Weekend Getaway
Posted by Elizabeth
The cutest ice cream store in Denver!
I’ve never been much of a “weekend getaway” kind of gal. The amount of planning required to execute a two-day escape takes longer than the trip itself, with travel time eating a significant percentage of the 48-hour respite. And the whole affair of “getting away” for two days, which is supposed to be restful, usually leaves me feeling more exhausted than if I would have simply stayed at home. When life is full, weekends are for recuperating. But when life becomes an exercise in returning emails as soon as they hit your inbox — when you are playing The Waiting Game – a weekend getaway is in order, which is why we spent the past few days in Denver. I’d always considered the weekend getaway an escape from the stresses of the workweek, a time to chill out in the country, sit in a spa, and murmur just how relaxing getting away is. But what I came to realize over the last 48 hours, at least for myself, is that weekend getaways are for the times in life when you are bored out of your skull; when you need to shake things up, wrench yourself from your routine, and WAKE UP.
Indeed.
During out time in Denver, we stayed with our friends, Rose and Stu, who have a hip condo in the heart of the trendy Capitol Hill neighborhood. For 48 hours, I remembered what it was like to live in the pulsating folds of a cosmopolitan city. We walked to fashionable diners in their neighborhood, lunching on fancy-pants macaroni and cheese. We strolled the city in search of impossibly fluffy pineapple upside down pancakes. We hunched towards the candlelight, talking about life in dimly-lit restaurants over chorizo-squash enchiladas, and sparring with our forks over the last bites of award-winning desserts. We lounged in hipster bars with rough-hewn tables and bizarre 70s cartoons splashed across screens, sending shards of pale light over the patrons. This is not my life: it was once, and it might be again someday. But it’s not my life right now, and that’s what made the weekend so fun; it was a chance to live in an alternate universe for two days, to getaway from whatever “normal” dictates my life. And perhaps that is the very point of the getaway: to try on a different identity for a few days, to reflect what we might like for our lives, if only in a small dose.
Denver's ugliest sculpture, which I referred to as "a steaming pile of organs." Bonus: it lights up at night!
I’ve always equated “weekend getaway” with “forced rest and relaxation,” and for the past several years the weekend getaway has never appealed to me because my life was so overflowing with activity that the idea of adding more activity into my free time felt completely unnecessary. I don’t think a weekend getaway will ever be for relaxation; I can do that more easily at home. But now I see the utility of a weekend getaway in order to jazz up life a bit, and with this definition in mind, the time is ripe for weekend getaways. For the first time in a long time, my life is kind of boring. I’m not exactly complaining, but I’m also not used to this feeling of boredom. I am accustomed to activity and purpose guiding my days, and, without it, I’m seeking action in other realms of my life – the realms that have traditionally been dedicated to relaxation. My relationship to the weekend getaway has changed because the circumstances of my life have changed. I imagine that city dwellers find retreat in the country or some otherwise diabolically opposite situation of their regular lives at homes. As for me, I’d take a getaway to a bustling city over a spa-filled weekend any day.
And you know what? For the whole weekend I almost forgot that I was playing The Waiting Game. Almost.
What do you think of weekend getaways? Are they for activity or relaxation? How do you make the most of your getaways? What do you use your weekends for: recreation, relaxation, or productivity?
January 25th, 2010 at 5:19 am
It is odd that you write about getaways as I did a quick post this morning on two weekend getaways I am going on in the near future (March and April). Mine have certain things that need to be done but I want to do more than “just the race.”
I love little road trips. I love feeling that I don’t have to clean or do laundry – which are always here when I am at home. Whether the getaway is to Boston or to Ithaca (only about 40 miles away), I relish the change in scenery.
I must get to Denver again some day. The sculpture is unique and I want to see it up close.
January 25th, 2010 at 7:00 am
Weekend trips are fabulous. You don’t have to pack too much, do any laundry while away, or spend too much money. They are the exception to the rule, however. Usually my weekends are for equal parts relaxation and NYT crossword puzzle-solving and cooking/laundry/cleaning.
January 25th, 2010 at 7:08 am
I’m actually a HUGE proponent of the weekend getaway…and for precisely the reasons you mention. Not so much for relaxation as for escape.
January 25th, 2010 at 8:11 am
I love Denver, such a great city. I also love a good weekend getaway but almost exclusively for the purpose of reconnecting with friends rather than for activities.
January 25th, 2010 at 8:28 am
Like others have mentioned, I love weekend getaways for their ability to spar some excitement into the normal routine. Granted they are harder now with a toddler than they were in the past, but we still manage. And, for Life in Pencil purposes, they are wonderful tools for keeping one flexible and going with the flow.
January 25th, 2010 at 8:29 am
I have never been a big fan of the Weekend Getaway. I like having nothing planned. I like having no bags to packed. Especially since kids have entered the picture, I relish the ability to stay home and stay still. I hope that I warm up to the idea of the Weekend Getaway at some point though because theoretically it sounds lovely!
January 25th, 2010 at 11:50 am
I envy you your weekend. It sounds like the perfect antidote to the Waiting Game. (I’m getting very curious on that front, by the way…)
Right now, the perfect weekend getaway for me would be two days away with Husband. The destination and agenda don’t matter as much as the company – and I would want to leave my boys out of this one – and the opportunity to eat long, decadent meals and drink large, languorous glasses of wine.
January 25th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
I neeeeeeeeeeeeeed a weekend getaway. Question is: who am I getting away from???? Deep thoughts.
January 26th, 2010 at 10:52 am
Well, personally I’m glad you came to Denver… It was fantastic meeting you both!
I’m really enjoying the posts, too, thanks for sharing. I think this speaks to where so many of us are in life right now; certainly to where I am. It’s great to see that you’re working it out on e-paper, as it were!
January 26th, 2010 at 10:54 am
Hi, Kristin! Maikael and I both so enjoyed meeting you as well. Thanks for taking the time to remember and look up the blog. I think ALL of us are striving to live our complicated lives “in pencil,” perhaps artists more than anyone.