Vacation, I have not really taken one in about 3 years. A few day trips here and there maybe a day or two at home but an actual honest to goodness vacation is not something me and the family had done in quite a while. Goodness I love these two.    So what did we do? We planned a trip to Galveston. This was great, I was not really looking forward to another trip to Galveston but I knew as soon as I got there it would be relaxation city. Then my lovely wife asked if there was anywhere I else I would like to go. I had not considered it mostly because I had been dealing with the news that the company I worked for was essentially pruning the overhead and that I was part of that. To be clear I have worked very hard for the company and still do want to see it succeed. I had poured a great deal of the vision of my family into it and well [I was a bit lost](http://www.aaronblakeley.com/writings/how-to-loose-your-vision/ "How to Loose Your Vision"). So the words Austin just rolled out of my mouth. The price at the hotel was right and contrary to proper vacation etiquette we cancelled one vacation, scheduled another and then did not really do much planning. This was a vacation of introspection and really not knowing what we were going to do. Kind of like how life is right now. ## Things worked out though This vacation though it really had no plan was one for the books. We had such a good time. Between the farmers market, capitol, indian food, museum and cave you could not ask for a better trip. We will defiantly be back in Austin at some point. [](http://www.aaronblakeley.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/w600_a088d3915ce4b07eb91111a0f5507321.jpg)[](http://www.aaronblakeley.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/w600_e8627be6ec86104f6ccac9e3044ff9c2.jpg)[](http://www.aaronblakeley.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/w600_4ac55cd08aa495d2740b872ea3397677.jpg) That is not why I am writing this though. I am writing this because this vacation had some very important lessons for me. Ones that I want to share. **Its okay to not have a plan** - I am a project manager and strategy is thick in my blood. Over the past few years I have come to use a calendar heavily. My wife is most comfortable when we know the schedule. We cast that aside and did what seemed right at the time. This was the best decision. **It's not okay to have no vision** - though we had no solid plan we did have a vision. Maybe we had not communicated it openly, but we knew that we wanted to experience, things out doors amongst the people and we wanted Gideon to feel like it was his vacation too. With out these few things we might have simply sat in our hotel trying to figure out what to do. **People are precious** - my favorite thing about this trip was the the farmers market. We walked the whole thing and saw all the wares. Then we revisited the ones that we wanted to patronize. I took it upon myself to learn the names of a few of the sellers. I bought a pigs ear from a lady named Elie. She was a skinny lady wearing a hip t-shirt and her boots were stained with earth. **Freedom with boundaries is worth the pursuit** - I have for a long time desired freedom and flexibility in my work. I hate the compartmentalization we place on ourselves even as Christians. This is my work life, this is my home life, and this is my church life, I am not sure how to make the 3 things one harmoniously. I believe it is a great pursuit and something I want to learn and then teach my children. ## Back and rested We have been back for a few days now and that has been super good. Our house is a mess and we need to unpack, but for the most part things are looking up. It was a much needed vacation.