Vacation Mentality

Who we are when we're on the road

by Lauren Fritsky

The Things We Carry

A recent post on Kristine Hansen’s Travel In Mind blog discusses why traveling while grieving can be beneficial. Taking a trip after someone dies, she reckons, could be away to begin working through internal chaos. She shares the story of author and therapist Claire Bidwell Smith, who took trips after the deaths of each of her parents over a seven-year period. Read More

What's the Real Reason We Hate Kids on Planes?

Have you heard about the tantrum-throwing 2-year-old tossed off a JetBlue flight from the Caribbean last month? The media response has been largely in favor of the airline staff, not the parents of the kid, who are crying (pun intended) injustice over the incident. Read More

Backpacker Deaths: Blame It on the Alcohol or the Unregulated Tourism?

The recent deaths of two Australian tourists in the party town of Vang Vieng, Laos, has spurred a rash of articles focusing on the rise of backpacker-centric tourism in this part of Asia and the unregulated nature of the activities it provides. In Vang Vieng, it's customary for young Australian, American and European backpackers to float in tubes down a river while drinking. Read More

Why a Really Long Vacation Might Not Make You Happy

There's a funny column about vacation and work cross-posted on Reuters from the web site The Wrap. Writer Steve Hutensky pokes fun at people complaining about the holidays being over and their vacations being too short. He also takes a shot at those of us who want to go on permanent vacation by "quitting your job to operate a beach bar in Maui." Read More