10 on the 10th: June 2022-10 Questions About Vacation & Link Up On the Edge #299

June 10, 2022 / 52 Comments

It is time again for my dear friend Marsha in the Middle’s 10 on the 10th series. Each month, Marsha announces a theme to inspire a list of 10 things to be shared on the 10th of each month. This is only the second time I have joined because I never could quite get my act together. But now I have marked my calendar and scheduled the 10th of each month for these posts. They are a great way to share a bit more about myself that I otherwise may have never even thought to share. So thank you, Marsha, for hosting this creative content series. 

Last month, we talked about 10 things that we may do this summer and this month we are getting into actual summer vacation things…past, present, and future. Without further delay, let’s get straight to the business of vacations!

1. Are you planning to take a vacation anytime soon?
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We are going on vacation! Next week, in fact! It is Smoked Country Jam Bluegrass Festival weekend and we have been anxiously anticipating our long weekend of festival camping since last June. This has become our annual summer vacation plan. Four days and three nights at the beautiful Quiet Oaks Campground in Cross Forks, Pennsylvania, enjoying great music, great friends, and the great outdoors all the while raising money and awareness for the Lupus Foundation of America Philadelphia Tri State. Smoked Country Jam was founded in 2004 by Ron Kodish after his wife Teresa was diagnosed with lupus in 2002 and it has become an annual fundraising event that showcases the past, present, and future of American-made music whether it is traditional or progressive, Americana, old time, or Roots. Last year was our first time attending this festival and we already feel like family! What a beautiful community of humans.

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We are also planning a trip to the Netherlands in 2024 to celebrate my 50th birthday. I want to visit my very dear friend Nancy in person and hug her and laugh with her and hang out with her for a few days. It will likely be a short trip, maybe 4-5 days, so we are going to just explore Nancy’s beautiful country while we are there. For me, vacation is so much more about the people you spend it with anyway.

2. Have you recently gone on vacation?

My last vacation was in February when I did my annual solo road trip from Northern New York to visit my friends in North Carolina. I am so excited that many of my North Carolina friends will be traveling to Pennsylvania next weekend for Smoked Country Jam!

All three of these beautiful people will be at SCJ! I am so excited!
3. What is your favorite way to travel?

My favorite way to travel is by car. If I can get there by driving, I will always choose that method first. I like to have my freedoms and I hate being bound by other people’s schedules, even those of airlines. I also am not a huge fan of flying because you are trapped in that big metal box in the air and if there is just one asshole on the plane with you (which there usually is), the whole freaking trip is miserable or stressful or annoying or downright scary. I also am the worst packer ever and so I appreciate that I can bring whatever the hell I want on vacation if it fits in my car. I am not limited to one small carry on bag and one medium suitcase. As for other methods of travel…boats, trains, buses, spaceships…I still prefer my car!

4. If money were no object, where would you go and why?

If money were no object, I would love to do an extended tour of Europe and visit all the old castles and learn more about the crazy weird history of the ancient monarchies.

5. Who would be your favorite person (living or dead) to take on vacation?

My favorite person to do everything, anything, or nothing with is my husband. So I would always pick him as my favorite person to take on vacation. I cannot think of a single special occasion, like vacations, where we didn’t have the time of our lives. Because no matter how awful the experience itself may be, I know that Jeff and I will make the best of it and laugh our way right through it until a perfectly happy memory has been created!

6. What do you absolutely have to pack when you go on vacation?

One thing I am hyper vigilant about packing for any vacation is two pairs of sunglasses and two pairs of regular glasses. If something were to happen to the glasses on my face, I could not see well enough to do anything so I make sure that I have backups for both sunglasses and regular glasses. Most other things, if you forget to pack them, you can generally acquire what you need on vacation pretty easily. My sight I cannot easily reacquire if my glasses were lost or broken.

7. What are your memories of your all time favorite vacation?

Well, first I have to identify my all time favorite vacation which is seemingly very difficult for me to do. I have been to Iceland and Bermuda twice which were both gorgeous places to visit. However, the people I went on those vacations with made the experiences much less enjoyable than if I had been traveling with Jeff. So I have lovely memories of the places I visited but not so lovely memories of the actual vacations.

I honestly think at this point in my life, our festival weekends are my favorite vacations with no specific memories except all the good energy that fills those places.

