This past week we snuck away for our first *real* vacation in a long, long while. According to my kids, it was their first *real* vacation ever, because apparently going to visit your Grandparents in Michigan doesn’t count as a *real* vacation, even if you stay in a hotel, swim in the hotel’s pool, spend a day at the beach, go to waterslides, and do other fun vacation-y stuff. A real vacation involves going somewhere other than Grandma’s or Grandpa’s home state. Who knew? Now I do.

Our first *real* vacation involved a stay at Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City. It was ideal in every way. First, we really needed to get away and spend some quality time together. I think my favorite part was just hanging out and talking. We spend a lot of time talking in our regular life, but there’s something about vacation chat, the kind of chat that comes from the monotony of driving in a car, that just can’t be beat.

On our drive home, Collin shared this gem as we collectively pondered the concept of the Easter Bunny. “First of all, bunnies are mammals. It’d be much more reasonable to have an Easter chicken than an Easter bunny.” An Easter Chicken. Why not? Sounds “reasonable” to me.

So this year we got a visit from the Easter Chicken. The Easter Chicken, ironically enough, brought the kids a giant chocolate bunny and other little goodies tucked into a basket similar to the ones the Easter Bunny used in the past. I have to admit, and I’m probably alone in this, but I rather enjoy this phase we’re in. We still decorate eggs, hide them, and do Easter baskets, but there’s no more worrying about trying to justify the existence of a bunny over the more reasonable concept of a chicken. I like that. It has a certain simplicity that really appeals to me.

Easter egg

But I digress. Back to the *real* vacation.

The second reason this vacation was ideal was because I really disconnected with life at home. And this, my friends, is getting harder and harder to do. Not just for me, but for all of us who are wireless or connected to everyone everywhere 24/7. Yes, I checked my email, but only once a day, and I only responded to mission-critical emails and sometimes not even those. Our Internet access was a bit sporadic…and this suited me just fine. On top of that there was no Facebook. No Twitter. No blogging. No real connection to anyone or anything except for my family. And this was good.

It was the waterslides, eating out, playing in the arcade, and staying in a hotel that made it a *real* vacation for my kids. But for me, it was completely disconnecting from my *real* life that made this past week a *real* vacation for me.

Great wolf lodge

Oh, and while I was away I read a *really* good book, which is always a treat, whether I’m on vacation or not. I’ll share more about the book later this week—it’s one I think you’ll really love. So I’m excited to share.

In the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts on taking *real* vacations. Do you disconnect from the real world or do you stay connected via your cell phone, lap top or other electronic device? I’m curious to know if I’m the only one who craves complete disconnection from the real world while vacationing. I’m happy to be back…but boy it felt good to get away.