Vacations are what you make them, they can be relaxing and a lot of fun or you can choose to allow them to fill you with anxiety and frustration. I just csme back from a 4 week vacation out west and had an incredible time riding through six states and visiting 5 national parks.

No. I am constantly thinking about what needs doing around the house.
I relax at home. I have 130 acres. I have cattle.
At home I can do the things I want to, a lot of the time. After chores are done, I can paddle around in one of the ponds with my canoe, I can ride my dirt bike, I can shoot my guns on my little range.
If I happen to get knee walking drunk, my biggest concern is passing out on a fire ant mound.
I like to be at home, its where all my stuff is.

I’d like to try one of those relaxing vacations some time. I enjoy my vacation time but it’s usually a busy thing no time to just relax.

Last spring was pretty close, sightseeing and a bunch of fishing with a grand kid.

No.

I just got back from a trip to Germany, Austria, CZ Rep. and Slovenia. While being there was low stress and very pleasant to catch up with dear friends, the nine hour time difference meant my phone began to blow up around dinner time. My customers don't know or care that I'm on vacation.

When I went to China to see Mrs. Lee's family in November, my phone would blow up around midnight and I had to make a lot of calls around then. Even had some guns show up at my office for transfers with no one calling to give me a heads up.

Most relaxing time I recall on vacation was staying with a friend in Germany for a few days, it rained cats and dogs the whole time and we both lay on couches in her living room, reading books, taking occasional smoke breaks and then cooking or going out for great meals. I don't smoke anymore, but that was a seriously relaxing trip.

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Originally posted by Fredward:. There's also a HUGE eclectic museum called The House on the Rock, built by an insane genius, that's fun.

Fun? I beg to differ. That place is a bad acid trip induced nightmare that puked inside of a house. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

I like experiencing new places but hate the travlling. wich I guess is required until they invent a teleporter!

went to Moab and Colorado Springs last month and enjoyd it but not the driving 8-12 hours a day between locales

Oh God, yes. The were the best (Past Tense). Especially, a week at the shore house.

Now, kids are grown, wife left, I could scrape the $ together, but the thought of one just makes me sad.

(I do enjoy a nice day/road trip now and then. Last week, went and saw the Greyhounds race.)

Theres stressful parts for sure. I cant think of the last time we got out of the house without some small form of bickering between atleast two of the four of us. We are on a long and vast vacation at the moment and honestly, I'm looking forward to the coming leg where we get on a cruise ship and dad doesnt have to navigate cars trains and planes, discover the hotel isnt like the pictures, figure out where the grocery store is, find a good restaurant that isnt screwing you, outswindling the Kenyans hiding at the exit of the roman ruins, etc. Just get on the ship and have it take you. That, I think, will be relaxing.

That said its not all like that. Theres a satisfaction about scrambling through a station to just make your train as long as you actually make it (yesterday). You have to walk a bunch to see something truely cool and the best part? My kids learn to think on their feet and interact with people from other places and learn about them. Is vacation relaxing? It can be. Hitting the hotel or going into the supermarket you discovered or just relaxing and having coffee but with a fresh viewpoint is one of the best things. So I guess I'll channel Rumsfeld and say I disagree with the premise. Vacations are adventures. The relaxation might truly come when you get home. Its fleeting at best when you are actually doing a thing.

To answer the question, yes, typically they do relax me, very much so. One exception was a motorcycle road trip where the bike broke down. In the process of fixing it I got battery acid on my clothes. Then it slid about 12 feet down a dirt embankment when I failed to check the ground under the side stand. I was able to get it out myself, which was a good thing as it was in an isolated area and there were no cell phones or service in 1986.

I spent a large part of my professional career flying all around the US. (50-75% travel). The last thing I want to do on vacation is wait around in an airport - or worse - on the tarmac while being delayed. Air travel post-covid has made it a non-starter for me when it comes to vacations. If I can drive it - that's great.

