When I googled The Pursuit of Happiness, all that came up was this movie and the Canadian band. That is why I chose to name the blog the Pursuit of Ah Ha. I didn't want to infringe on any copyright laws for using the same title as the movie. However, all I remember from the movie was that Will Smith had to carry around a briefcase every day and a product that looked and weighed about the same as a sewing machine. In the end, I think the product he was selling got stolen, if I recall correctly. Long story, short: it was not a happy ending. Ah Ha, on the other hand, is about finding your epipheny. Whatever floats your boat. Your raison d'etre. Finding what you enjoy and taking action to just do it!
Speaking of long story, short - if I got paid $0.03/word, I would be $10 richer today because I am so wordy! I have been made aware of my run on sentences and I will try to improve on my writing style. Today, I would like to talk about vacations. No, not vaccinations, although it does look like the same word when you are drunk with sleep deprivation. Back to vacations...I think that most people can agree that the simplest way to gain happiness is to go on vacation. But, here come the questions, aka, the stress before the trip:
Where will you go? How will you get there? What time of year do you want to go? How much will it cost? How much will you spend? Do you need to rent a car when you arrive? Do you have a place to stay or do you have to book accomodations? What are the tourist attractions? What will you do for food? What should you pack? Are your passports expired?
Hmm, who worrries when they go on vacation? Not me! Never...I would never pack early to avoid last minute stress only to watch my husband open his suitcase the night before the flight. Because, how can he pack, when 3 loads of fresh laundry have to go into the suitcase, only to come out smelling like...suitcase?! Who converts foreign money at the bank weeks before the trip? "We'll just get local cash at the airport, " my husband says. He had to learn the hard way - never rely on traveller's cheques!!
Okay, so enough husband bashing. What my point was there, is that who you travel with is just as important as the 10 questions I stated above. Maybe even more important. Someone once told me that when you are on vacation, you are rich. I get what he meant, but I still doubt the truth behind the words. Sure, you can budget and estimate pricing for all activities, but when a great opportunity to zipline across Niagara Falls comes up for $60 per person, do you take the financial hit for an experience of a lifetime?? Isn't just BEING in Niagara Falls an experience of a lifetime?? In the end, we are who we are. Our personalities do not change just because we are on vacation. If we were stingy back home, we will most likely be stingy on vacation.
That is why it is so important to pack sandwiches!! You know what I mean? If we pretend that money doesn't matter while on vacation, I will not be able to relax. I would constantly be wondering what the credit card bill is going to look like when I get home! I would rather be on vacation, knowing that everything was prepaid and we are coming home to maybe 1 or 2 excessive expenses such as flights or hotels. Even then, the stress hits again. Once the bill arrives, I think to myself - why did I take that vacation again??
Perhaps, I am not the most relaxing person to go on vacation with, especially if you like to spend money. But, I do plan fun activities! These days, vacations are being planned around my 6-year old. "Will there be dinosaurs where we are going? If not, it sounds boring and I'm not coming." Ok, so the vacation in the works is Niagara Falls with Dino Mini Golf and Ripley's Believe it or Not! museum which has a fossil of an Allosaurus skull. If not the museum, then we take him into the falls in a barrel and we see what happens. It won't be boring. I can promise you that. So, what does it cost?
I often forget that the point of a vacation is to relax. When the traveling part is done and the hotel has been checked into, does the vacation begin? Unfortunately, I am starting to realize that most of my vacations have never actually been very relaxing. Perhaps I would be one to disagree with my original statmenrt, the simplest way to pursue happiness is not to go on vacation. In fact, Inamy even go so far as to accuse those who go on vacation too often to be escaping reality or running away from their dayoy problems, only to return back home with a great tan, but still the same problems they had before they left.
Anyway, I digress! Back to the cost of this so-called vacation for a 6-year old. Now, I keep mentiining that he is 6, instead of giving out his real name. But, his age is going to become a real factor when I tell you the price of admsision for these "exciting" activities. I put exciting in quotation marks because, while it is no ziplining, we are trying to create some memories for this kid that he can keep in his memory bank and look upon when he forgets how cool his parents were once upon a time. The last time we were in Niagara Falls was the winter before COVID and we are pretty sure that he no longer remembers a world when COVID didn't exist...
Here goes with my 10 answers: Niagara Falls, ON; Driving; Summer 2021; Hotel+Gas+Food+Admission+Parking+Gas+ Staying Safe+Exhaustion+Meltdowns+ Boredom+Dehydration+Fear of Clifton Hill; Bring Your Own Car; Need Accomodations; Dino Mini Golf+Clifton Hill+Ripley's Believe It or Not!+Maid of Mist; eat sandwiches in the car+supper on Clifton Hill+breakfast at hotel+lunch before we drive home; Pack shorts, hats, sunscreen, shades, water, swimsuits, extra shirts, socks, underwear, toothbrush, hoodies for the night, iPad, cellphones and chargers, flip flops for the pool, toys for the hotel room.
Question #10: How much will you spend? This is the difference between ziplining and getting Grandma a $2 keychain from the souvenir shop. What it costs and what you spend are two very different questions. Some people can vacation on a budget. Others blow the budget. Do what makes you happy. But, like the movie, don't forget to fast forward to the ending when you might come home sad, stressed about all the money you've spent, and wondering how you're gonna pay those bills. That is NOT a vacation.
Here is my breakdown for the trip: $60 gas to Niagara Falls, $250 hotel, $11x2 + $7 mini golf, $22 x 2 + $15 for Ripley's, $25.25 x 2 for Maid of Mist because my kid is 5 and free - how you gonna ask for proof, huh?, $80 dinner, $60 lunch, $60 gas, $10 parking = $659.50 for an overnight trip.
It kind of makes me wish I just lived there so I didn't have to pay to stay. Why are vacations so expensive? Can't we live in a world where we bring goods to trade in exchange for a place to stay and something to eat? In what world could we actually enjoy our lives and not worry about money? Money makes the world go round but, if you don't have money, the world must be square. Point made then, right? Vacations make us happy? Is this true? Or, are we just happy to sip a margarita with a little umbrella in our glass, putting our feet up in a lawn chair, imagining the great time we would have if we could just book a vacation...
Happiness exists. It is there for you to take. However, it might not exist at the bottom of an imaginary vacation margarita. If you ever meet someone who says that they just can't relax while on vacation, do not judge them. I can identify! It is just that there are those who can vacation carefree and those who can't. I am the latter, so I will choose meditation instead. Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay happy!
