Is it a vacation if you don't actually vacate?

Anybody out there on vacation this month? If so, you may be a member of an endangered species.

Americans have lost their knack for getting away, kicking back and chilling out on some stretch of sunburn-worthy sand, I keep reading. One survey after another reports on the declining national vacation rate. About two in five of us, it seems, will take no break at all from work (or whatever) this summer.

For those who do drag themselves away, trips are growing shorter and more modest, while the urge to stay in touch with the office by telephone, cell phone, e-mail or carrier pigeon is all but irresistible. Instead of picking fresh ones, we furtively peck away at our electronic BlackBerries when we're supposed to be off enjoying the sights and spending quality time with our families. It's a collective techno-neurosis.

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