Lesson learned: Email can wait when you're making memories.

"You might see snow tonight." For me, this was a first. I had never heard this phrase on summer vacation. The fellow checking us in making this statement with anticipation, eager to have us see something new - in June - at his resort. Each year, we're blessed to take a week-long vacation with our (very small) extended family. We always travel somewhere in the country. Usually, someplace most of us have not been to. Thanks to these vacations, my kids have grown close to their only two cousins, and our families have all realized the importance of taking time off to enjoy coffee, good food and the occasional pit-stop for donuts. These traditions are special. But none of them would be as wonderful if I didn't have the policy to take vacations without email and resist any urge to check it. This year, we traveled to Hancock, Massachusetts. Nobody had ever visited the region - except for me, during a quick college trip, I took to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in nearby Troy, New York. Our itinerary, unlike previous years' elaborate daily schedule, was wide open this year. Our only rule was simple - one day we'd drive somewhere, the next we'd rest. Rinse, repeat and hopefully relax. Among many great experiences during our vacation, we stopped by the Sugar Shak and Orvis in Manchester, Vermont. We also watched a theater performance in Chatham, New York. We enjoyed listening to my daughter laugh really hard at her cousin's jokes. Our longest trek took us to Boston, where we enjoyed the Freedom Trail, tourist sites such as the USS Constitution and Paul Revere's home, and of course, topped it off with a trip to Mike's Pastries. Although we didn't see snow, we had a great time together, made more memories, and were able to truly relax.

For this vacation, the decision to unplug paid off yet again.