Can You Truly Get Away From it All?

Recently I spent the week at camp Tel Hai in Honeybrook, PA.  I volunteered as a counselor there for a week.  While we were there we had no access to the internet, and were encouraged not to use our phones as the campers were not allowed to have phones or iPod/mp3 devices during the week.  For me, it was a breath of fresh air.  I put an away message on my voicemail and an auto respond vacation message on my e-mail.  I was genuinely able to get away from it all and put my focus on the teenagers I was in charge of that week as well as enjoy being away from my normal hub bub of life.  My question to all of you reading this, is can you do that?  With technology continuing to advance and internet becoming more available than ever before, can you take a vacation from technology?  I ask this because if you are constantly in communication with your home life, if you are still on Facebook on the beach, or still returning work e-mails in your hotel/condo, are you really on vacation?  With the busy society we as Americans have created, I find it very important to be able to set aside time where I truly take a break from everything, even the internet and Facebook.  There are even time slots during my everyday schedule where that is no longer accessed.  I would encourage you all to do the same.  Save yourself from technology, social, and work related stress while you are “getting away from it all.”