CRYSTAL-HOLIDAYS.NET

My kids were about 7 and 10 years old, when we decided to take a holiday up north. We chose Mackinaw’s Mission Point, because they had an all inclusive vacation. Included in the package was the ferry from Mackinaw City on the Mainland to the Island, a ride from the ferry to Mission Point, and all baggage handling. Once we got there, we had two rooms adjoining with a door in between. All the meals were included, as well as activities, and bike rental. It was great to not have to keep dragging out our wallets all the time.

Mission Point has a great room and I will never forget how the huge beams of rough hewn logs impressed me. It reminded me of a gigantic cabin. Every view was wonderful. You could look out on the lake, and see huge barges passing, and the sunsets were to die for. Of course our children could care less about all that. They wanted to head for the pool. Up north in Michigan is in the 60’s to 80’s all summer. This particular summer it was kind of chilly. My son however, still wanted to swim, so he went in the kiddy pool which was heated. Each night they had games that all the residents, as we were called, could play. Most of them were lawn games, and it was a great way to associate with the others on the grounds. The tennis courts, basket ball courts, and shuffleboard courts were always busy in the evening after dinner. After the sunset, we could attend the bonfire, or walk into town.

Mackinaw is an island where no gas powered cars, or bikes, are allowed. Biking, walking, and horse drawn carriages are the only mode of transportation. Mackinaw downtown is a bunch of shops that are very touristy. Of course we went down there, and ended up spending a lot of money on stuff we didn’t need, but we were on vacation. The beautiful rock formations, rock covered beaches, and blue waters made it a great place to relax, rock hunt, and wade. The waters around Mackinaw are very cold most of the year, so wading is about all I could stand. We spent one whole day on the bikes the hotel provided. There is a paved path all the way around the island. Families of all ages spent the day riding around the island. It’s a very hilly path so we made sure to take a lot of rest stops, and drink a lot of water. The kids loved the bike riding day. My ten year old son, kept getting way ahead, and then coming back to us because we were slower with the seven year old. He probably in doing this, rode twice as far as the rest of us.

Exhausted but relaxed and satisfied we rode back to the hotel. The hot tub was a welcome sight for my husband and I, as we soaked our aching muscles, the children played in the pool. At about six or so we wandered to the dinning room, and had what I considered a very sumptuous meal. The fish was fresh from the lake, and my husbands steak, was done to perfection. The kids ate their usual burgers without complaint.

Mackinaw is a four to six hour drive from our home, and this five days will never be forgotten. My kids slept most of the way home. Thank goodness, because we didn’t have what they have now in vans, so if they are awake they are noisy. We arrived home, happy, and tucked another bunch of pictures in our memory book. Looking for an all inclusive place? Mackinaw Michigan is a truly unique experience.

You know, people in all over the world like to spend their holiday in many ways. Initially, they aim to refresh their soul and body after a so long time in business or study. As soon as they are playing their holidays, they may select either indoor or outdoor. Indoor holiday means to spend time in relax, doing some soft works at home, practicing exercises, or even concentrating on their hobbies.

Business owners are driven, and ambitious. They are the first one to arrive, and the last one to leave work everyday. This is necessary to be successful even if you are not a business owner. To get ahead in this life, one cannot be a clock watcher. In addition to working as much as 50 hours a week, there are home duties, family duties, and one must get in their exercise to stay healthy. In talking to many business owners, and career oriented people, they have one thing in common; they don’t often take a vacation by themselves. Many will take the family on vacation, and have described it as hectic as work. They came back more exhausted than when they left, so they decided by this experience that vacationing wasn’t for them. When it was mentioned, that perhaps the vacation they needed is solo in nature, where you only do what you want to do, when you want to do it, or do nothing at all, the concept was totally foreign to them. It was more apparent, if they were of the female persuasion.

A vacation by oneself is an experience in self renewal and discovery. The Tennessee Mountains is an amazing destination. You can do as little, or as much as you want. They have cabins to rent, hotels to stay in, resorts, and camping. This spans across all price ranges from $400-$1000 a day, to 12.00 a day for camping in state parks. The Gatlinburg area looked very promising, so I chose a cabin. My cabin was back in the woods with eight other cabins that were mostly empty during the week. I stayed two weeks.

What do you do when you are there alone? Whatever crosses your mind is a good start. I had in mind when I left, some things I absolutely wanted to do. These were, white water rafting, horseback riding, and hiking in the mountains. Those things I arranged before I left home. Then the rest of the holiday, was planned around those things. My cabin had a hot tub, so every night I poured myself a glass of wine, and soaked my cares away. I am not a night lifer so I had brought movies, I never have time for, and took my little DVD player and watched them on the patio while the sounds of the babbling brook, and birds, melded with my boxed set of all “The Godfather” movies ever made, and season one and two of ER. I was often hitting the sack about 3am content, and happy.

It was the afternoon sun that often woke me up in the morning, not the sound of to do lists and phone calls from clients. I read two novels in one sitting, and collected rocks, on my hike. Really whatever notion I had I did. No agenda, no particular time to eat or sleep, and plenty of self indulgence. Some of that self indulgence, involved getting a massage, and a manicure, and pedicure. The horseback riding was adventurous, as was the white water rafting. I have found if you sprinkle in things you have never done before, with the comfortable and familiar, it makes for a wonderful balance. It was the most relaxing holiday I had ever spent alone. So, if you are feeling stressed, and the last vacation with the family just didn’t do it for you, consider taking a Holiday with yourself instead. The first time is the scariest, but after that, you get quite used to it, and it may even become a yearly event.