A Vacation To Beat All Vacations

First published on Wednesday, June 18, 2008

I haven't had a vacation in more years than I can remember. When I was employed, I had vacation time from my jobs and I always took my allotted vacation time. Most times, I spent it at home perhaps doing genealogy work in earnest but still at home. Since I have moved back to St. Joe 11 years ago, I returned to the Detroit area one time - 8 years ago and that was a combination of a medical society meeting that I was attending in Ann Arbor. Since I was so close to Detroit, I tacked on an extra week and went back to Macomb County. But 8 years is a long time to go without any vacation!

And I mean ANY vacation. The last 8 years I have been totally self-employed. Doing medical transcription is a lifestyle in and of itself. Transcription must be turned around quickly, it is usually necessary to work 6 or even 7 days a week to keep current with the work. And, of course, if one were to take time off that would mean no income coming in AND the necessity to find coverage for the work. Since my work comes to me from my clients electronically through individual phone lines in my home and into a digital machine in my office, it is pretty difficult to find a fellow home transcriptionist to come into my home and do my work when she has work for her own clients.

That is a long way around the fact that I have not had any type of vacation in 8 years. Now that all my readers are appropriately feeling sorry for me.................I have made a decision and here it is.

I am turning 60 this fall (I know, I know I don't look 60) but the fact is I have a big birthday coming up. I have long wanted to take a specific trip and the opportunity has arisen. And I am here to tell all of my faithful followers of this blog that............


I AM GOING TO BERLIN.. ................

My fellow genealogy cousin, Gerhard Kolberg, has long been inviting me to visit him and his family in Berlin. He came here in 2000 to visit us and that is when we first met. In the ensuing 8 years, both my niece and nephew have visited Gerhard and family in Berlin and I have long wanted to go. But work constraints and financial constraints keep stopping me from acting on my desires.

Not this year. In honor of my upcoming birthday I decided to take Gerhard up on his latest offer. He is organizing a mini Colberg/Kolberg reunion in Berlin for October and I have decided that I am going. Sixteen weeks from today is the departure date and I have made my plane reservations with thanks to a certain Stimulus Check that I received. Gerhard tells me that his new apartment building has a guest apartment and he has reserved this guest apartment for my stay. His daughter and her husband also live in the same apartment building as well.

Come along with me for the trip. I will keep this blog updated on the progress with the plans. A big part of the fun of a trip is the planning for it and planning I am doing. My mind is reeling right now with things to do but the compulsive side of me is already making lists.

Berlin, Germany, here I come........

Above photo-Berliner Dom - Copyright © 2006 by Jeffrey Jay Schulte, Jr.