This summer, many Americans are discovering the pleasures of a staycation. They’re staying home, exploring their hometowns, and discovering how to chill in their own backyard.
As fuel costs rise and families labor under a mounting debt-load, a staycation offers a respite from the stress of daily life. Even better, relaxing at home frees you from the dreaded packing (and unpacking) for travel.
Staycations sound like an ideal alternative; and yet, at least one naysayer, Brigham Young University history professor Susan Sessions Rugh suggests that they aren’t memorable:
The summer vacation has never just been about fun, Ms. Rugh said. Herding the kids off to see Mount Rushmore or the Eiffel Tower was always a means of re-establishing family bonds, expanding children’s horizons and, of course, showing off to the neighbors with barely endurable slide shows and home videos.
In contrast, Ms. Rugh said: “I don’t think anyone’s going to remember a ‘staycation.’ Is anyone going to take pictures? ‘Here’s the kids playing Wii!’ I’d say, cut your budget somewhere else.”
Okay, maybe it’s just me, but yes, I do have photos of Wii play, and Game Boy play as well.
Moreover, I’ve found staycations to be as full of memorable experiences as any trip abroad.
On a Spring Break At Home, we re-discovered the pleasures of hiking local trails, and Our Trails With Tales article feature was born (the most recent being Imagination On The Trails.)
More recently, my buddy Diana flew all the way from southern California to share our staycation in Upstate New York. Even without the plethora of SoCal tourist attractions, we found lots to amuse and exhaust ourselves. So much, in fact, that I’m still not done writing about our activities.
I’ve described Competitive Berry Picking and selecting tropical fruits. You can also see that we watched, and learned about ethics from, The Karate Kid.
What you don’t know is that we visited the Catskill Mountains because we wanted to see the setting for My Side of the Mountain. We cooked every day, trying new recipes, and even having a cookie bake-off. In the car, we listened to David Mccullough’s biography of John Adams in combination with a visit to the second president’s family home. And, nearly every day, we explored new hiking trails.
So, you see, an inexpensive staycation can be just as rich in learning adventures and memories as costly vacations. And, they can be just as exhausting.
Added benefit? The family dog gets to share the vacation too.
What’s your memorable staycation experience?
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How do I sign up for a staycation?! Seriously, do you know what I would pay for a four day staycation?! As a family we are constantly running to work, school, camp, riding lessons, violin lessons, working overtime, Girl Scouts, drama class – we get to spend so little time at home, I feel like it’s an overstuffed storage unit rather than a place of fond memories and family traditions. I must disagree with Ms. Rugh – university professor or not, she missed the boat on this one.
There you have it. A staycation – maybe even a full weekend at home – can be just what is needed to rejuvenate and reconnect.
The challenge is how to stay at home and ignore the chore list so that you can relax.
Kayla has been asking for a Do Nothing Week. I’m still trying to figure out how to pencil that into our calendar, but I’m trying!
Karl is an only child, and quite often he gets his request for Do Nothing Days (which sometimes stretch into the Week category). More often than not. Lately, he hasn’t wanted to go anywhere. And he’s an extrovert mostly, so this has taken me by surprise.
I think Do Nothing Week is a great idea, and if a request is put before the family to think about if or when a week for going nowhere could happen, it might have some unexpected results… some would probably prefer it and others not… and some might be surprised.
I think this is a fabulous idea–especially since we are new to this area and there is a lot to explore. And, with three kids 5yo and under, I am not too thrilled about cramming all of us in a hotel room for a few days. I like my kids in their own beds at this point, thankyouverymuch!
Thank you for your comment on my blog with the gifted education reading suggestions. I have been reading so much on it lately I feel like my head will explode! I will check out your links and posts here, too. Thank you!
I am VERY fond of the staycation, speaking as one of those people who find vacations actually kind’ve stressful and need a few “do-nothing” days to decompress from the vacation itself before returning to work. I get things done around the house, I take my child to “field trips” we never get to do during the school year — all sorts of fun things. I think it’s an underrated pleasure.