Which one are you – the chill, take things as they come, fly by the seat of your pants type or the well-prepared, organized, Boy or Girl Scout type? There are definitely pros and cons to each on vacation…
When you make lists and schedule your activities for each day of your vacation, you can rest assured (except for those “whatever can happen will happen” moments which always seem to occur on a trip) that several days of your vacation will artfully correspond with the New Smyrna Beach Jazz Fest you have been just dying to attend, and that your accommodations are top of the line and beachfront because you booked a condo at The Sandpiper months in advance. Your car rental goes off without a hitch, so when others stop by the car rental company in a willy-nilly fashion, you drive past them on your way out with the best and most cost-effective vehicle on the lot. You get to sample all the restaurants you have been dying to try, because of course you scheduled that, and your suitcase is packed with every essential you could possibly need – just in case.
If you prefer to take the laid-back approach, you may move at a more relaxed pace – reducing your blood pressure and eliminating that pesky eye twitch that you earned at work, via gentle ocean breezes, the smell of the salty sea air and waves softly lapping the sugary sand beaches of New Smyrna. Your suitcase is light enough that it doesn’t break your back and you can just buy anything else you might need or forget. You get to do whatever you want (except for those things that require advance scheduling, but those things may not be what you desire anyway), whenever you want – which is refreshingly, diametrically opposed to the confines of your typical daily environment.
The ideal situation on vacation may just be a combination of the two. That way, you can be assured that you will get to do the things that require advanced scheduling so that you are able – with those excellent planning skills – to ensure that you have enough time to do all the things you want to do on vacation; and you can also enjoy some well-deserved relaxation and a little spontaneity – maybe diving into a local haunt to try a fresh fish dish you won’t soon forget, stopping along a scenic trek to explore some ruins you happen to come across or just digging your toes in the warm beach sand whenever the mood strikes you!
