Lab 7: Vacations!

From: Caroline


Is a vacation truly a vacation if one has only a few days to breathe, not to mention the constant calls from the boss about your schedule for when you return? To investigate American vacations, I polled a group of adults, varying in both age and race, to see how American vacations have been in the past and how they have changed to today.

Out of those polled 8 are women and 6 are men, ranging from people in their 20s to people in their 70s. The people interviewed are all from various states, those being California, Ohio, North Carolina, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, and Illinois.


The following questions were asked based on the PAST. The answers to these questions are based on people that took vacations as a child. All of those interviewed responded.

What was the place you vacationed to most as a kid?
• Ski trips to Colorado or Utah
• A resort on Lake Michigan
• The mountains of North Carolina
• Delaware beaches
• North Carolina beaches
• Maryland beaches
• Martha’s vineyard
• Long Beach Island, NJ
• Grandparents house
• Camping
• Going to the lake

How many vacations did you take a year?
Out of all interviewed, most people took about one or two vacations a year. Sometimes people wouldn’t go anywhere, while one lucky individual would take about five vacations a year.

How far was the limit on traveling (states/miles from where lived)?
Some people responded by saying there was “no limit”, while others responded by saying within their state or in states close to the state in which they lived.

Did you fly or drive to your destination?
All people drove to their destinations, and some occasionally flew if the destination was far away.

Did you ever travel internationally?
The response was about 50/50. About half of those interviewed had been out of the country, while others hadn’t.

How many vacation days did your parents have a year?
Most parents had between two to five weeks of vacation time a year, which is anywhere from 14 days to 35 days a year (35 being very high).

Did you stay in a house, cheap hotel, or high priced hotel while on vacation?
Some stayed in rental or relative’s houses and/or some stayed in moderate priced hotels. Those would went camping would obviously stay in tents or trailers.

The following questions are based on the PRESENT. All of those interviewed responded.

When you go on vacation, do you take your cell phone and computer with you, in order to communicate with those at work?
All take their cell phones, but not necessarily to communicate with work. About half take their laptops to do so, while some don’t take them but check email on hotel computers, and some isolate themselves completely from their work.

When you travel to your destination, do you stay at a house, cheap hotel, or high priced hotel?
Of those interviewed, most people stay at medium or high priced hotel or a house of a friend or relative.

If you can come up with a number, how many U.S. states have you been to?
Of the majority interviewed: 17, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 36, 40, and 45. (Some have been to the same number of states.)

Do you fly, drive, or both?
Most people mainly fly, but the majority of those interviewed do both.

How much have you traveled internationally as an adult?
All of those interviewed have been out of the U.S. at one point in their lives.

When taking vacation days off, do you take the time off as allotted?
Most do take all the time they can off. Some don' and some even end up working while on vacation!

How many vacation days do you have a year?
Most of those interviewed have around two weeks of vacation (around 10 to 14 days), plus holidays. The lucky ones have around 20 to 24 vacation days.


Concluding with this lab, it is evident some things have changed, while others have stayed the same as time as time has gone by. For example, people used to mainly drive to their destinations, where now people mainly fly. The amount of vacation days Americans have hasn’t changed either. As a 16- year old American, it will be interesting to see how much will change by the time I become an adult. I have been fortunate to have been to 24 U.S. states and out of the country twice so far, flying to most of the destinations. Hopefully when I am an adult with whatever career I will have, I will have more than two weeks of vacation. If not, Italy’s 42 vacation days is looking pretty good. =)