&8220;No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.&8221;

&8212;Elbert Hubbard

Like many Shelby Countians, my family and I recently slipped off for a last minute trip as the summer comes to a close.

Our chosen destination: Orange Beach or the place known by many as the Redneck Riviera.

It seems summers pass by more and more quickly as the pace of the world increases.

The pace of &8220;normal&8221; life is hastened by work, for sure, but also many other stressors and time consumers like fighting local traffic, the litany of everyday household chores, balancing checkbooks&8212;the list could go on and on&8212;contribute to making the daily grind, well, a daily grind.

One takes a vacation to get away from such things or at least that is the intent.

In the day of mobile phones, e-mail and virtually instant communication, we are able to take many of those &8220;pace enhancers&8221; with us on vacation.

One can interact with the office, e-mail photos from the day&8217;s vacation adventures to loving grandparents states away, pay bills electronically and check the weather for chances of rain with an iPhone while waiting in line at the water park (allowing time to adjust plans and agendas of course).

Yes, in today&8217;s world, getting away isn&8217;t what it use to be.

Being connected helps those of us lucky enough to have our vocation and avocation be one and the same.

That, as some of us legitimize it, explains why we behave on vacation much in the same way we behave at work.

Odd as it may sound, &8220;working&8221; from the beach is quite relaxing aside from the sand in the keyboard and the occasional stray beach ball landing in your lap.

The Riviera is as beautiful as my childhood memories suggest, and remaining signs of hurricanes from recent years are few and far between; the destruction of those storms has been replaced by even more impressive homes and condominium developments.

Those carefree days of childhood vacations may not be exactly duplicated in today&8217;s electronic world, but the sound of seagulls and crashing waves is just as peaceful as when it is played back and reheard through those memories … even if your laptop is nearby