Whole Vacation Now in Question

[canyonwalker]

Earlier today I wrote about canceling one beach trip in favor of another. It seems an easy call, right? Two trips now on the books, they seem redundant, so let's keep the better one and take back the time and money from the other. Unfortunately it's not as simple as that.

The difficulty is that I'm struggling to justify the whole rest of the trip beginning Friday now that Florida has been canceled. New Orleans, Mississippi, and Florida were like three legs of a tripod. Take one away, and the others don't stand well.

What do I care about in New Orleans? I'm not sure anymore. Carousing on Bourbon Street was amazing when I was in my 20s. Now, it's like, why do I need to pay exorbitant prices to drink overly sugared cheap booze on the street while party-goers throwing up in the gutters? I've got far better booze at home, far cheaper, and the only person I have to worry about throwing up on my own shoes is me. 🤣

What do I care about Mississippi? On an absolute scale, not much. It's a culturally backwards, politically authoritarian shit-hole. But it's also on my bucket list to visit all the states in the US. Mississippi is one of the last two.

We seriously considered pulling the plug on the whole trip. N.O. I wouldn't miss. Mississippi I'd be miffed about missing because of the bucket list thing. And frankly I'd be miffed about not traveling because then I wouldn't be taking time off. Remember, I'm on an "unlimited" time off policy at work now. There's no saving vacation days for later. They're effectively use-it-or-lose-it every few months.

We've considered going somewhere else instead on this trip. It's a great idea, but the problem is it's hard to book at reasonable prices only a week out. We explored a few ideas last night and decided it's not worth it. We've got one more idea we'll look at today. But most likely we'll just do 60% of our trip starting next week and I'll feel frustrated about the parts that are broken.

Comments

New Orleans

[readingblogs]

There is much more to New Orleans than Bourbon Street, alcohol, and tourist traps. I encourage you to do more research before writing off the city and its surroundings. There's fabulous food, and not just in the French Quarter. If you like live music, you'll find a lively scene. History is everywhere in New Orleans, unlike in newer suburban areas like the Bay Area. You can learn about local black culture and history. Though oppressed and circumscribed in many ways, blacks in the south accomplished a lot in metropolitan areas like New Orleans. Search for smaller museums and historical sites to learn more.

Re: New Orleans

[canyonwalker]

I know there's more to New Orleans than booze on Bourbon Street. I've explored a bit of it on past trips and will do a lot more this trip. I'll be there for 4 nights... and expect to spend approximately none of them staggering along Bourbon Street with a large plastic cup of alco-pop in hand.