T-SQL Tuesday #134 – Taking a Break

The latest T-SQL Tuesday invitation hosted by James McGillivray is all about breaks. I considered writing about how I manage breaks day to day but decided I’d rather reminisce and go back in time thinking about the best break/vacation I’ve had in the last few years. Check out the host T-SQL Tuesday post by following the link below and also read what others had to say:

Maybe it’s because it was the most recent, but my favorite break that came to mind has to be our last Myrtle Beach trip in July 2018. It wasn’t all relaxation though…

We drove through the night from Ohio and got to Myrtle Beach in the morning. We were tired and couldn’t find the condo at first because we ended up going to South 123 Street instead of North 123 Street (can’t remember the real street name) but that ended up being for the better. In the midst of being lost, we saw a comedy club advertising Pauly Shore stand-up for that week and we were able to get tickets when we stopped to eat lunch.

It wasn’t a planned part of the trip but ended up being the best night. Funny how things like that workout.

Our second full day there is when disaster struck. Calling it a “disaster” is harsh but it sure felt like it to me.

I got my laptop out and sat down to catch up on shows and relax. Unfortunately, my laptop hard drive decided it was the perfect time to fail. I couldn’t believe the timing. After making a short trip to get the right tools to open up my laptop and failing at getting it fixed with what I had, I decided that it was just not meant to be. It was vacation though so probably better that I was a bit more cut off from the rest of the world. I ordered a hard drive from my phone that was then waiting at home when we got back and haven’t had a problem since.

It had been too long since we’d been to the ocean so we did plenty of walking up and down the beach. I was used to busy beaches from growing up but this time around there was almost nobody around. I managed to find a shark tooth after a pretty exhaustive search so I was able to check that off the list of vacation goals.

It was a great week to get away and have some adventure but looking back on it makes me realize how badly another vacation is needed. Over the last few years I’ve struggled to take time off, even if it’s just a “staycation” at home. At the end of the year I seem to end up with more PTO than I know what to do with. I’m going to try to be better about that in 2021.

Thanks for reading!