8. Where would you never ever go on vacation and why?

Hmmmmm, that is a difficult question. I never really thought much about where I would never like to go! I can’t tolerate extreme heat, so I would likely never choose to vacation in a super hot climate. I have never really had any inclination to visit Africa or Asia, but now that I am thinking about it, I am certain there are some pretty extraordinary places to see on those continents. But I need to answer the question more succinctly than this…I suppose I would never go on vacation to Russia! Well, not right now anyway.

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9. What is the worst thing you ever experienced on vacation?

I don’t have any really crazy bad vacation stories like a lost passport or getting detained in a foreign country. Although I do remember one of the first vacations Jeff and I took together when we were first dating. We went camping at Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine. It was a beautiful trip. We took motorcycles with us and rode all around on them and took in the beautiful landscape. The campgrounds were pet friendly as most are and someone wasn’t properly cleaning up after their dog. I discovered this when I stepped in the poop and dragged it all through my tent before realizing I had poo on my shoe. What a freaking disgusting mess. I was sooooo angry. But we cleaned it up, aired it out, and enjoyed our stinky tent the best we could!

There was also the time my shoe broke in Newark International Airport in New Jersey and I had to walk through the disgusting airport in my bare feet. I was so grossed out that I now always make sure to have an extra pair of shoes in my carry on luggage when I travel by air.

And then there was the time I flew to Los Angeles to meet Anne and Rena…there was a groping man on my first flight who apparently would not stop touching the woman in the seat next to him. She complained, they moved her seat, and then I guess he started groping someone else or maybe himself, I am not entirely sure. What I am sure of though is that they arrested him when we landed in Chicago which made me miss my connecting flight to LA. See what I mean about assholes on planes?!

10. What is the best thing that ever happened to you on vacation?

I think the best things that happened to me on vacation are the amazing people I have met while traveling. I have met some of my closest friends on vacation. For example, Becca…I met her when I traveled to Pennsylvania a few years ago to see a Fireside Collective show. She and I hit it off immediately and before I knew it she is one of my very best closest friends in all the world. So Becca is the best thing that has ever happened to me on vacation! And I am so excited to see her on Thursday!

And there you have it…my 10 on the 10th about vacation! What are your vacation plans this summer? Please feel free to share any of your vacation stories with me and have a fabulous weekend!

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I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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52 Comments

  • Maureen

    June 10, 2022 at 7:52 am Reply

    What a fun series and topic! It’s also a great way to get to know more about the person behind the scenes/blog. Like you, I would love to explore more of Europe. There are so many wonderful places there that I haven’t been too and I can’t wait to explore. Right now, I am also all about traveling by car. I don’t mind going on an airplane but at the moment, car seems to a favorite. Plus, no extra fees for packing our entire house!!! Have a great trip to the Smoked Country Jam Bluegrass Festival. Looking forward to hearing all about it!

    Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 10, 2022 at 12:43 pm Reply

      Thanks so much, Maureen! I do love car travel so I don’t have to get all stressed about minimal packing. I will definitely share about our weekend! I will have to remember to take some photos this year. We lost phone signal 45 minutes from the campground so I put my phone away and never really picked it back up except to occasionally check the time. That was a beautiful tech-free weekend!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Mica - Away From The Blue

    June 10, 2022 at 7:57 am Reply

    You have had some crazy holiday moments! it’s good you have some fun and exciting times planned ahead though – and I hope everything goes perfectly on those trips!

    Thanks for the link up! Hope your week is going well. It’s a really cold, wintery one here!

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 10, 2022 at 12:41 pm Reply

      Thanks so much, Mica! I definitely had some weird things happen during travel, but really nothing traumatic that couldn’t be laughed about right in the moment! The first time (and only) time I went camping alone, my whole tent got wiped out in a thunderstorm and I ended up sleeping in car. But hey, at least I had a car to sleep in. And we needed a new tent anyway. Stay warm, my friend!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 10, 2022 at 12:36 pm Reply

      Thanks so much, Pamela! I am so glad that you had a wonderful holiday! I am never ready to plan the next trip until I fully recover from the previous one, but sometimes it is helpful to plan way ahead. So let your husband look ahead while you relax and enjoy the benefits of your last holiday!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Di

    June 10, 2022 at 9:21 am Reply

    Fun post to participate in, Shelbee! Loved hearing about you vacation adventures, and hope you have a great time at the music festival! Enjoy your week and thanks for sharing!

