Not a Holiday Person

[Cali Cat]

I stole Dorothy Parker's quote about writing to explain my feelings about travel. She said, "I hate writing, but I love having written, " or something to that effect. Well, that's how I am about going on a vacation. I hate it with a passion. All the prepping, traveling and dealing with people, etc.; but, I love looking back on the experience. I only remember the good parts.

Of course, I would never want to go somewhere and be forced into a boring situation like tanning poolside. Sitting around wasting time isn't my style. I'd need to be drunk for that; and besides, I'm a shade worshipper.

I can certainly see the appeal of spending your vacation time working a second job. It's a productive alternative for sure. I usually took my vacations to stay at home and do projects around the house, and just be away from people as much as possible.

 

[paloftoon]

I'm not a big holiday person either. I only like some of them where some restaurants may have exquisite food or some good sales possibly. It is an excuse for a good break. If you don't like holidays and you're stuck with a spouse that has to be a big part of every holiday, I'm sorry you are in that situation. Before you get married, if you aren't a big holiday person, definitely worth it to discuss with your loved one(s) beforehand to see what kind of compromises can be made.

 

[Nitro]

Holidays,or vacations as we call them here are a time for me to explore our world. I can't ever remember enjoying a drunken fest on a beach. That to me is a waste of my time,and I even used to drink

I was always one who loved a trip to our mountains,visiting a distant museum,seeing something cultural or making my way to a place I had never seen before. I might venture out to Maryland again later this summer for another ride/music jam session on an antique buy boat

Most vacations were not planned out well in advance,often flipping a coin at a major highway to determine which direction to head next. Nothing better than getting totally lost when you get to see parts that aren't a tourist attraction imho.

 

[Cali Cat]

I never drink for the taste, I only drink for the euphoric feeling alcohol brings me. If I was on death row my last meal request would be a crate of high-strength beer and several packets of cigarettes.

You need to try Tuaca liqueur. It's the only alcohol I drink for the taste as well as the buzz.

 

[robertsomerville]

You need to try Tuaca liqueur. It's the only alcohol I drink for the taste as well as the buzz.

Don't give me ideas...hehe..you are too kind..

 

[Suzanne]

I never drink for the taste, I only drink for the euphoric feeling alcohol brings me. If I was on death row my last meal request would be a crate of high-strength beer and several packets of cigarettes.

Well, it is said: you meet one aspie, you meet one aspie lol for I could never eat or drink something if the taste was awful, just because of how it made me feel.

I used to love the feeling of getting tipsy, but not anymore; makes me feel too out of control, but then again, I perfer water of alcohol and never smoked in my life; the one time I tried, was when I was 18 and coughed and spluttered so much, wonder what on earth was the point!

 

[Mads]

Even though I never flew, I am absolutely terrified of planes. That's why I prefer driving, even though I'm still terrified of getting in a crash because of a drunken or irrational ass.

Despite that, I like vacations. Just not the people. I don't get out of my state too often, let alone the part of it I'm in. Maybe every two-three years I get the golden opportunity to do something fun. So I take it.

 

[robertsomerville]

don't drive under the influence..i still have my senses..my uncle died.drunk on the road

 

[Mads]

don't drive under the influence..i still have my senses..my uncle died.drunk on the road

Drinking isn't something I really want to do.. so worrying about that will just be irrational.

 

[Catlover614]

Sure to a degree. Holidays are a social ritual. Doesn't really matter what significance each one has. They're still a social ritual.

I don't like social rituals. Period. My bad.

Christmas is always the worst for me though, because I associate it with the deaths of my parents who both died only twelve days before Christmas on the same day and date but 28 years apart.

Judge I am truly sorry for your loss. I hate social rituals also, way too much for me to handle. Thanksgiving and Christmas are excruciatingly agonizing as those days were celebrated by fighting amongst family members and the absence of my father just added to my pain and suffering.

 

[Catlover614]

I avoid the holidays like the plaque. But that doesn't mean that I don't take vacations. I take all my vacations during off-season time, so as to avoid any large crowds. Less people to deal with and the hotel rates are a lot cheaper.

Lol, holidays are a plague, lol, and I maintain avoidance.

 

[Aeolienne]

In September this year I had a holiday in Montenegro, with a couple of days in Dubrovnik at either end. I was away for 9 days, which was the longest time I'd spent abroad since 2008, as well as being the first holiday I'd had since splitting with my one and only boyfriend in April last year. Unfortunately my bank balance has been in the red ever since this holiday.

Previously, when I was in regular employment I generally spent around 2-3 weeks (not concurrently) of my annual leave on holidays away. These were a mixed experience. As I had no-one to go with I was faced with the choice of going on my own (single supplements, asking for a table for one in restaurants) or going on a group holiday (having to get matey with a bunch of total strangers I had little else in common with - on one occasion I found myself in a group where all the other were old enough to be my parents!).

I did go on a couple of short breaks with my ex. Unfortunately he preferred to save his annual leave for catching up on political activism in London rather than exploring other regions or countries. Besides which I felt guilty that he had to foot the bill due to my not having a job.

