No, I'm not talking about the MTV reality TV show. I'm talking about our family vacation this summer. It was one of the best ever. We really had a good time.
One of the things that made it so cool was the fact that it had nothing to do with professional bass fishing. Now, don't get me wrong. I love my job, but it's good to get away from it for a vacation every now and again. That's exactly what we did.
The best thing we did was turn off the phones. Without the distraction of talking on my cell phone, I was able to concentrate on my wife and kids. Until you spend a few days without one of those darn things, you don't realize how much of your time they consume. The calls may be short, but they break your train of concentration. Besides 10 or 15 of them a day mount up.
We took advantage of the "no call zone" by doing stuff like riding the rides at the amusement parks along the shore and spending time on the play beaches. In years past, there was trouble with pollution and trash in the water, but that's mostly gone now. Everything's in great shape.
I've often thought that having a good time with your family is a really simple way to grow strong. It's not about how fancy or planned out your activities are that matters. It's the time and positive memories that really matter in the end.
While I'm going on about all this I to have to confess that we did do a little fishing on our vacation. We weren't going to pack any tackle but we changed our minds at the last minute.
Basically we concentrated on flounder and sea robin. We had a ball catching them. We also managed to put out a handful of crab traps and caught several. I don't have to tell you about the difference between eating fresh seafood and frozen, or stuff that's been flown all over the country before you eat it.
If you stop to think about it you'll quickly realize that Mother Nature is a funny thing. The Jersey Shore is about as populated as anything can get at this time of the year. The sea creatures don't seem to mind, though. They continue to go about their lives and live right in the middle of all that commotion. I guess it's what they're used to, so they don't know any difference. They make the best of what's available.
That's enough about our vacation. It's time to return to the real-world and do something to support my family. Despite the fact that the 2010 Elites are over, my schedule will be pretty busy for the rest of the year, and before you know it, it'll be time to start another season.
