13 Entries
Comments: Just 'Round the Bend There is a solution to the Staycation/Vacation debate. I call it a Close Encounters Vacation. I’ve been on two this year and I love them. Here’s how they work: choose two or three close friends and a mutually agreeable destination that is close enough to home to limit gas expenses, but far enough away to feel somewhat foreign and intriguing. Next find an inviting inn or hotel, where sharing the room cost eases the sticker price. Then, research all the out-of-the-box places to visit, treating the trip as a creative adventure, a semi-local jaunt with European attitude. The two areas friends and I visited were Santa Barbara and the Napa Valley wine country, each within five hours of our home. Each area provided unique venues for learning and serendipity—unusual gardens and museums in Santa Barbara, spas and Tuscan-like vineyards in the wine country. We enjoyed interesting sights, tons of laughs, spectacular wine and food, and the most important commodity of all, one another’s company, close encounters of the most important kind. As the travel writer Tim Cahill so accurately said, “A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.”
Comments: There’s No Place Like Home Living in a historical area of Brooklyn, NY, tourists are a common sight from the first flowers of Spring until the multi-colored leaves descend to blanket the sidewalk. After months of observing visiting strangers, with maps and tour guides in hand, gazing in wonder at the things I take for granted and rush past each day, a thought came to mind: if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Like many people, I had rolled my eyes at the mention of the word “staycation,” and entertained daydreams of sitting in a café by the Seine or wandering through the meandering passages of Venice. But, as I wondered if it were possible to see my own neighborhood through fresh eyes, as if it were new again, I decided to experiment and bring that question to life. Promptly putting on my sneakers and sunglasses and grabbing my camera, I vowed to spend an afternoon being a tourist just a few blocks from my home. As my perspective shifted, I began to pay attention to things I was often too busy to see. I began to remember just why I had chosen to move here. And, I began to realize that sometimes, the best things in life are just waiting for us to notice.
Comments: Do I Stay or Do I Go Now? To staycation or vacation -- Most really need the latter To get out of ones' regular rut And quiet the internal chatter. Being at home has its place, But not when clearing the mind. Being in another space Makes you feel fine. To be away from telephone, Chores and obligations, Being free to float with the wind Now, that's the joy of vacation! Especially now when seemingly The world is falling apart We need to get away To begin the healing of our hearts. Whether it's relaxing on a beach Or antiquing and exploring You will feel so much better Being away from all that's boring. So, save your money Plan your journey. Your soul will lift Life is good -- no worries!
Comments: Skip the gray economic climate—take a vacation! Sure, the economic forecast is dreary. But say these words out loud and you’ll know what to do. “Vacation” shouts out the vava voom of getting away. “Staycation” just confirms you’re stuck home in the same routine. And vacation is the sunny perspective you crave right now. What makes vacation brilliant is waking where birdsong sounds different from home. Seeing the slant of morning sunlight through an unfamiliar window. Knowing an entire day of delicious experiences, exploration and flavors is waiting for YOU. When the world feels new, we feel new. We’re open to everything: Enjoying a blissful alfresco massage right there on the beach. Lingering in a fabulous bookstore that was once a beautiful old theater. Feeling taste buds dance to the flavor of fresh mango. Finding the big dipper in a surprising place on dark night velvet. Maybe even flirting with a stranger by a sun-splashed fountain. Or buying a silver ring from an artisan with whom you don’t share language, simply a sense of beauty. I treasure these moments from my vacations. Until the weather changes and silver rings, strangers, massages and mangoes start raining down in my back yard, I’m going out to find them, baby.
Comments: Staycation or Vacation? Get me out of here! We moved to a resort area about three years ago and have decided to have a couple of “Staycations” to enjoy the things that we used to before we moved here. But here’s the challenge: as much as we try to get out for dinner, go on adventures to visit the wineries or play at the lake, we fall into some of the patterns of real life. Laundry still gets done. Mail still arrives with bills in it. Dinner still gets made and the dishwasher still emptied. The beauty of a “Vacation” or “Awaycation” is that we get AWAY. We get away from the stresses of our real life and have a chance to relax. There is a ton of work to prepare our family to leave, but then we are gone. We have adventures without our phone ringing. We see something new or different. We bring enough clothes that the laundry waits until we get home. We get out of our routine and spend time playing with our kids. We go out for dinner without thinking about it and truly getaway from the everyday chores that make us crave a vacation when we are still at home. As much as I love living in a resort town, I still like to getaway from it all. I reconnect with my family and recharge my soul. It’s a beautiful thing. |
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