DIARY OF AN INDUSTRY INSIDER: The Simple Things

As you’re reading this, I’m hopefully in stage two (or three) of my tanning process and into the double digits with my tropical drinks for the day. Yes folks, I am on vacation. You said what? Miami? Um, no. Puerto Rico? Yeah, still no. Cancun?? Heyelllll no. The Hamptons? Not on a holiday weekend unless (until) I’m going to my own house and entertaining guests. No, I’m in a beautiful Caribbean locale that has absolutely nothing to do with anything industry-related.

No shots to those who are heading to the afore-mentioned spots, but those lost their appeal about 7 years ago for me.Here’s a little insight into my Holiday Weekend Travel Evolution:

Every year, after about the second week of May, the inevitable question would start floating around: 'What are you doing for Memorial Day?' and the same list as above would rattle off as possible destination options. Over the years (Read: as my friends and I neared 30) they all seemed a lot less enticing, and then the second question would follow: 'Where's a good place to go?' Now for a few years, I went straight anti-holiday weekend and would answer 'Nowhere man, do the family thing, get a grill...' I went through a phase where the whole Summer holiday travel thing held no appeal for me. Places that I used to clamor to get to (like, again, the above mentioned) now seemed over crowded and (maybe it was just me) full of people more my little cousins’ age - or at least my younger sister’s age - or people my age that I really wouldn’t want to spend an entire weekend around. Sadly, it's the evolution of any vacation spot/ weekend event/ festival/ awards show/ etc that a good look becomes a progressively worse look by the year, and by year 3 or 4 it usually resembles Freaknick (well, latter-day Freaknick, not the ‘real’ Freaknick).