Vacay Vibe

On Sunday, two weeks ago, on the very day that we got back from our vacation, the New York Times had an article in the Travel section entitled, "Hanging On to the Afterglow." In it, the author, Stephanie Rosenbloom, talks about how to keep good feelings about your trip burning bright even though those embers are normally pretty much snuffed out by the end of your first week home. Isn't that the truth? By the start of the second week after our return from anywhere, we find ourselves wondering what the heck happened and weren't we somewhere else just a few days ago?

You look forward to a trip with such a lot of anticipation, don't you? You spend weeks or even months planning a vacation; making the reservations, researching hotels, restaurants, attractions, imagining HOW NICE it's going to be to get away. And then you go, and "poof" before you can say Expedia dot com, you're home again eating your stale Cheerios for breakfast, picking up dog poop in little plastic baggies, and watching House Hunters just like you do on the other 351 days of the year.

So, this article came at the perfect time, just when we were wondering where the heck that three course breakfast at the nice B&B went to. Here were some practical tips on how to keep the vacay vibe going long after re-entry to your regular dull existence. Some suggested strategies were along the obviously obvious lines: e.g., flip through trip photographs. Well, Duh! 

Still, other ideas were more creative: keeping receipts and brochures scattered about you at your desk or stuck to your fridge. Wearing clothing you bought on your trip to remind you of the persona you adopted while you were away. Bringing home a special souvenir so you can re-experience a treat that reminds you of a wonderful place; like Rosenbloom's example of a friend who bought a BODUM milk frother in Germany so she could fix her coffee the way she had had it in Berlin. You can buy a frother at Bed, Bath & Beyond, but the point is that if you bring one home from Berlin you remind yourself for years to come of the great time you had there.

Psychologists cited in the article recommend that we reminisce about our holidays; it's good for us to go to our happy places so we can "vacation as often as we like" to renew our spirits. Easier said than done, I find.

And so, I got to thinking about our own little holiday mood extenders. Without knowing we were using any psychology at all, we have been employing subtle tactics for years that remind us of our travels. I am happy to share with you a few of our "Do's" - plus a couple of our "Don't's"!

5. a. Buy a CD. This is a "Don't." It's tempting to think you will instantly recall that quaint, quirky  barbecue place in North Carolina if you play the bluegrass music you listened to while eating the best pulled pork sandwich ever, but the potential for a negative response to ruin the effect is too great, as in, "Did this music sound that bad in the restaurant?" We learned this years ago when Ken's dad brought home music from a Caribbean trip. Steel drums can be really annoying after a day or two. 

5. b. Art. Equally fraught is the purchase of posters, framed tea towels or other visual imagery. Wall art is something you live with for a very long time. Better to buy a fridge magnet with that picture of a sand crab waving a bikini top than commit to 32"x40" framed.

4. Little soaps and shampoo bottles. Do boost these from your hotel rooms and use them when you get home. Fragrance is a strong memory cue and you will save money not using up your regular products for a week or so. Win-win.

3. Note pads. Taking home the note pad from your hotel room and keeping it on your bed side table gives you a nice little reminder each night about sleeping in those giant King size hotel beds with those freshly laundered sheets. Leaving little notes for your spouse such as on the beach resort letterhead, even if the message is a lie, such as, "Meet me on the beach in ten minutes," is a fun way to keep the memory alive.

2. Sand in your shoes. Easiest to accomplish if you have been to the beach, of course, but there always has to be some little tangible reminder you can come up with that will give you instant recall of the place you visited. Tea from London. A bottle of the Scotch from the distillery you toured in Scotland. Barbecue sauce from North Carolina. Sand in your shoes. 

1. Making home feel like the best B&B. We like to do this on our way home from a trip: when we start to feel sad about travels coming to an end, we'll say, "Well, I hear the B&B we're staying in tonight is very nice." "Yes, I understand they make a very nice breakfast and there is a Golden Retriever in residence." "That's always nice, to have a dog about the place."  "Yeah, very homey."

It's good to be home.