Cabin Fever v. Wanderlust

cabin fevernoun informalirritability, listlessness, and similar symptoms resulting from longconfinement or isolation indoors during the winter.

In the past year, I have been having bouts of cabin fever, and not just in the winter.  I feel the urge to get out of Seattle and visit someplace else.  Anyplace else.  I am not sure why.  I used to be one of those people who was happy to stay in town and was an expert in the "stay-cation."  One year a few years ago for Spring Break, I took the kids to the top of the Space Needle for lunch, topped off with the ice cream sundae with the sparkler for dessert.  The kids loved it and so did I.  It was expensive, but it cost far less than going out of town for a week.  Like a good vacation, I remember it years later.

My staycations don't need to be as extravagant as lunch at the Space Needle.  We've spent many summer and winter days at the zoo, or taking a bus to the Pacific Science Center, the Children's Museum, the Seattle Aquarium, or Pike Street Market.  We would go to parks and beaches and other outdoor places.  My daughter and I once went to see a movie (Nannie McPhee) in Ballard.  It was sold out, so we spent the afternoon visiting the library and adorable gift shops.  We went to Cupcake Royale and watched skate boarders at the Ballard skate park dive into the bowl.  It was wonderful. 

The kids outgrew the Children's Museum, but the rest still hold their attention for a while.  And there are plenty of places in town we have yet to explore.  There is the Seattle Underground Tour we've been meaning to take, as well as explore bakeries in West Seattle. 

What caused the sudden need to get out of town, to visit some place different?  I am not talking about taking the annual summer vacation, or the winter trip to visit relatives.  This is cabin fever strikes hard.  Is my house too small?  Are my kids too loud?  Is the sky too gray and the ground too wet?  All of the above? 

wanderlust |ˈwändərˌləst|nouna strong desire to travel : a man consumed by wanderlust.

The best guess is that my kids are getting bigger and thereby more portable.  Maybe it is my old wanderlust showing up in a different form.  Maybe I've had wanderlust all along, and the kids were too little so I had to suppress it.  Or the thought of planning a trip and getting ready to go was too exhausting so I gave up before I started.  Now they are old enough for them to pack their own bags and enjoy things beyond the routine.

When I lived in Chicago in my twenties, I didn't think I had cabin fever or wanderlust, but then I could come and go as I pleased, more or less.  I also traveled a lot for work, with O'Hare as my gateway. I have been to almost every city in the U.S. with a metro area of more than one million people.  There are  a handful of exceptions, including Oklahoma City and Salt Lake City.