  • Carol

    June 10, 2022 at 9:23 am Reply

    I just returned from a fabulous vacation in England, Wales, and Scotland. But i’m hoping to enjoy some domestic travel this summer. The next vacation will be a camping trip to western N.C. with our 3 grandsons (ages 8 to 11). Tubing on a river in the mountains will be one of the activities.
    Thanks for hosting the link-up.
    Carol
    http://www.scribblingboomer.com

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 10, 2022 at 12:32 pm Reply

      Thanks, Carol! I enjoyed reading about your UK trip! And your grandsons are the same ages as my boys so you are in for the same kind of camping trip as I am! Where in NC are you going? All of my NC friends are from the western part of the state. In fact, Becca’s boyfriend is a river guide for exactly what you are planning! Except he is on the TN side of the border.

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Nancy

    June 10, 2022 at 10:21 am Reply

    My sister in law is senior poise and she wishes that alcohol wasn’t allowed in plains. She so often have to calm a drunk down. Enjoy your festival!! We are going in a month! Have fun!

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 10, 2022 at 12:14 pm Reply

      Oh, I remember you telling me about some of the crazy things your sister in law has encountered as part of the cabin crew for an airline! They really should eliminate alcohol…and substitute it with weed! Potheads are so much calmer than drunks. Enjoy your festival next month!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Gail

    June 10, 2022 at 12:33 pm Reply

    Very cool post! Enjoy that festival. And how wonderful you’ll be meeting up with Nancy in a couple of years. I hope to meet her when she comes over for her holidays and goes to Rye. Unfortunately Covid has been putting a stop to that. Have a great weekend!

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 10, 2022 at 12:46 pm Reply

      Thanks so much, Gail! I hope you and Nancy do get a chance to meet up! How fun! If we had more time to travel, I would have loved to visit the UK as well. But this trip is more about seeing Nancy than seeing the Netherlands anyway!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Michelle

    June 10, 2022 at 12:48 pm Reply

    Your upcoming music festival sounds awesome! So glad you and Becca get to see each other again. We always went to “Woodflock” in CA every Memorial weekend, but this time the logistics were just too strenuous for us to make it happen. And apparently that was a good thing, because someone got Covid while there. (They we’re up in the mountains, so we’re using a big, but closed room for the concerts. Before this new location, they had always been outside.)

    So cool that you will get to hang out with Nancy. She is one of my favorites.

    Michelle
    https://mybijoulifeonline.com

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 10, 2022 at 2:36 pm Reply

      Thanks so much, Michelle! Becca has been working this festival for the past 5 or 6 years and Carson’s band has been headlining it for a few years as well which is super cool. I definitely feel like part of the family when we go there. I am not a huge fan of tent camping at all but if I convince myself to just embrace the stink and sweat and dirt for a few days then I will have a completely uninhibited amazing time!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 11, 2022 at 6:12 am Reply

      Thanks so much, Cheryl! Oh yes, vacation with a shitty person really does damper the whole experience! I just had to feature your post and your fun new rope sandals! I hope you have a lovely weekend, my friend.

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Joanne

    June 10, 2022 at 5:10 pm Reply

    Oh I get so annoyed by people NOT cleaning up after their dogs! That is a huge pet peeve of mine. I hope you have a fabulous time at the music festival.

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 11, 2022 at 6:11 am Reply

      Thanks so much, Joanne! I feel like that should be a huge pet peeve of everyone and so no one should ever be doing it! Haha. But it is not the case. There are people who walk their dogs through my neighborhood and leave the poop on my lawn, in the little strip of grass along the curb, even right smack in the middle of the sidewalk where all the kids walk to school. It drives me freaking crazy!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Laura Bambrick

    June 10, 2022 at 10:31 pm Reply

    I would never want to go to Russia now either! And it’s kind of too bad because historically it has a rich culture and I would love to see some things there, but I’m not sure that will ever happen unless there are BIG changes there!

