This summer my husband and I went to Alaska with some of our family. Now before I go any further, I just want to say if you haven't gone, go! It was a beautiful place full of wildlife and natural wonders. We were on a very small ship that was not fancy. There was no lavish evening entertainment, no luxury spa services, and no multiple dinner locations on board. We were roughing it according to today's standards.
There were even several days where our phones did not work as the cell service was spotty. It was a chance to completely power down. We were off the grid. We loved it!
During the day, there were lots of things to see and experience (note picture of husband and I in our Kayak fashions), but at night, there wasn't a lot to do. There was either a lecture or a documentary in the lounge. There was a very limited selection of DVDs you could borrow and watch in your room. It did not get dark till about 11pm, so you could enjoy the Alaskan scenery on the deck. Perhaps you would see an Orca or a humpback whale swimming by the ship.
Since there weren't tons of activities, we had to have our own fun. One night we played games in our pajamas. There was a ship's bingo night where mom won twice! She won socks both times. My brother-in-law and other nephew scored in the gift department. We even had one night where we just wandered along the shore.
That night was my favorite night of all. I learned that my husband is a stone skipper like no other I have ever seen. He was flinging rocks and would get 15 skips from one rock! What a delightful surprise. I had no idea he had this talent. This fall we will have been married 10 years and we are still learning new things about each other. There is no box on the marriage license that mentions the ability to skip stones. I had so much fun watching him do his thing! Check out his fantastic throw.
My point to this whole post is that sometimes doing nothing is something. The fact that we had to power down completely let us be able to have some simple fun. When was the last time you had fun without using technology? What have you learned about your partner, your parents, or your friends that you never knew before? Perhaps it is time for a no tech weekend? You might learn a lot about the ones you love and maybe something about yourself!
