This weekend, my family will drive down to one of our favorite places in the world–Avon, North Carolina, part of the Outer Banks. We’ll settle into the oceanfront house we’ve rented. We’ll enjoy long walks on the beach. We’ll eat out a few times. We’ll bask in the sun and play in the sand and those who are allowed to submerge (which doesn’t include me this year, thanks to surgery) will likely swim in the waves while I wade in to cool off.
Vacation.
Our family discovered well over a decade ago that September in the Outer Banks is absolute perfection (barring hurricanes), by our definition. The weather is warm but not sweltering, the water is still warm, the beaches are empty, and the prices are slashed, compared to summer. We can, in fact, get 2 weeks for the price of 1 in June.
So…we did. Which is a first for us.
See, for us, vacation isn’t about going someplace new to do things. We do enjoy those sorts of trips…but they’re usually as exhausting as they are exciting, so they’re not what we consider vacation. For us, vacation is about relaxing. Unwinding. Refilling our creative wells. For us, vacation is about letting the ocean air blow away the year’s frustrations and the sun ignite new dreams.
Vacations are where we dream.
It was on vacation in recent years that we:
- Decided to film my classes
- Decided to add merchandise to my shop and started selecting it
- Brainstormed On Wings of Devotion
- Brainstormed A Noble Scheme
- Brainstormed Awakened
Just a few examples, obviously. But some of those ideas have turned into big parts of my business, and others have turned into books that are among my fan-favorites.
It takes a couple days though, sometimes, for us to get our brains into “dreaming” gear. Some years, we’ve been able to start dreaming on the way down, in the car. Sometimes we at least take time to chat about what we want to dream about while we’re there. Then we need to let the time away, the beauty of the landscape, the familiar pulse of the tides work its magic. Blow away the cobwebs.
Our last vacation was in December, since we couldn’t do summer or fall last year thanks to my treatments. And it was fun but…different. It took me until the last couple days to really get my brain out of that “recovery” mode that usually only lasts a day or two. I did a lot of lounging and reading, but my body and brain were just so tired after everything I’d been through that dreaming barely had any time.
Which was what made me yearn for some more time, this September. More than a week, as a celebration of cancer treatments being truly over and life getting back to some semblance of normal (whatever that is, LOL). So we booked two weeks, for the price of one during either summer in OBX or even December in the Keys. And we let out a long sigh, realizing that this time, we’re not going to have to try to squeeze things in. We’re going to be able to relax and dream and create, even.
See, my goal is to start writing The Island Bakeshop while I’m down there, where the book is set. And I’m excited for that. Usually my goal is to not write on vacation, unless I start something just for fun (like the 9 pages of notes I took on Awakened a couple years ago). I brainstorm, yes, but that’s just a matter of letting the story spin out in the breeze, getting to the know the characters, figuring out their secrets. (The big middle twist in A Noble Scheme? Yeah, I had no idea what that was when I turned in A Beautiful Disguise, no idea what had come between the characters. So we chatted about it on a walk, and I can still see the beach in my mind, the angle of the sun, still feel the wind kissing my face as I realized what had torn Gemma and Graham apart. I believe I said something along the lines of, “Oh…oh. I know what it was.” And then laid it out for David.)
But with two weeks, I know I can relax, refill, and create. That the creation will serve to fill me even more. And I am so, so excited. (And since I’ll be treating half the trip as a writing retreat, I get to write it off on my taxes, LOL. Score!) I’m excited to unwind. I’m excited to go back to a place I love, which I missed last year when cancer got in the way of our usual tradition. I’m excited to visit the bookstores that were my inspiration for The Island Bookshop, to sign their stock, to take some cell-phone videos of their awesome shops. I’m excited to dig my toes into the sand, to walk along the empty dunes, to see the sea turtle nesting sites. I’m excited to plot and plan and play with stories.
This year, vacation will have some doing in there, yes. But it’s the kind of doing that’s part of my being. And just being is what we cherish on our vacations. No expectations, no schedules, no rules. Just doing what we love, basking in the glory of God’s creation, listening for His voice, talking about things that matter, and spinning those dreams.
What sorts of vacations do you prefer? Doing vacations or being vacations? Where is your favorite place to go?
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.
Definitely “being” but in the water. Our ideal is Evan’s Plunge in Hot Springs, SD where we swim laps for an hour, then sit in the hot tub and read a book, then go get lunch and then go swim and read and then take an ice-cream break at Two Cows Creamery and then swim and read. One day we’ll go up to Rapid City for shrimp tacos and truffles and huckleberry ice-cream at The Purple Pie Place on the way. And of course lots of disc golf for my husband! And Gil usually gets a fun puzzle we can do together.
This year we saved money and just stayed home and enjoyed all the activities up at the lake – canoeing, kayaking, biking, disc golfing, tandem quad biking, one day at the local water park. And of course plenty of ice-cream at the ice-cream shop up by the lake! Gotta get at least a couple Cookie Monster Sundaes in!
Roseanna, While you are creating at the beach during your (much needed) vacation, I will enjoy “being” in the Smoky Mountains on the Peaceful Side. Small Townsend is a gem, only about 30 minutes over the ridge from the touristy bustle of Pigeon Forge and Gatinburg. We’ve booked an Airbnb with an amazing view (and hot tub!), just what we need for my fall break. The mountains are my happy place, especially Townsend where we’ve stayed three other times. It’s also one gateway to Cades Cove, a historic valley in the Smoky Mountains National Park, which has stunning mountain views, hiking trails, and protected wildlife. We keep hoping to see a black bear in the park! Maybe this time. In any case, we’ll enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the truly Peaceful Side of the Smokies.
I hope your trip to the Outer Banks is a time of healing for your soul. The location is on my bucket list!
Lori
Like you, I enjoy both types of vacations. We just had a lovely “being” vacation in Lancaster County, PA. Our beach vacations, also “being” vacations are often in Ocean Grove, NJ which is fairly close to home.
Two weeks sounds wonderful, as does Avon. I have never been there, but it sounds beautiful.
“Doing” vacations are also neat, though. Mackinaw Island is on our list of places to go and do, as well as Alaska!
Enjoy your time to recharge and relax. God wants us to take time rest, to honor His Sabbath rest.
Love all your books!
Enjoy your time at the beach. It sounds marvelous.
We, too, love the Outer Banks, but our vacations there are often “doing” vacations–visiting lighthouses, visiting relatives, taking a ferry ride from Swan Quarter to Okracoke, and visiting other sites such as Bath with the first library in the colonies.
The U.S. has such diverse places to visit that we also try to alternate a “doing” vacation with a “being” vacation such as camping in northern Michigan. There we might bicycle into Mackinaw City to dip our toes into Lake Huron, watch the ferry to Macjinac Island. Then cycle back along Lake Michigan. The next day might be spent reading at the campsite. Visiting lighthouses is a must, though. Both types of vacations are fun!