I went to Hawaii for the first time about 2 years ago. My boyfriend and I went for a Spartan Race… the perfect excuse for a Hawaiian vacation, for us at least. Before we went, I looked at activities in the area that would suit our interest. While I love the beach, I’m not the type of person that can lay in the sand for 8 hours and be happy about it. I came across a hiking tour and booked it instantly. The beau and I love to hike, very California-cliché but I am so content on the trails, so why not do it on vacation? The hike was about 4 hours round trip, up hundreds of man made stairs, and ending on a summit with the most amazing 360 degree view of Oahu. The hike wasn’t the hardest I’ve done, but it was challenging; we even lost a hiker half way up. No, she didn’t die… she just chose to sit at a picnic area until we came back down. At least she tried. The next day we ran the Spartan Stadium Sprint. They were two amazing back-to-back days of being active on vacation.
We visited some beaches and volcanoes, went to a Luau, and got to Pearl Harbor, but what I loved most about the vacation was being physically active and taking on more adventures than what you typically would on vacation. I remember my family saying, “You vacation differently than most people†when I told them what we did while we were there. When you think vacation you think of sitting on your butt all day drinking fruity drinks… but planning “Adventurecations” can be just as relaxing, but more enriching. I think what we all need to realize is that instead of taking vacations as the opportunity to turn-of, we should take them as an opportunity to turn on! Work and life and our day-to-days make us shells of ourselves, your vacations should allow you to be yourself again, let loose, and feel alive again.
The next time you’re planning a trip, think about the activities you like to do in your normal life and see if you can do them on your vacation. Are you a runner? Find a race you can sign up for? Love to swim? Go snorkeling. I love planning out my activities ahead of time because I won’t fall into the “I’ll just go to the beach again†routine. Life is meant to be lived, find amazing things to do on every vacation. Build memories from out of this world experiences. Maybe a 4-hour hike isn’t your thing, but what about a pirate ship tour of an island?! This world has so many things to offer. Don’t settle for any old vacation.  Plan an “Adventurecation”.