  • Marsha Banks

    June 11, 2022 at 12:03 am Reply

    I am a notorious overpacker so traveling by car is so much easier, isn’t it? Your upcoming trips sounds like lots of fun…can’t wait to hear more about it. And, yes, yes, yes, to traveling to and around Europe though I’d love to go to Russia someday (if things ever get better). Due to his job, Nigel could never have travled to Russia when he was working. Now, well, I feel horribly for the everyday Russian citizen. But, I’m digressing!! I can see why you don’t want to fly…I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad experience other than sitting by a man whose hair smelled like he hadn’t washed it in months! And, I love that Jeff is your person always! Thanks, my friend, for the link party!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 11, 2022 at 6:07 am Reply

      Marsha, thanks so much! Car travel is absolutely the way to go for us notorious over packers! But you still like trains better! I have only ever traveled on commuter trains so I have no frame of reference what a long train trip would be like. It sounds really cool although I tend to get motion sickness pretty easily so I am not sure how I would fare on a very long train ride. As I was writing the part about Russia, I quickly realized that it is a place that I would probably love to visit but maybe when there is less political unrest. Which then got me thinking, isn’t there always political unrest basically everywhere? Ugh. What a world we live in. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friend!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Patrick Weseman

    June 11, 2022 at 11:02 pm Reply

    Wow, thanks for the shout out and feature. Pretty cool deal. Have fun at the Bluegrass Festival. I know that you will enjoy it.

    Loved all the answers to your questions. This has been an interesting year for me as I have killed off two items off my bucket list and will get the third one done in a month. Pretty cool deal.

    Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 12, 2022 at 5:36 am Reply

      Thanks so much, Patrick! Oooh, are you sharing your bucket list items on your blog? I need to get over there and read what has been going on in your world. I just can’t seem to get my head above water though lately! So much to do and so little motivation to do it! I hope you are enjoying the weekend, my friend.

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • jess jannenga

    June 12, 2022 at 11:42 am Reply

    I really enjoyed reading this! There always is one a-hole on the plane, isnt there!? So interesting that you went to Iceland, I hope to go there one day, even though I hate the cold. You prefer driving. I am not a big fan of flying, but some places are necessary, and 12 hour drives just kill my body. The Bluegrass Festival sounds so fun! I bet you will have a great time. We are planning Italy in the Fall and hopefully each year we plan on doing a big trip.
    Have a great weekend
    jess xx
    http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 12, 2022 at 1:49 pm Reply

      Thanks so much, Jess! I feel like even a two hour flight quickly turns into about 6 hours of travel time from start to finish with so many transitions in between that stress me out so badly that I would rather drive 12 hours! I know that you physically cannot do that long of a drive so I definitely am grateful that I am able to. I am so excited for the festival weekend and seeing all of my North Carolina friends who traveling u this way for it. I hope you have a wonderful trip to Italy. I look forward to reading about it!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Daenel T

    June 12, 2022 at 12:32 pm Reply

    Oh man, the Netherlands. How fun!! I can’t wait to read about your trip. Your festival trip sounds like fun too.

    I’m like you — I definitely prefer to travel by car. I like being able to stop and see the sights on my own schedule.

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 12, 2022 at 1:46 pm Reply

      Thanks so much, Daenel! I can’t wait to go on the Netherlands trip and share it with you all! We are still deciding if the kids are coming with us or if we are going alone. I am leaning towards the whole family going as long as we can budget it! And we definitely can’t drive to get there so flying it will have to be. I guess I could go by boat but ick….that’s worse than flying.

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Kirstin

    June 12, 2022 at 5:19 pm Reply

    The Netherlands would be a fun vacation. I totally agree with your #3…I even like renting a car if I have to fly because I don’t like to be tied down to someone else.

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 13, 2022 at 5:05 am Reply

      Thank you, Kirstin! Oh I will definitely rent my own car if I have to fly somewhere. I like my independence but I also don’t like to inconvenience anyone else if they have to drive me places. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Amber

    June 14, 2022 at 1:09 am Reply

    The music festival sounds like so much fun! I live in the Nashville area, and I actually had the thought that the CMA festival might be fun to try sometime too. I guess with being isolated the last couple of years, I’m ready for some crowds haha.

    Your worst vacation experiences sound like things that would happen to me too! Note to self – keep extra shoes with me the next time I fly!

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      June 14, 2022 at 6:00 am Reply

      Thanks so much, Amber! Oh, I would love to visit Nashville one day! The last time I was there was 30 years ago for some high school swimming nationals meet. Actually, that trip to Nashville was the first time I ever flew on a plane! I ended that trip with a wicked ear infection and a broken toe. Haha. Now I would definitely just drive there. I need more festivals in my life and there are way more in your area than in mine! I hope you have a fantastic week!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

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