There’s only one activity I love more than knitting – traveling. And some of my favorite places in the world wouldn’t be a knitting place of choice for most. But not me! Nothing better than knitting in my swimsuit on the balcony of a cruise ship, or on a Caribbean beach, sand and heat abounding. Am currently completing leg 3 of our 2011 family vacation; a day at Hogsmeade (with too many butter beers) via Universal Studios, 7 days in the southern Caribbean, then 4 days at Disneyworld Orlando, visiting with my son who has the enviable job of escorting the Princesses around the parks.
Ahh, family vacation. Who ever thought of this was not in their right mind! Vacation is supposed to be a highly deserved, relaxing, rejuvenating respit from the rigors of day to day life at home. WRONG!!! Four people (one an emotionally volatile teenage girl with a new love back home), up at the wee hours of the morning to get to the airport and hustle through security checks, on a jam-packed airplane for 8 hours, living in the same tiny room and sharing a single bathroom for 14 days, trying hopelessly to synchronize everyone’s activity and food choices . . . well you get the picture. Sure, there’s priceless memories and a great feeling of togetherness. And I wouldn’t trade the time spent with the one’s I adore most for anything. But let’s not let those travel agents and brochures trick us again. Family vacation is fun. But relaxing? How ’bout “no.”
Therefore, a knitting project (like socks) is an essential item to pack in your family vacation survival arsenal. When teenage daughter is in tears because she used up the $100 Internet allotment and can’t get on Facebook, retreat to a private corner with needles and yarn in hand – for me, watching the ocean stream by from my cabin’s veranda – and truly kick back!
