit annoying. The pools were extremely crowded and I didn’t know what was floating in the water. Yikes!! I actually gambled and won a ton of quarters. I didn’t know I was supposed to stay at the slot until someone came around to assist me, and this lady swooped in and nearly took my winnings. I had all my pockets full of quarters, about $80 dollars worth. Only later was I told that I should have had a bucket with me in case I won. Out of ten stars, I’d give Vegas about a six.

The other time I went on a holiday was to Australia. We went to a small town on the coast called Mooloolaba, on the Sunshine Coast. We flew over from New Zealand where we lived at the time. I think it was in July which is their winter, but we thought it was warm enough to swim, even though there was no one else swimming. It was their winter. It was nice there and made us start thinking of living in Australia, which we do now.

I have gone camping only once. Once was enough for me. I could only camp again if Armageddon happens and I am forced to camp on the move to better living conditions. I didn’t like waking up in the corner of the tent seeing all the creepy bugs right above my head. How many of them were crawling on me while I didn’t sleep hardly a wink. There was a water pump nearby and all night long it made this noise that would be the background noise in a horror film. It was constantly clicking, building up to a loud ‘whoomp!’ and then the ticking would start all over again. All. Night. Long. No sir, I am not a happy camper.

Now a days, people go “Glamping.” Me. I stay at home so I can sleep in the safe confines of my bed. I call it “Glhoming.” End of story.

I’m the kind of person that can occupy my time with things that interest me. A typical day off for me starts with me waking around 5am. Sometimes earlier, but I stay in bed until I hear the first movements of my family, or the dog barking. I will check in on my social media during this quiet time. When I am finished, I will meander downstairs for a glass of milk to wake me up. I don’t drink coffee (yuch!) and I’ve stopped drinking a glass of Coke to wake me up. Yeah, I used to do that.

If no one is up yet, I will play with the dog until she is occupied with another soul that meanders down the stairs. There will be small chit-chat with that person and then I will meander to the front office and turn on my desktop. I will check the news that interest me and avoid the news that I called ‘stupid news.’ If I am feeling inspired, I will start another article/essay to map out a skeleton of ideas that I can embellish on throughout the day.

Breakfast will come when I feel hungry enough to eat. If I am not hungry, I don’t eat. I don’t snack much either. I usually visit my favorite diner ‘Linda’s’ once a week to have French toast, sausages and bacon. They know me there and just ask me for the usual, and I reply with a nod. I’m an easy customer for them. I’ve always wanted to have this kind of ritual, and let’s face it, it’s better than than grabbing trash from Macca’s. Other than visiting my diner once a week I will indulge in Corn Flakes, or strawberry jam on toast, or fry up some bacon. All with a glass of milk. Yum!

Then I will do some household chores that need tending to. I like to get them done early, especially the laundry. I like doing these chores! It’s a way to occupy my thoughts and think about topics I might write about. I mow our lawns and try to make the back yard look like a baseball infield with the lines that I create to look like diamonds on the odd occasion. The dog usually follows me around and barks at the mower until she becomes occupied with the neighbors dog on the other side of the fence.

I also might pressure wash the front and back entries to the house, but this is only seasonally. I admit that it is over due for a good washing. I like to clean the house for the family and make it so they can come home after work and school and just do their thing and their odd chores. I am adamant that the kids look after their own rooms. My daughter loves doing her room. She is ‘room proud.’ My son on the other hand…(pause), but when he does attempt to clean his room he does a fair job of it.

You see, this is why I like to stay home and not go on a holiday. Holidays are too much work for me. The planning, the money spent, the odds of finding a good restaurant, and more. Can you relate?? Or am I the only one? The girls are planning on a trip to Sydney this coming July. Yeeesh! I understand them wanting the family to get away and do something out of the ordinary, but I don’t know what the hell I will do. I guess I should start researching the city for things that might interest me. Of course I will take my camera.

I think we will fly down there. I like flying and haven’t flown in ages. I’m also scared of flying, because I have no control of my situation if something should go awry, like the plane loosing an engine!!! I love planes and think they are a wondrous feat of engineering, but boy, there is little room for recovering if anything fails…, like flying!!!

I’m a home-body. It takes a lot for me venture out on “a holiday.” I figure, what am I missing out there, when I know what is happening here? “Oh gee Art, maybe living a life!!” Ugh. Oh don’t get me wrong, I will go. I will go and search for the city’s best lasagna and pizza. Maybe there is a diner like Linda’s in Sydney that can serve me my french toast, sausages and bacon. I will research to see what kind of museums they have. But that’s pretty much just one day! What am I going to do for the other days!!! I guess wash, rinse, repeat.

In the end, I need to free my mind to just enjoy a holiday, and besides, I will be with my family. Of course the dog will have to be booked into a kennel, which means more cash being spent. Ugh! I am not a spendthrift. But I am a spendthrift. What can Sydney offer me that Brisbane doesn’t have? …besides it being Sydney??? Oh well, better start planning and saving. I don’t want to let my family down. I love them.

Don’t get me wrong, I will go…, reluctantly…., kind of… I know, I need to get out of my personal comforts and confines. But I will tell you what, there better be a good, deep lasagna within walking distance. It’s my comfort food.