 

[toothless]

ive only ever had one holiday-it was to centreparcs in penrith in cumbria,UK,i was on 2-1 support at the time and i also paid for my mum to come although she had broke her shoulder only 5 days earlier and was on morphine.

i have always had major issues with staying anywhere other than my own home and having to follow a different routine, it causes major challenging behavior in me,so i have just avoided holidaying but that holiday-about 1 or 2 years ago [i forget which] was amazing,i took my bedroom along with me in the boot of the car, so that everything looked the same and i ate the same food.

i saw red squirrels every day outside our wooden log cabbin along with phesants and partridges i think and badgers we were in the middle of the woods,i rarely saw other people despite there being over 5000 people on site at the time,id honestly recommend centreparcs to any autist who likes to be alone but likes the structure of a holiday park.

if you weigh under 16 stone you are able to do everything from quad biking to horse riding,you can rent bikes to including special needs trikes but the deposit for any bike is expensive and theres a tropical swimming pool with slides thats free to use as many times as you like which is cool if you like being in water,i used my wetsuit as i cant tolerate water on my skin but i absolutely love wave pools.

 

[Mr Allen]

My Family likes to go on Holiday to big Cottages literally in the middle of nowhere.

Like this Easter weekend we went down to a place in Norfolk near a Beach, it was a bit boring IMO because the weather wasn't good (it never is wherever we go) and there wasn't much to do, I'd much prefer to go on Holiday to what I call "Hi De Hi" Holiday Camps, places like Camber Sands or Butlin's, but Mum and Dad don't like those kind of places, they prefer the quieter Cottages where we went this year, last year and apparently we're going to same place next year.

I am half considering asking for extra care that weekend and staying at Home to do my own stuff, but we'll see.

 

[Progster]

I like holidays (vacations) when I have some independence about where to go and what to see. I enjoy visiting nature parks, going for walks, visiting places of natural beauty or historic importance, museums, that kind of thing, but I don't like beach holidays. I find it extremely boring to sit on a beach or round a pool all day. I like to be active, to do things. I like eating in restaurants and not having to cook or clean up.

 

[GrownupGirl]

When I read the title I didn't know at first that by "holidays" they meant what people in Canada and the US refer to as "vacations". Although I think holiday is used more in Canada. To me, being on "holiday" is going to a a place that's very classy, fancy and expensive, and they leave little chocolates on your hotel pillows.

 

[Mr Allen]

I like Holidays, just not the kind of Holidays my Parents like, big Cottages in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do when the weather's bad (and more often than not it is when we go), I'd much rather go to what I call "Hi De Hi" Holiday camps, places like Butlin's, Pontin's, Camber Sands etc which have an onsite Pool and other entertainment facilities.

And there's one in the UK that's not all that far away, Butlin's at Skegness, only about an hour and half away, 2 hours at the most, on the Lincolnshire coast.

 

[Aeolienne]

I'm going to the Fairphone convention in Amsterdam in August. That will have to count as my summer holiday. Apparently there are beaches of sorts on nearby Lake IJssel.

 

[Sid Delicious]

I don't mind if they are very structured and I know what activities I'm likely to be doing each day. I'm not one for lazing around on a beach though. After an hour, I'm bored and start to go a bit stir crazy. I went to one of those Centre Parcs places a few years ago and enjoyed that as it was constant biking, climbing, swimming, walking, yoga, sports, etc. Then in the evenings we met up with the rest of the group we were with and had BBQs, pool competitions, and games. We booked things in advance, so I had a plan for most of the week and was constantly busy. Although I tend to take a laptop, books and sketch pad in case I do have time where I need to occupy myself.

 

[Aeolienne]

I don't necessarily expect to have a rigid timetable, but I appreciate it if someone's done some background research and made sure that information about public transport, opening times, useful local shops, prices etc is readily available so I can make my own arrangements. The worst holiday I ever had was organised (in a very loose sense) by a fellow member of a rambling club I was in. All he did was book an off-peak ferry + chalet package to St Malo, Brittany, France. There was only one other person who came apart from me and he really got on my nerves: constant inane Franglaisisms combined with TMI about his sexual frustrations. We ended hanging around the chalet for the best part of each day before going on some half-hearted walk consisting a stretch of coastline and the edge of an industrial estate. The food we ate was mostly overpriced processed crap from the campsite café (yes, junk food does exist in France). I was going through a really stressful period at work so I hadn't had the time to research the place before we went, otherwise maybe I might have hired a bike to do my own thing - but then I had assumed that it's the responsibility of the organiser to do this kind of prep.

By contrast, later on that year I went on another rambling break which was a textbook example of how to organise one. It was in Penzance, Cornwall, and arranged by a group from the East Midlands who had some spaces free so they approached rambling clubs along the Westcountry main rail line to join them. The organiser had done a lot of preparation and come up with a full schedule of walks using buses and local trains, one including a visit to Tate St Ives for the culture vultures among us, as well as having booked restaurant meals for the evenings. There was no obligation to go on every single walk but it was great to know that someone had done the groundwork for us. Incidentally, according to a recent Radio 4 programme, Cornwall has one of the best bus services in the UK outside of London.