Yes, but only because I plan them. I pick the house on the same beach we have been going to for 40 years. No learning curve and predictable house quality. Only ocean-front with a private pool so I can regulate how peoply things get.

No air travel. 10 hour drive. We spilt that up on the way in. Hammer it home. Saturday traffic is rough so we only leave about 3 hours on day two and beat the afternoon rush.

It is just us and our two adult kids and their small families. Not looking to see if I can get along with 20 people for a week in one house.

I personally hate vacations. Wife loves them. I find them stressful, expensive, and not relaxing at all. Going to visit my brother on Martha's Vineyard is great though. We eat, sleep, and run some of his regular errands, and i get to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. My favorite times are when my wife goes on vacation by herself (with friends or to visit family). I am home alone with the dogs and get the best rest, eat what I want, and don't have t talk to anybody i don't want to.

I think it depends on your job. I really enjoyed my last one. Sanya is a really nice place.

We took the in laws. The got lots of baby play time. My wife and I got couple time.

But, it has been decades of work to get my company this self running. I think it’s important to arrange work so that you will be absent for a certain period.

For me, oddly, a big part is wearing a time only watch. I lose all track of day date etc.

We have gotten pretty good about not bothering people on vacation unless absolutely necessary.

And we have a good team to cover positions which need covering. The only real issue is when my brother or I cover for some people, they’re a bit terrified of making their boss look bad.

I don't even remember my last vacation. Life keeps getting in the way. Could be worse I guess ....

I just returned from vacation about an hour ago. It relaxed me greatly as work had been stressful so it was good to hop on a plane and get away.

Went to the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal. First time in Montreal, and really enjoyed Old Montreal, Old Port, and the comedy festival. I saw Jerry Seinfeld's show and it was excellent. He even had a bit on how family vacations aren't relaxing for Dad's but it does give him something that he enjoys - complaining (in this case about the vacation).

Houston's weather in July is quite miserable so it was nice to enjoy Montreal's version of "summer." Also, nice to laugh my butt off every evening.

We spend a lot of our vacations camping in National Parks. Pick a spot to pull over to watch wildlife and stupid people.
I have a small propane stove set up on the back of the pickup. Can of chili or soup and my stiff cowboy coffee.
We will sit for hours reading a book and just watching life.

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Originally posted by gaf:
We spend a lot of our vacations camping in National Parks. Pick a spot to pull over to watch wildlife and stupid people.
I have a small propane stove set up on the back of the pickup. Can of chili or soup and my stiff cowboy coffee.
We will sit for hours reading a book and just watching life.

That actually sounds quite enjoyable .

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For me, oddly, a big part is wearing a time only watch. I lose all track of day date etc.

A Classic mantra.....

Yes. Now that I understand what works for me.

I like some wiggle room vs a rigid schedule. We go to St Marteen regularly and I can feel my brain shift onto island time as I walk off the plane. We don’t usually know what we’ll be doing beyond the next few hours. My recent PCH trip had a rough outine and a few must see stops, but we only had 2 reservations for hotels and 1 reservation for a tour (Hearst castle). Everything else depended on how we felt. Stop here? Keep driving? Camp an extra night here? I flew one way both legs just so we didn’t have a hard end date.

Even our upcoming cruise, which is a pretty rigid schedule, still has enough flexibility outside of ship's movement to allow us to change our minds, although we have already made some dining reservations and signed up for the tours we are interested in.

The OP could have asked the question "if you are not relaxed after a vacation, what can you do differently?"

I am 42. I have never been on a vacation. Not when I was young with my parents as money was tight. Not since then, as the work til you die and take no time off unnecessarily mentality set in early and hasn't faded yet. I hope to retire early and maybe then get to travel.

That said, I dont feel like being in an unfamiliar area, with crowds of people I dont know, especially if trying to keep a schedule, would or could be relaxing. I just have no real world experience to back that opinion up.