Too Structured
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (61915)
United States
June 4, 2018 9:22am CST
I read the discussion from @DianneN where she talked about a spur-of-the-moment trip over the weekend with her husband. I also mentioned a trip I took three weeks ago where I had no "real" agenda, other than getting to St. Louis by Friday night (leaving home on a Thursday morning). It got me to thinking about how minutely we plan our lives, to the point that even our "recreation" time has a schedule.
I can understand it if you take a "tour." When I took my mom to Niagara Falls, we took a day/night tour. The morning part concentrated on the American side, while the evening tour was centered on the Canadian side. It left at a specific time and was scheduled to be back at a specific time. In that regard, I can understand them saying, "You have 20 minutes to enjoy the Journey Behind the Falls, meet back here at 8:45."
However, a lot of entire vacations have turned into that. I've had friends tell me they're going on "vacation," and then they recite their itinerary for it: "We'll be in Nashville by 4 PM, go to this at 5:30, have dinner at 7, get up at 6:30 the next morning, drive to Atlanta..."
I think that's what made that quick trip I took to St. Louis so enjoyable. If I saw a sign for an attraction and it interested me, I took the exit and went to it.
Maybe we've become so structured in our lives that we expect even our recreational time to be "structured." No wonder people are so stressed!
Here's a Jerry Reed song about throwing that structure away:
Yesterdays... oh how many do you wish you could relive? Turn the page and go back, oh I wonder what you'd give? Looking back does it seem when you've plann...
8 people like this
6 responses
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
4 Jun 18
I do not structure a trip to the hour and adhere to a schedule but all is planned out in advance to maximize seeing things and being prepared. A certain amount of adjustments usually happen on the road.
3 people like this
@FourWalls (61915)
• United States
4 Jun 18
Your vacation reports sound like you leave with the idea that you're going to a certain part of the country (e.g., "I'm going to Kansas"), and whatever happens on the way is what you enjoy.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
4 Jun 18
@FourWalls I prepare in advance where I am going and what I am seeing. It is sort of handy to know in advance the hours and admission fees. I also need to know schedule if a baseball game is involved.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61915)
• United States
4 Jun 18
@JohnRoberts — there had better be a baseball game involved!!!!! 
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (34300)
•
7 Jun 18
Part of my makeup is to be organized but after reading your post, I remember some of the best trips I have been on were without an itinerary. I remember my Spring vacation college Florida trips and there was little structure there. And we had a blast!!!! Time to rethink this structured vacation planning thing 
1 person likes this
@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
4 Jun 18
I like to have a map of the place I am going to and a rough idea of which sights I would like to see. I found Berlin had a very good little booklet which helped with our sightseeing plans. In St Petersburg in Russia we has limited time so we rushed around seeing as much as possible. My trips have some structure to do with flight times and train times. If we have a long haul flight then we need some down time to relax.
1 person likes this
arrangement.
@DianneN (246334)
• United States
4 Jun 18
I'm glad I prompted your discussion. 
When I taught school, our trips were always scheduled in advance due to time constraints. Now that I'm retired, it's not a problem. However, it depends on the type of trip. I've found tours in certain foreign countries need to squeeze in as much as possible. So glad you had such a nice trip to St. Louis!
When I taught school, our trips were always scheduled in advance due to time constraints. Now that I'm retired, it's not a problem. However, it depends on the type of trip. I've found tours in certain foreign countries need to squeeze in as much as possible. So glad you had such a nice trip to St. Louis!1 person likes this
@Dena91 (15844)
• United States
4 Jun 18
Mike and I never have taken a tour trip because we like to go at our own pace and get off the beaten path so to speak. We have found a lot of gems along the way just rolling with the time that we have. I think you are right, many do try and structure their vacations like their regular life. We enjoy being spontaneous on our adventures
1 person likes this
