My first calm breath is taken in the car on the way to the airport...I just "cast my fate to the winds" as the old song says.

During my last trip over the Christmas holidays I didn't breath again till I got back home. That's because I had my parents in tow on their first overseas trip. I was too far gone with worrying about train schedules and ...everything to really relax.

If we separate "vacation" and "breathing," then the vacation starts when I leave work before the trip (sometimes, it starts a good hour or so before I leave work).

The "breathing" when I land. I'm not that nervous a flier - but once I'm on the ground, I feel like I can just take anything from that point forward in stride. In the air - not so much.

I think I finally breathe when the luggage is stowed and we're out the front door of the hotel or B&B burden free.

The 'breathing' part starts at the airport, once we've made it to the gate. But every trip, as we pull out of the driveway, I admonish &quot;<i>don't look back!</i> (so we don't see the dog watching us leave from the front window)..

when finally on board, I can get to the toilet!!!

Hee hee - what a neat thread (even if it did start in 2003, the question is still fun!)

For me, (and this might sound totally crazy) but I finally relax once I get to our room and find it is okay and the bed is not rock-solid or really lumpy, and the pillows are foam not feather!

Then, I'm happy!

Rachel

The last few trips we've been meeting others at CDG. We leave tomorrow and the relief for me will be seeing my daughter, who's flying from Raleigh, make it to the gate for our flight to Marseille and I can forget all contingency plans in case one of us misses a flight.

when after getting luggage we arrive at the the hotel and my wife says she likes it.

I breathe when the plane touches ground at my destination! Or maybe I should say when I see my luggage arrive with me. From then on what happens, happens.

I agree with most people in that &quot;vacation&quot; starts the Friday afternoon before I leave (the last few hours at work are really just for show). &quot;Breathing&quot; is when I've landed and claimed my luggage. That's always a worry for me, especially when I'm going on a cruise.

I'm with the person who breathes a lot - take it in stages, then each little bit of dull-but-must-be-done (queueing for check-in, security check, passport check, have-I-dropped-anything check, boarding pass check, have-I-dropped-anything check, baggage collection, passport check, customs check, have-I-dropped-anything check, bus, train, loo, whatever) has its own succeeding stage of &quot;another one done, time to breathe&quot;.

But the ultimate relaxation has to be once you know you really have got a roof over your head at your destination, and that what happens next is entirely up to you and nobody else's business.

Once I see my luggage at baggage claim in my destination airport. After that, anything can be winged.

I have been known not to breathe between deplaning and the next connection! When I do direct fligths it is a lot less stressful for me.

There is a tiny little sigh (relief and longing) when I get back home and I can safely declare that another successful vacation has been accomplished.

My vacation starts when I reach the airport. Then I know I am getting out of town.

I breathe in stages too, but the final WHOOSH! comes when I reach the hotel. I know I've made it, and, as it has been said previously, the rest is gravy.

But most people would say I never relax because I am so uptight with schedules!