Vacation Journaling

Often when scrapbookers journal about their vacations, the commentary becomes lackluster. "We went to (fill in the blank). We did (such and such). We had a good time."

I suggest you consider a vacation for what it really is...a departure from ordinary life. With that in mind, you'll notice the little "things" that when added to your journaling and your photos will make your memories more vivid on the page.

Here's a thought: If you are flying, start by taking note of your traveling experience. Cheapflights.com released a survey of air travelers’ pet peeves. The most annoying behaviors are:

- Incessant Talker, chatters non-stop: 23 percent
- Rapid Recliner, wheels up, in your lap: 20 percent
- Arm Rest Hog, elbow wrestling, you lose: 12 percent
- Carry-on Champ, bashes bags left and right: 12 percent
- Seat Back Grabber, grabs your seat to get up: 11 percent
- Who Me?, yes, you; turn off your cell phone: 10 percent
- Flight DJ, iPod loud enough for all: 3 percent
- The Boozer, unscheduled landing anyone?: 3 percent
- Mad Bladder, quaff-n-go maniac: 1 percent

We left St. Louis yesterday for a Spring Break trip to Florida. I wondered if my husband, son and I would encounter any of these rude behaviors on the flight down.

Generally, I look forward to a flight as the chance to catch up on my reading. This time, I sat between my husband and son, so we were able to indulge in the sort of delightful catching up families do when they are "forced" to spend quality time without the distractions of television, phones and Internet.

More surprisingly, the interesting tidbit on THIS particular trip wasn't a rude traveler. It was the man who sat across the aisle from us. Let me describe him and see if you can guess his occupation...

He had jet-black hair, long in the back and rising high and tossed back over his forehead. A pair of long sideburns framed his high cheekbones. He wore lots of silver jewelry, necklaces and rings. His denim jacket and matching black jeans paired with a florid orchid shirt looked like a stage costume, especially when he turned around. The image of a man singing before a large audience was screen-printed on the back of the jacket. When the flight attendant served him a drink, he responded in a southern drawl and said, "Thank you. Thank you very much."

Okay, my description might not do him justice, but if you'd seen him, you'd have realized as fast as we did that either Elvis lives or we were sitting next to an Elvis impersonator!

Speaking of folks impersonating other people on planes, I had a male “friend” who used his flight-time to pull pranks. He’d exchange business cards with his in-flight neighbors, and on his NEXT flight, he’d introduce himself as the person on one of the business cards he’d just been handed.

It worked pretty well for a long time. He’d hand over the card and wait for the unsuspecting recipient to read it aloud. (We always read them aloud, don’t we?) Then he’d nod sagely and say, “Yes, I’m an architect.” Or, “Uh huh, I’m an investment banker.”

He swore it made traveling a lot more fun. And he was amazed at how gullible people are. But the party ended one day.

He was cruising at 37,000 feet and sitting next to a very, very pretty woman. He pulled a card from his pocket without looking.

“So.” She smiled at him after glancing at the business card. “You’re a gynecologist? Let me tell you about a problem I’ve been having….”