Adventure (and vacation) is

This week, I’ll be taking my first true vacation since I started with the paper in May of 2022. We aren’t doing anything spectacular, just taking a trip to Wisconsin Dells to enjoy some camping, hiking and good food.

That was the plan anyway. Now, looking at the forecast, I’m not so sure I’ll want to be caught outside at all. I think we’ve been pretty lucky with good weather so far this summer. It’s been hot but not scorching. That’s supposed to change this weekend.

I’m not built for heat. I blast the air conditioning in my car. I like to sleep in ice cold rooms. I have a fan blowing on me at work sometimes because the ladies upstairs like it warm. So this weekend will be one sweaty adventure.

Besides the weather, I look forward to getting away from the grind that is content creation. We’re very lucky at the Tribune-Phonograph. We have communities that provide plenty of picture opportunities, news and sports throughout the summer. But being burnt out can be a real thing. I never really felt it at previous jobs because I was either part time or had other responsibilities besides content creation that kept me busy.

Sometimes, the creative juices don’t flow. The words seem hard to find. You know there are probably 100 ways to say something but it seems like you can’t find a way to express them that is creative enough or relatable enough for readers.

That’s why I think this vacation is much needed. It’ll be a good reset to just get away and go into the fall with some more energy.

I’m sure many of you have read stories, columns, editorials or seen pictures taken by the former Record-Review editor, Peter Weinschenk. The man was an old-school journalist and took his job very seriously. One thing he took equally as seriously was his time away from the job. Every summer, he would spend a week heading up to the Upper Peninsula where he would camp out in the woods away from any distractions. He didn’t use his cell phone. He didn’t have a laptop. It was just him, his thoughts and nature. I didn’t agree with everything Weinschenk did but I do appreciate his ability to separate himself from the job. I learned a lot from him in the six months we worked together. I love this job. I love heading out to events and seeing people that I haven’t seen in awhile or meeting new people. I also love coming into work and seeing the smiling faces, or sometimes grumpy faces due to a lack of caffeine at that point in the morning. But as with any job, I think it is important to take time away to recalibrate your life a bit and that’s what I’m hoping to do this weekend.

When I come back, I’ll be ready to jump into fair season, the school year and most importantly, football season. Fall is by far my favorite season and there’s plenty to be excited for. So fasten your seat belts as we speed through life together.