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And I Left My Camera At Home
- On August 1, 2012
- By Peppermint
- In Everyday
16
Two weeks ago I packed the family up and took them to San Diego to visit our friends Christine and Todd. And I left my camera at home – on purpose.
I left it in my office to hold the file cabinet down for us while we were away. A very important job, as the file cabinet is quite wily.
I also did not bring a laptop, a hard drive or anything else resembling work. Just my tablet – loaded up with the latest Sookie book – and my phone. I relied on my phone for any photos I did take, and that worked out just fine. Plus it’s not as though Christine and Todd are strangers to photography. I wasn’t worried.
Tom did bring his Canon point-and-shoot camera and he has a couple hundred photos of our trip – especially the things that he and Nicholas did together, without me. They both vacation a lot differently than I do – they want to see everything. I’m more of a sit and relax (and eat) type of vacationer.
It worked out pretty well because the guys were able to venture off together to visit places that aren’t my cup of tea – like museums and LegoLand (which I saw during our 2009 trip.) While they were off doing those things I was able to spend a lot of time just hanging out with Christine (and Liz, for one day!) like girlfriends do, without boys around wondering what in the world we were talking about.
Then we could all meet up and hit the destinations that were on everyone’s list – like the San Diego Zoo, the Hotel Del Coronado and the seals at LaJolla.
And the food, of course. No one wanted to miss mealtimes.
Nicholas can now say he’s felt the Pacific Ocean on his feet, and I can daydream about the most amazing sea scallops on Earth at the Sun Deck of the Hotel Del Coronado. And through a total stroke of luck, Tom’s brother had business in San Diego so he flew out a day early to spend a day with us. We live 7 hours apart, but how could we pass up the opportunity to hang out in California together?
It was a fantastic vacation. A much appreciated vacation.
And I never even missed the Nikon. Not once.
Vera
Yay for taking a real vacation!
Not bringing the camera didn’t have to mean not recording the memories
Peppermint
Between social media and my smartphone, recording memories never seems to be a problem anymore! Especially when I’m spending time with other people who are heavy social media users.
Jenifer J
I, too, like to take it easy and enjoy any vacation we take. I hate cramming too much into one day and being too tired when I get home.
Peppermint
My ideal vacation involves a lot of sleeping, a lot of lounging and a LOT of eating. That’s all I need.
Romy
lol…I really don’t understand the “never missed the camera”!!
good that Listgirl has has lots of photos on her blog
)
Peppermint
It’s counter-intuitive, right? It was really nice to not have to lug my big SLR around, though, and fiddle with lens caps and shutter speeds. I think if we’d been vacationing alone, or with non-photography people, I’d have felt more pressure to bring it. But Christine’s camera is newer and better than mine anyway. And they take a lot more photos than I do, too. I typically forget to pull my camera out even when I do have it with me.
Dawn Farias
Wily cabinets aside, you are a smart woman! Sometimes the pressure of the camera can keep you from enjoying the moment. So glad you (all) had a nice vacation. Sigh.
Peppermint
It really was nice. It was an “I gained 5lbs” level of nice.
sue.falstaff
I’m with you on the whole “leave my camera at home” thing … I ♥ my camera phone, so-much-so that I didn’t take my Nikon camera when I met up with the other girls from the London sub-committee of Oscraps back in June! Still got some great shots without it!
Peppermint
With Instagram and Facebook, I find myself sort of annoyed sometimes when I take photos on my DSLR. You know? So then I wind up taking them once with my Nikon, then being all “Hold on a minute!” and whipping out my phone, too. Craziness. Who’d have thought that having too MANY ways to record memories would be a problem? LOL
First world problem!
Michelle Adams
I really do love that you split up for parts of the vaca so that everyone was happy! That counts!
Peppermint
That worked out really well – as it usually does with the Tom and my son. They have similar interests and the same desire to really take their time and see everything. Then I’m the person rushing them through a museum all “Yea yea yea, another WWII medal … seen one, seen ‘em all.” They have way more fun without me at those things.
Christine
Gaining 5 lbs is the definition of a successful vacation, LOL! I miss the bundt cakes, I think I’ll go get some soon… again. :p
alexa
Sounds like a proper vacation – no ‘shoulds’, ‘oughts’ or ‘musts’, even your own.
Glad it was so restorative.
Lucrecia
I went on a cruise with a group of girl friends this winter and did the same thing! One of my friends also has a DSLR so I let her take care of the “important” shots and I just used my iphone for anything I just had to have. It was wonderful not having to lug it around or feel pressured to capture everything!
Cyranoscrap
Wowza! I would have a hard time parting from my Canon DSLR, but I totally understand. Sometimes my DSLR is just so darn bulky. It’s just easier to pocket the point & shoot. I just have to keep reminding myself that it’s the memory that counts, not the camera that caught the memory. So glad you had a chance to disconnect and unwind – that IS a vacation!