Hi, are you back? Are you back from vacation? And, is that why you are so tired? If your answers are “yes” and “yes,” you are not alone.

What we’ve known all along has been measured by the Gallup Organization. According to a survey, the majority of us return from vacation tired. In fact, more people said they were more tired after they returned than before they left. Of course, along with this survey came a helpful list of ways to make vacations less stressful. I won’t enumerate these because we already know that we should “stop worrying” and “leave work behind.” (These researchers just don’t understand, do they?)

I spent a week this summer at Chautauqua — not only a point on the map, but also a word in the dictionary. (Really, look it up.) I mean “the” Chautauqua Institution in western New York, which is a summer encampment, a small town, a cultural center. Within its pastoral setting, the 132-year-old Chautauqua is good for the brain and good for the soul. And it sure can keep you busy …

So how about you? Harken back to your school days, write that annual “What I did this summer” essay, and share it with us at privateclubs@clubcorp.com. Then take time to really relax. Hang out at your club — enjoy leisurely dining, a chilled glass of bubbly, twilight golf, a book club discussion … Sure, it’s OK to make your tennis pals or lunch buddies envious of your exciting travels. In fact, go ahead and brag, if you want — they don’t need to know you are recovering from “vacation.”

Patricia Baldwin
Editor in chief
privateclubs@clubcorp.com

Photography by Lisa Means


WHAT’S COOKING …
Hopefully, our food photography makes your mouth water. That’s more of a challenge than you might imagine. In the photo to the right, food stylist Martha Gooding and photographer RJ Hinkle prepare one of the dishes for this issue’s “Nuevo Latino” story, which was photographed at Quad/Photo near Dallas. Quad had just moved into new quarters with a double kitchen opening to the photo studio. The double kitchen provides the option of gas or electric cooking, as well as two different “looks” for any photos actually shot in one or both of the kitchens. And, the extra space comes in handy since most dishes are prepared several times in order to provide “stand-ins” for those dishes that don’t endure the time required under the intense lighting. RJ notes that each image is the result of collaboration among the art director, the food stylist, and the photographer. Bon appétit.