Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Saturday, June 28, 2008

Curt Trnka: Vacation or a trip? You decide

As gas hovers near $4 a gallon, people are planning “staycations.” But not so long ago families had to decide between a summer trip and a vacation.

You might be thinking that those two are just about the same thing. Many people make this mistake.

A vacation is a period of time when one does not work and enjoys very few stresses. This can be done while traveling, but often traveling increases stress. Summer trips are destination specific and include traveling, which again, can lead to thoughts such as, “Wait, I need a passport to go to Canada? Really?”

Planning a family trip requires a formula. In order to take a family trip, one must calculate the amount of time spent traveling, plus the square footage of the vehicle, multiplied by the number of children and then divided by the cost of the trip.

Once you have this number you can safely assume you’ve talked yourself out of a trip, at which point you can tell everyone to get ready for a fun weekend in the backyard jumping through the sprinkler.

Now that you’ve decided against a trip, you can start looking at a vacation. I can remember going on “vacation” as a kid and hearing my folks planning out the next day’s events. This never made any sense to me, and it led me to a realization: If you are going on a vacation and have an itinerary, I’m sorry, but it’s time you stop lying to yourself. You’re taking a trip, not a vacation.

And when you feel the need to set an alarm to wake up by a certain time, you’re probably on a trip. Vacations don’t require you to wake up in time to get anywhere — unless it’s the free breakfast at your hotel. You should at least get up long enough to eat — then, by all means, feel free to fall back asleep while free HBO is on the TV.

Deciding which is better for you — a trip or a vacation — is largely dependant on your personality.

Unsure which you are? Answer this question.

Would you rather go on the lazy river or the water roller coaster at Noah’s Ark?

Those who picked the lazy river might seem like natural fits for vacations, but it’s been my experience that many who enjoy the lazy river are actually going to enjoy planning out and taking a trip.

On the other hand, those who get geared up for a roller coaster that splashes and jostles riders are oddly happy sleeping in and staying put on a vacation.

Regardless of what you do with your summer — whether you are in London or La Crosse —the main goal should be to have fun. Don’t get caught up in what you aren’t doing. Enjoy whatever you do.

Contact Curt Trnka at ctrnka@lacrossetribune.com or by asking the weird guy to stop splashing you on the lazy river.