Give Yourself a Break

You’ve been working hard all year and summer is suddenly right around the corner. If you’re lucky, you had Christmas day off, so it’s time to think about taking a serious vacation—maybe even a week off. As much as you might like to follow the malt whiskey trail in Scotland, go biking in Tuscany or trek in the Himalayas, those trips might have to wait until you have a little more time. Here are some suggestions of ways you can get away for a while and recharge your batteries in a week’s time or less.

• If you want lots of sun and an active night life, you might head for South Beach in Miami.
• If you want to a truly laid-back atmosphere, keep going south from Miami to Key West.
• If you want to combine some golf or tennis, it’s hard to beat Hilton Head or one of the many barrier islands running from North Carolina to Georgia, such as Kiawah or Jekyll Island.
• If you like rugged scenery and want to take long peaceful walks along the shore, try the coast of Maine or central California from Santa Barbara to San Francisco.
• California also offers the best surfing in the country at beaches Like Santa Cruz and Huntington Beach.
• State and national parks are always a good bet, especially if you like to camp. And don’t feel left out if you live in the heartland. The shores of Michigan and Indiana along Lake Michigan feature miles of dunes and picturesque towns with charming little restaurants, shops and galleries along with miles and miles of magnificent sand dunes.
  

• If you’re adventurous and like water, you might try a kayak trip that brings you up close and personal with whales. Packages are available for the San Juan Islands of Washington or along the coast of Maine.
• If you’d like to hit some back roads on a bicycle, try http://www.breakingaway.com or http://www.bikeride.com. They offer a variety of packages in both the U.S. and Europe that are supported by experienced tour leaders.
• National parks offer a great way to get away … to camp or to simply take in some magnificent scenery. But the major parks are often so crowded that you may feel like you never left the city. There are many smaller, lesser-know parks that offer great scenery and recreational opportunities without the crowds. Many have lodges and most provide excellent campgrounds. Look at the National Park Service Web site at http://www.nps.gov/archive/parks.html for more information on these “hidden treasures.”
• If your interest in birds goes beyond pigeons and starlings, you might try one of the many trips organized by the Autubon Nature Odyssey.  

• If you like to get wet, you might try whitewater rafting or kayaking. Trips range from relatively tame rivers where you can just ride along and enjoy the view to wild rides on rivers like the New and Galley in West Virginia, or the Colorado, Green and Snake rivers in the west. Check out http://www.raftingamerica.com/index.php for more information.
• If you’d prefer to spend your time under the water, there are easily reachable spots in the Caribbean and the Florida Keys that offer some of the finest diving in the world. Check out both http://www.caribbeandiving.com/ and http://www.fla-keys.com/diving/ to find more information.
• For those who like to climb, there are many excellent programs that provide lessons and sponsor mountaineering trips (http://www.emsclimb.com/, http://www.totalclimbing.com/page.php, http://www.yosemitepark.com/Activities_YosemiteBackpacker_Climbing.aspx).
• Or you can try Outward Bound, the old-timer of adventure vacations. Their Web site lists more than 500 “adventures”: http://www.outwardboundwilderness.org/ .

• Hooked on the civil war? If you are, there is no shortage of civil war reenactments performed that are historically accurate to a remarkable degree. Look at http://www.sutler.net/eventlist.asp for a sample of the events that are available. If you’re curious about the civil war, but don’t care about reenactments, you might want to visit some of the well-know battlefields or other sites associated with the civil war, such as the arsenal at Harper’s Ferry: http://www.civilwartraveler.com/ provides a nice overview of these sites.
• If the early history of settlement in this country intrigues you, it’s hard to beat a visit to Colonial Williamsburg: http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/foundation/.
• If you like to explore “ruins,” you don’t have to leave the country. A trip to the four corners area of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah puts you in close range of several restored settlements, including Mesa Verde (http://www.nps.gov/archive/meve/home.htm), Canyon de Chelly (http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/canyon_de_chelly/national_monument.htm) and Navajo National Monument (http://www.nps.gov/nava/). 

• See an overview of what’s available. Lots of retired athletes have created camps that allow you to actually play with retired professionals. Two well-know ones are Rick Barry’s Fantasy Camp and Cal Ripken’s Fantasy Camps. Individual teams also offer camps, such as the New York Mets and the chicago Cubs. Colleges have joined in also. Notre Dame and USC are just a few.
• If you’re a frustrated guitar player, you can go to rock & roll camp.
• And, finally, there are even fantasy camps for poker players.