Unintentionally Green (Part Deux)

So, after spending a week with 45 CRAZY high schoolers, I decided that an actual week of vacation was in order - to my family's cabin on Torch Lake I drove! Hooray!

One week each year, my mom's sister's family joins my family at the lake for a highly-anticipated time of fun. Smores, swimming, kayaking and late-night giggle fests galore are all part of a well-balanced vacation diet.

So, what's the caviat?

How to do vacation the green way.

Hmm... well, for me, that's not really an issue. I sub-consiously think about what I can do to be more eco-friendly. But my family members... they thought I'd gone a little nutty.

I mean really now, all I did was go behind them and turn off lights, unplug unused electrical equipment, turn off the TV if they were napping, and pick up pop cans carelessly thrown in the trash bin and not the designated trash bag. (I almost forgive the last one, my relatives are from Ohio and they don't get a refund on cans - it's not natural for them to save the aluminum.) ... Does that really make me a wacko?

I think not.

This year, my aunt's family did not bring up their jet ski due to the high price of gas - and you know what? Nobody (but my 16 year old brother) complained. We all did what we used to do - we swam, kayaked, built sandcastles, trial hiked, sun bathed and enjoyed nature. We did everything we could think of that didn't involve the need for gasoline. Pretty cool. Come to think of it, we had an even more fun time than last year... Go figure.

On my drive back home, I made it a point to keep my speed fairly moderate. Usually, I drive 65 on the freeway - I like not feeling rushed, and I like watching my gas mileage improve even more. However, since I had my awesome new sit-on-top kayak strapped to the top, I dropped my speed to between 55 and 60. By going even slower, I kept my wind resistence minimal and managed to keep my gas mileage at the same height that it would have been minus the kayak at 65. Yay for me.

Overall, the past two weeks on vacation were phenomenal. It was great to not have to think about work for a while, and simply enjoy life.

How about you? What are some of your vacation memories from this summer? How did you keep things green?