How I spent my summer vacation
By GINA DVORAK
I’VE NEVER been one for snow globes or thimbles, or those tiny spoons for souvenirs.
Pretty much all I’m looking to bring home from vacation is a little less stress than I left with. Or a goofy ceramic bug. More on that later.
If you’re lucky, you return from vacation refreshed. If you’re me, you return with a mission: Find a way to do the same relaxing things you did there — HERE.
SPAAAAAAAHHH...
A couple winters ago, my parents treated the family to a week in a timeshare in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Having never been south of border myself, I found the entire experience adventurous. But it was first and foremost a vacation, and I was advised to take advantage of all the pampering options available at the resort.
Gee, twist my arm. Oooo — and my shoulder, please. THANKS.
Before that, I never had a professional massage. Tragic, I know. It was, as a mutual friend would say, "made of awesome." How could I not seek out the same near home?
ASSIGNMENT: Spa.
BUDGET: Got change for a twenty?
LOCATION: As close to my house as possible. I don’t think anyone should operate a motor vehicle when they’re THAT relaxed.
Spas are easy to find around here, but for me, that second part was a little trickier. I looked online and found a few places that seemed promising, but in a sea of seaweed wraps and peels and mud baths, how would I ever be able to find a spa that was right for me?
SELECTION: Jade Salon Spa in Victoria Gardens
REASON #1: It’s at the Vic, so if the massage was no good, at least I knew there was a Borders and a latte within walking distance. (A girl’s gotta have a backup plan, right?)
REASON #2: They had immediate openings. Who wants to wait a week after they’ve decided they deserve some pampering?
As it turned out, I chose wisely. If the spa’s not high-end by upper-class standards, I’ll never know. What I do know is that getting on their e-mail list was the smartest thing I’ve ever done.
Every week, I have the opportunity to book a "last-minute" appointment at a discount, so I keep an eye out for available appointments with my masseuse of choice.
Oh yeah, I’ll be back. I’ve BEEN back. Speaking of back, mine could use a Shiatsu rub. Where’s that e-mail?
GETTING CRAFTY
This year’s vacation was much less exotic: Fort Robinson, Neb. There’s lots more to do on the prairie than you might think, if you can survive the heat-humidity mega-torture combo.
Horseback riding, musical theater performances, swimming, stagecoach and hayrack rides, arts & crafts. Mostly, I go for the swimming (duh) and the arts & crafts, mainly ceramics.
Traditionally, at each reunion, arts & crafts translates into handfuls of cousins ages 5 to 50 picking out a small ceramic item (or two), then spendng the better part of an afternoon bonding over shared inferior brushes while crammed on a bench frequently wobbled by small children. Let’s just say the Picassos, we ain’t.
There are far more sophisticated and even practical choices — Oooo! and GNOMES!!! — in some of the ceramics studios we have right here in the Inland Empire.
Dinah Voncarl, owner of Redlands Ceramics (www.redlandsceramics.com), said dinnerware is a popular choice among her patrons.
"They want to at least be able to use something they spend time on, rather than making something that collects dust," she said.
But... GNOMES! In other parts of the I.E., you can look to the Color Me Mine franchises, with locations in Redlands, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, Victorville, Lake Arrowhead and Chino Hills (find one near you on www.colormemine.com).
Granted, it won’t be quite the same as having your brother sitting next to you mocking your purple- and orange- splotched beetle while he puts the finishing touches on A SQUIRREL.
But at least you won’t have to yell at him for jiggling the bench, or try to get your art home in one piece in a carry-on.
