vacation on the brain

...or, My Brain is Taking a Vacation.
    I've been thinking about getting away, literally or figuratively. Charles Bukowski had something to say on that subject (sort of) (humor me) (in 'Kissing Me Away', in The People Look Like Flowers at Last):

...it was like any other
relationship, there was
jealousy on both sides,
there were split-ups and
reconciliations.
there were also fragmented moments of
great peace and beauty.

I often tried to get away from her and
she tried to get away from me
but it was difficult:
Cupid, in his strange way, was really
there.
    Sometimes one takes a simple trip--even just 14.24 miles from home--and it changes one's life. And then sometimes one makes elaborate plans to fly across the country to clear one's head...and ends up in the same place, so to speak, as before one left.

I thought I went on
that trip to get away
from you, but it turns
out that you came
along with me, and we
never left. We're
still here and it's
still wrong and I
still don't know what
to do about you.

My heart is still
breaking. Not just
broken, but still
breaking.
    So. Time, off. What to do? Where to go? I'm just not hip on the idea of "doing" vacations--where one plans each day to the nth degree, always doing and seeing and going--because that is exactly the aspect of regular life that I seek a vacation from. My financial situation, however, does not lend itself to lying on a secluded beach in the middle of [seriously] nowhere, being "bothered" only to be told that there's steaks and beer and s'mores if I want some. In the end, my 'getting away' may be in my mind, and with the help of my friends.
    But all this thinking has brought me back to some of the great vacations of my past. The times, and the feelings, that I am seeking when I think, "That is how a vacation should be." Since I'm knee-deep in photographs (again), sorting them for the ex (again), I've pulled out some to scan and share. These are from the relaxing trip of all time--the high-water mark of perfection, vacation-wise. The Bay Vacation.
The best way to wake up every day--looking out the window on this view.

A good way to pass the time during the day--one of our host's best friends, braving the very cold water in the Bay.
Irrationally gorgeous. I loved it!