The 2012 Huether Island Vacation has come and gone. To use it as an opportunity to grow, I wanted to do things outside my comfort zone.  What qualifies?  Let's start with everything that has anything to do with relaxation.  I'm a "let's do stuff" kind of guy.  My wife is a "let's relax and unplug" kind of gal. And, our son is a "Mom, have you seen my Trapper Keeper" kind of kid. My wife thought I was a little crazy when I proposed going on a cruise to remote islands with little or no technology. But, we did it! So, what did we do to make everyone happy?  We went on a cruise and also rented a private bungalow on a small island.  We did crazy stuff like race horses (bareback) on Grand Turk [I have pictures] and went swimming with dolphins. We ate 3+ meals a day as a family and listened to our son grind his teeth every night.

I will admit, I kind of wanted to poke my eyes out after the first day at sea. Seriously, sit in the same chair IN THE SUN all day long?  Fortunately, they had all-you-could-drink coffee and a decent gym.  Getting on a boat with really bad Internet and a wickedly short list of television channels forces you to do weird things like talk with your family.  I think we did pretty well.  I wasn't constantly checking my phone.  I wasn't thinking about work. I was interacting with my family.

As a family, we did discover one thing we all missed.  We missed being able to look up strange facts any time we wanted.  Our son wanted to know what a Trapper Keeper was. My wife wanted to know if that Peter Max painting should really cost that much. I wanted to know why we couldn't bring Cuban cigars back into the United States.  Certainly, I could write a lengthy blog post about feedback loops and flow of the lines through Customs.  Instead, I just wanted to say what I did on vacation.

I am now fully charged and ready to get back to work. Get ready for some exciting news in the coming week.  The technology fast is officially over.

Image Credit: Pictofigo