Roger L. Simon: The Virtually Vanishing Vacation

It's no news to those of us in the wired world that vacation as we knew it is a thing of the past. Between broadband, wireless, blackberries, iPhone, etc., etc. there is no escape.

I am up here in Bainbridge Island where Sheryl and I have bought some property in the woods, but I might as well be on the corner of Hollywood & Highland with a cellphone in my ear, for all I have been able to get away. Only during a few spare moments on a newly-acquired mountain bike [Watch out, boy. -ed.] am I ever fully away. Mountain biking is rather like skiing in that the process is hold-on-for-dear life attention getting. Sort of like Zen one-pointedness on steroids. Of course, for those of us of a certain age, mountain biking is no all-day activity - more like forty-five minutes. Otherwise we'd be in cardiac arrest. Still, I'm having fun in my own workaholic way.

Speaking of which, I think others may have observed that since we live in such a virtual world, geography has collapsed. We are only in one spot in the temporal sense. In the virtual sense, we are everywhere. I don't feel particularly more away on Bainbridge Island than I do in the Hollywood Hills. Of course, Bainbridge is part of the metro area of Wired Seattle. The ferry that takes you into town has its own distinctly un-free WiFi and the place is lousy with tech wizards. So what do you expect? This weekend we are planning a jaunt to the wild and wooly lands of Olympic National Park. But even there, I imagine, the rays will be zapping me.

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Turn the cellphone off, Roger. You can still carry it with you if you want to have it handy for emergencies, but turn it off.

If your email system has a function for sending "on vacation" notices, you might turn that on. Or not. But don't even look at your email more than once a day.

My son, a college student, is in China for the summer doing various forms of helping-out work. For his first two weeks he was in a tiny village in Yunnan province -- not the end of the world, as he said, but you could see it from there. No electricity, no running water, sleep on the floor in a tent. Now, at my house -- Topanga Canyon, in the Santa Monica Mountains in the western part of Los Angeles County -- cell phones do not work. But in that tiny, electricity- and running water-free village? You bet.

Otherwise we'd be in cardiac arrest
And here I thought the knees were the first thing to go!

I schlep real estate on Bainbridge at www.360modern.com and have until recently been reluctant to be "out of contact" for more than a week at a time given the risks of missing business and the calendar deadlines inherent in my biz and the consequences of missing one. The combination of the week prior in trying to anticipate any potential problems and the week post spent putting out the inevitable fires upon my return, not to mention the nagging feeling while gone that something urgently needs my attention, sometimes makes my getaways less than ideal as a stress reducer.
On my most recent escape however to the wilds north of Priest Lake in Idaho, equipped merely with cell phone, laptop and air card, I was able to spend two weeks in an area remote enough that moose were a common sight and food had to be kept in bear proof lockers. I spent an hour a day checking messages, returning calls, updating the website, (maintaining my Pajamas Media habit!). For me anyway the ability to keep in minimal contact with the "real world" makes for a much more enjoyable vacation rather than dropping off the face of the earth.
I've been a long time reader of your blog and Pajamas by the way. Love what you do.

Have to agree with Steven. We can choose to turn off our devices and enjoy our vacations, or we can leave them on (important people that we are) and complain about it. Seems like a no-brainer.

There is an emergency phone available to you, use it and leave the cells at home. All the messages will be their for you, however you will never be able to get back the missed time you will not have with your family if you fail to heed my words. Roger, you owe it to yourself , wife & daughter to enjoy the time left of your vacation.
Go kayaking/canoeing/hiking & mountain biking. Pack a lunch and go to the beach.
Remember, "STRESS" will always be available to make life less than
you want it to be. It is up to you to set the boundries during vacation time.
You have a world community that wants you to enjoy this time out
from cell & computer even if it is only a few days of absolution.
Please breath deep and enjoy.

This is why, once a year, we take a long backpacking vacation into the Yosemite high country. Cellphones and other gadgets don't work, so you're completely cut off. It is quite nice not to worry about the latest email or cellphone call.

Personally, a Rubicon I refuse to cross is anything like a Blackberry. Email can always wait until I get in front of a computer.

July 26, 2007: The Virtually Vanishing Vacation

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