The dog days of summer means that it is time to pack up the old minivan and head to some part of the country with an ocean, mountain or amusement park. The ideal location, of course, has all three.

What has become interesting to me, though, is that the "family vacation" made famous by the Chevy Chase movies seem to be falling to the curb.

Instead, individuals are starting to take "extreme" or "reality" vacations.

It is no longer enough to pack a good book, suntan lotion, sandals and a beach towel to head for the nearest sandy shore.

The book or novel has been replaced with guidebooks to the Amazon rain forest or some other exotic location, suntan lotion has been replaced by fire-retardant clothing and beach towels are now used to wipe up the blood from the extreme vacation.

What has happened to us as a society that we feel the need to push the limit, even during our vacation?

Webster's Dictionary (you remember that from your high school term paper days, right?) defines a vacation as "a period of exemption from work granted to an employee for rest and relaxation."

I'm not sure about you, but jumping out of an airplane, canyon diving, extreme skiing or fighting for my life in the Amazon rain forest does not sound restful or relaxing to me. Therefore, it does not fit the definition of my vacation.

It sounds like a lot of work, actually, which is what I am taking a vacation from in the first place.

One of my colleagues takes this type of extreme vacation each year, and the amount of work he puts into planning the entire trip is more cumbersome than trying to plan a sneak attack in Iraq. The entire planning process takes nearly a year and he does most of his planning at work, of course.

Which leads me to the question: Why does he need a vacation from work, when all he really does while he is there is plan a vacation?

Have we become so dependent upon constant entertainment and stimulation that reading the latest John Grisham mystery novel while letting the sand stick to our toes and the water lap at our ankles is no longer considered enough?

When I try to explain this to my friend, he simply laughs and says that I don't know how to enjoy life. Others look at my version of the vacation as lazy, uneventful, old, worn-out and boring.

But to me, life is enjoying reading, some casual golf and an ice cream cone with my family. Does that make me a lousy vacation buddy?

It makes me wonder if I am living an unfulfilled life when I don't seek adventure away from home. Then again, by working from home and having a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old always needing some attention, I live the adventure every day.

It would be nice to blame one's family situation on the type of vacation they seek, but I think that it varies widely among each of us, whether we have children or not.

Certainly having kids will inhibit someone from taking a child on a paragliding tour over the Grand Canyon, but each of us needs to find our own tolerance for risk.

I would also suggest that each of should look inward as to why we choose the type of vacation we do in the first place.

What's missing from someone's life that makes them want to wrestle crocodiles in the Everglades or run with the bulls in Pamplona?

If they want adventure, consider this an open invitation to stop by and help me rope in my two kids for bath time or wrestle them from the pool for a lunch break.

As for me, I'll grab the new James Patterson book.