Crystal Graham: Time for a vacation

Everyone around me is taking a vacation these days.

It just doesn’t seem fair.

My dad just got back from the Outer Banks … after a few days fishing, eating seafood and just plain relaxing.

The day my dad came back … my mom left for … you guessed it … Nags Heads.

My mom, stepfather and aunt all piled in the car for a few days of rest and relaxation.

No one even invited me.

True, I had work to do, and I couldn’t leave, but an offer would have been nice at the very least.

On second thought, at quick glance, they had the car packed to the rim with, er, instruments and such. May have been more of a hillbilly hoedown.

Not quite sure.

But it may not have been the R&R I’m craving.

Anyway, my sister is also headed out on vacation.

She’s taking a road trip to Minnesota – the place I was born.

She wants to show off her new baby girl to family and friends.

I’m not sure I’d even want an invite in her case.

Granted, the family part of the trip would be nice, but I’m not so sure about the drive there and back.

I’ve done it once or twice in my lifetime, and it wasn’t much fun.

She’s taking the cross-country trip with her husband and two kids with a stop overnight in Indianapolis.

My advice: plenty of stops at McDonalds and a hotel with a pool.

She halfheartedly invited me the other day … she offered to save me a space in the backseat if I wanted to jump in the car.

I passed.

Eight days of vacation … four packed in a car.

Ugh.

Of course, when I declined, she retorted with a … “there’s not room for you anyway.”

I should’ve known.

I even had a friend take his convertible out on the road to travel the Parkway this week.

I’d take the Parkway trip in an instant. Heck, I’d take a convertible for a weekend and be pleased as peaches.

And my point is … I’m … umm … here.

Which isn’t so bad.

The weather’s nice and all.

I even spent a few hours this week planting flowers but that was more work than anything.

Who said gardening was a hobby?

They should be locked up.

What I’m getting at … when can I go on vacation?

I can pack in an instant, and that’s a big plus for women as I understand it.

Ever since I gave up makeup, getting ready to go anywhere is a breeze.

To tell you the truth, it’s not that I haven’t thought about taking a vacation … somewhere … anywhere.

I had planned a trip to Virginia Beach for next weekend – something to celebrate my husband’s birthday.

I was shocked to learn that hotels on the ocean run upwards of $130 a night these days.

(Gulp.)

And even at that rate, they are almost impossible to book this time of year.

(Double gulp.)

So much for those of us who like to vacation on a whim.

Plan B was perhaps a trip to D.C.

I haven’t visited the museums and the zoo since I was a kid.

Heck, it might even be fun to catch a Nationals baseball game.

Is it even still baseball season?

Shows what I know.

Now if I can only figure out what the “good part” of town is in D.C.

Maybe this trip is still salvageable.

I’ve got my fingers crossed.

As for the rest of you, I don’t even want to hear about vacations.

I’m left behind … babysitting the pets.

Maybe I’ll just lounge beside my birdbath, add some salt to the water, and splash off from time to time.

That’s sort of like going to the beach.

Bummer.