Friday Five: Getaway Island Edition

As always, from the RevGals:

We snitched a bit of time on an quiet island nearby this week. It was a last minute plan, escaping with a minimal amount of preparation. One must have essentials that make it a relaxing time. Perhaps you have had this opportunity to escape, or maybe it's only been a thought to get away. However, suppose you were told to pack some essentials for a trip to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Describe your location, in general or specific terms and....

1) What book(s) will you bring?
2) What music accompanies you?
3) What essentials of everyday living must you take (as in the health and beauty aids aisle variety)?
4) What technological gadgets if any, will you take with you or do you leave it all behind?
5) What culinary delights will you partake in while there?

As a bonus question, what makes for a perfect day on vacation for you?

1. Ahhh, what books to bring? Shall I challenge myself with thick tomes such as A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man or Les Miserables? Nope - too heavy. I'll be bringing smaller, much less exotic fare: perhaps my current book, The Children of Hurin, or paperbacks I've picked up on the way, something like John Grisham or John Sandford. Maybe even some Stephen King, though weight does sometimes become problematic. What I really like to do is find a local bookstore when we arrive at our destination and see if I can find something new and exciting while I'm there - in Duluth on our honeymoon I picked up Good Poems, a collection of poetry edited by Garrison Keillor. Wonderful reading and good memories to boot.

2. Can I say that my iPod is like carrying around my own personal radio station? I love it! Though I'm chagrined to admit I was wrong about one thing: the 8GB Nano was not the iPod I needed. It's already full, and I only have about 2/3 of our CD collection burned and copied into it. I should have gone for the 10 or 20G iPod, even though they are bigger and more expensive. Oh, well - now I just need to be a bit more judicious about my music.
Anyway, here are some artists I'd bring on CD if the iPod were on the fritz:
Neil Young - Storyhill - Peter Mayer - Justin Roth - KT Tunstall - The Wailin' Jennys - The Wild Clover Band - The Statler Brothers - Rich Mullins - Stevie Ray Vaughan - Jars of Clay - PFR. There; that should do for starters

3. Toothbrush & toothpaste, contact lens stuff, shampoo & soap, deodorant. If it's more than two days or if there's a nice dinner involved, shaving cream & a razor (though I do keep a toiletries bag fully stocked for my trips to the gym each week, so it's really just a matter of moving it from gym bag to travel bag).

4. I will bring my cell phone, Palm Pilot and iPod along, but only the latter will be used. By the time I return, the first two will be deader than Lazarus on the third day.

5. I will try to sample the local cuisine and look for non-chain restaurants if possible. On the north shore of Lake Superior, for example, there's a great little gas station/restaurant/arts & crafts store that makes the worlds biggest & best sourdough pancakes; we discovered it thanks to a friend's recommendation. That's the kind of cuisine I like if I can get it - and I always do.

A perfect day on vacation begins with a sleeping wife & child in a cabin somewhere in the woods. I wake up at 6:00 a.m., make the coffee and sit down with my book or newspaper and read for at least an hour in uninterrupted silence. We have breakfast at some comfortable hour and then Beloved plays with the Child while I continue reading, and we quietly enjoy a morning together in the sunlight, with birds singing outside the window. In the afternoon we go for a hike together, then we come home and shower before heading into town for dinner with friends or maybe just some window shopping at the local artists district - pottery, crafts, antiques, that sort of thing. After a good dinner, we go back to the cabin for a movie after Ainsley falls asleep. After the movie I open a beer and read until I feel like falling asleep. Thus ends my perfect day of vacation.