Summer is finally here!!!

Can you believe it's already June 25th and we are finally having summer weather!?

Three weeks ago, my husband and I came back from one of the most amazing vacations/adventures of our lives; we spent 16 days rowing a raft on the Colorado river in the Grand Canyon. Which besides being a lot of fun also was very sustainable. We carried out all of our trash and waste, used only biodegradable soap and dish soap. Burned burnable trash, cleaned up every place we visited/camped in, to the point where almost all of the places we visited had very little evidence of any modern human having been there before or after us, except for the trails of course. The Colorado in the Grand Canyon has more than 18,000 visitors every year.
Now I know it takes gas to get there, the boats we use are either made of hypalon rubber or plastic, some of the food we take is packaged more than needed at home etc etc. But on the other hand, we took re-usable plates, mugs and utensils, made our own food, powered our own boats with true hand power(rowing/paddling).
And afterward we have a new appreciation for the Grand Canyon, the river and nature and got to know new and interesting people. Plus we have new inspiration for our "daily grind" and a renewed passion for our lives.

How many times have you been on vacation to renew your spirit - only to come home more tired than before - needing a vacation from you vacation?

There are times when an "all-inclusive sit by the pool and drink pretty drinks" kind of a vacation is really what you need to rest up or a "spa go get a massage every day and learn to cook and grow your own food vacation" or maybe what you need and enjoy most is to experience a new culture during your vacation, like going to India or Spain, and then again maybe what you need more is a vacation to help somebody else, such as build a house for "habitat for humanity" or go build a water-well in South America, and finally there is always the option of staying at home - either to rest up or to work on the house/yard or maybe a little of both.
And then again there are times when if you only had the time or the money to take a vacation you'd be ecstatic.

We have actually had the good fortune to go on most of these different kinds of vacation at one time or another (including the not being able to afford one as well...).

The vacations that feed us the least are, surprisingly "the all-inclusive lay by the pool/on the beach and have somebody bring you drinks all day long" kind of vacations. Now, I admit I like laying on the beach doing nothing for a few days, but I don't like seeing food being thrown away every day when people are starving next door, or seeing the golf green being watered with cleaner water than the people get to drink, or the waste from the resort being dumped into the ocean and killing the fish and the coral. There is a reason that coral dies off quicker in the vicinity of large ocean side resorts.

Now before we even get serious about where we are going and what we are doing, we attempt to consider more than the fun-factor, we ask ourselves the following questions;
1. Will it change our lives when we come home?
2. What kind of impact do we have on the environment we are vacationing in?
3. How much energy does it take for us to get there(fuel wise)?
4. How much extra waste will I create by going on the vacation?
5. Can we do the same vacation with less waste?
6. Will we be more tired when we get home?
7. Will it be fun enough?
8. Can we afford it?
9. Can we do a different vacation that would inspire us more?
10. What is the real price for this vacation ( plus and minus)?

Of course then there are the spur of the moment mini-vacations that we like to do, for instance we all kidnap my husband and head out of town for the weekend, or we camp out over night in the yard, or just head up the canyon for a quick meal, or roast marshmallows over the fire pit for dessert.

So the bottom-line for me; is not what kind of vacation we choose (even though I wouldn't mind if I saved the world while on vacation) but that we educate ourself so that we know what we are choosing. Knowledge is power. On that note I hope we all have a great summer and summer vacation!!!