Unplugged Travel

August 26 2008 by Amy Graff

silverlake.JPGLast week, the kids and I escaped to California's Sierra for two nights. We stayed with friends at their cabin on Silver Lake, a quiet spot tucked behind Kirkwood Ski Resort. Here, we made homemade fishing poles from sticks, paddled a canoe to an island, and feasted on fresh rainbow trout. We also did a whole lot of nothing.

The trip was peaceful because we were amidst nature and even more so because we were without Internet or phone service. In fact, the cabin didn't even have electricity. After three technology-free days, I realized that a vacation is much more relaxing when you're not receiving calls from your boss or reading news stories online.

For many of us, it's unrealistic to give up the Internet and the phone while we're traveling. Some of us have to check in with the office on the road (I certainly do) while others want to get online to send emails to friends, browse The New York Times, or look up restaurants in their destination. But on this last trip, I learned that it's important to set boundaries while traveling--because you're really not getting away from it all until you turn off the TV, the laptop, the cell phone, the pager, and the Blackberry.

Here are some tips for turning off technology on your next vacation. If you plan ahead and if you're disciplined, it's actually possible.
1) Talk to your boss and coworkers. Set strict boundaries around when the office can contact you. Maybe you request that they call between 3 and 4 p.m. every day or only if it's an emergency or not at all. And who says you have to tell them that your hotel actually has Wi-Fi?

2) Print out trip details ahead. Research your destination before your departure so you don't spend your vacation looking for things to do online. Also, print out your airline information, Map Quest directions, hotel reservation.

3) Ban the TV. Some hotels might remove the TV from the room for you, or you could cover it with a blanket. Out of sight, out of mind.

4) Pack lots of books and a deck of cards. What will you do with your free time if you're not browsing the Internet? Dig into a good book, play a game of Gin rummy. And there's nothing wrong with staring into outer space.

What do you do to unplug on vacation?

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