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The Mancation
Always on the lookout for the next great travel trend, I now offer you a link to a story with a term you may not have heard before: The Mancation. No, this is not the newest movie-related travel fad...not the Brokeback Mountain version on Da Vinci Code Tours, in other words. The idea here is that men sometimes like to take vacations with one another, and there is a cottage industry emerging that helps them do so by coordinating specific manly activities for them to enjoy. Like what, you ask (as if you really had to ask)? Well, according to the article over at CNN they're talking about trips that include a panoply of testosterone-laden features like hand-rolled cigars, fast cars, penthouse rooms, wet bars, and round-the-clock butler service. Conspicuously, there is no mentin of strippers. But hey, that doesn't sound too bad. The Mancation concept appears geared towards bringing old college friends together to spend a few days away from the old ball and chain, as it were. To clarify further what needs no further clarification, the "Urban Dictionary" says that mancations include masculine activities such as sports, camping, gambling, chasing women and drinking, without the presence of wives, mistresses or girlfriends. In other words, they are basically saying bachelor parties are no longer for bachelors any more. Personally, I like the idea, very Robert Bly meets Vince Vaughn.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bill Reals Sep 15th 2006 8:31PM
My friends and I have been doing this for years.
Our current guys' weekend is the Over The Line contest in San Diego every July. Another one of my friends was doing an annual "Irish National Rugby Team" trip each year. It happened that they would do it on St Patrick's day, in a large city where no one of them lived, and NONE of them had anything to do with a Rugby team. The idea was to live in character for the long weekend and get free drinks.
Jocelyn Sep 15th 2006 8:30PM
Great post. Love the term mancation. I've been on plenty of girls getaways myself and am always glad to hear that the guys do their version as well.
TripHub.com has free group trip planning tools (discussion blogs, event schedules, ability to track money owed for shared expenses such as hotels) aimed at helping this type of group (and others) plan vacations together. Peruse the site...
http://www.triphub.com
Also, I wrote a guide for TripHub called "Group Getaways with Friends" with several useful links for guys planning such trips (girls, too). Have a look:
http://advisor.triphub.com/2006/07/group_getaways_.html
Kathryn Sep 18th 2006 2:08PM
I have sent my husband on several mancations. I think it is only fair since I go away on girls' weekends. One of his group's favorite destinations is Pine Meadow Cabins in Broken Bow Oklahoma. The area offers plenty of good fishing (trout), boating, golfing and a little gambling at a tiny casino. They have been very pleased with the Oasis cabin. It has wrap around decks and DISH network. You can check it out at www.pinemeadowcabins.com