inspiration SIMPLE STAYCATIONS
Some of the greatest vacations start and stay at home.
by April Thompson
G
etting away from it all doesn’t have to mean physically getting away. Staycations—vacations taken close
to home—can save on the money, time and stress of travel, and also provide a fresh outlook on your home turf. Here are a few tips to help plan your dream staycation.
Check out. A vacation is a respite from dailiness—even if you simply declare a special day off at home—so exercise the discipline to stay away from your office, housework and the rest of your routine. Plan for a staycation as you would an away vacation: Take care of any bills or chores that can’t wait and put an appropriate message on your voicemail and email. Al- low an hour each morning to check email and other messages if necessary, but then make family members accountable to one another; anyone who violates the “no smart phone use after 10 a.m.” rule has to treat the others to ice cream.
Set a budget. Calculate how much
you saved on airfare, hotel and other travel- ing incidentals, and then give yourself half of that amount to spend, guilt-free, on spa splurges, catered lunches or concert tick- ets; after all, you know you’re still saving money.
Run away from home. Shake up at-
home routines by booking affordable or free local lodging via community travel websites like
CouchSurfing.com or
AirBnB.com, or seek out a local home swap with a fellow staycationer via
HomeExchange.com. Order the usual. How do you like to
unwind and recharge? Model your stayca- tion after the best vacation you ever took. If learning rejuvenates you, take a crash course in pasta making from a local culi- nary school, or enroll in a summer camp to pick up skills in a new sport. For outdoorsy types, scout out a nearby county park to camp in and learn about native flora and
fauna. If you’d rather just hang out and be lazy, hide the alarm clock, perhaps enjoy a movie marathon and order three squares of takeout. Introduce some surprise. Open a
map of your city or county, close your eyes and pick a point. Google the spot you landed on to see what interesting places are nearby. Or, expand your horizons by exploring a neighborhood or nearby town you’ve never visited. Look through another lens. Challenge
yourself to see your world of familiar places anew by going on a photo safari in your own neighborhood, taking photos of local characters, landmarks and never-before- noticed details. Give a prize to the family member who captures the most uniden- tifiable neighborhood objects (UNOs) on camera.
April Thompson is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C. Connect at
AprilWrites.com.
July 2011
23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60