If you want to know how long your post-vacation vibe will last, take the length of your vacation and divide by three.  Coming home from my recent 10-day vacation, it took me exactly 3 days to lose my Aloha spirit.  3 days to admit it was over, and turn my attention to chores.  And exactly 3 days to switch from listening to reggae island music, and trade it in for moody Northwest music.

I tried to keep it going.  Really, I did.  I found a reggae station on XM Radio and played it in the car.  Even the kids noticed:  “hey, it’s like Island Radio!”

But there’s a reason why sunny locales generate happy, carefree music like reggae.  Likewise, there’s a reason why the Northwest produces moody, brooding music.   The weather sets the mood, and the mood inspires the music. Or you could say that the weather sets the clothes, which then set the mood, which then inspires the music.  (which was a funny by-product of the Grunge era…..no one was trying to make a fashion statement by wearing flannel…..it’s just that flannel shirts are comfy, and you could get them for $4.00 at Chubby & Tubby.)  

Or maybe it’s all the other way around.  Anyway, you see where I am going with this.

Sometimes during a grey Seattle winter, I’ll try to mix it up and listen to one of my summertime mixes.  But it never lasts for long.  It just doesn’t match.  Summertime music goes best with summer weather.  And besides, the cloudy, unpredictable nature of Seattle weather suits my personality better.  I am not sunny enough to live anywhere else.    But I will gladly vacation in a spot where the weather is constantly nice.

Vacations are vital in getting us out of  a rut, both personally and musically.  Hanging out on an island in the middle of the ocean with some of my favorite people….for ten days, life became as simple as the decision of beach vs. pool, and what to grill for dinner. 

And, of course, there was the music of Island Radio 98.9, where you could hear old songs re-fashioned to a reggae beat (love Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight”?  You are in luck.).   Destined to be a classic (at least in my memory), a ridiculous but catchy song dominated the airwaves while we were there:  set to a reggae beat, “Let’s Drink Beer” by Ikena Dupont (best line:  “beer is not an obstacle, it’s an avenue”). 

It’s available on iTunes!   The best $1.29 vacation souvenir I’ve ever purchased.   Aloha.