My husband harbors illusions of us all going on peaceful family vacations where we relax and drink fruity drinks poolside. The kids quietly splash in the pool and play. And never complain. And never exert their own will or make their own demands. And the weather is always perfect.
Of course vacationing with a family is not at all like that.
Often the first tantrum that happens is from someone over 6 feet tall. And I am only 5′ 4″. Ahem.
This summer my husband was talking about our vacation plans. I latched onto the idea of a “staycation” as the kids are calling it. The best of both worlds. We can still stay at the house, which means the kids will sleep better, and unlike staying in hotel rooms we don’t have to go to bed when the kids do. We can explore the area where we live and find exciting things to do that are in our own backyard. You know how there are always things that you are meaning to do, and yet never seem to get around to it. Well, a staycation is the perfect time.
I have a list of places nearby that we are going to explore, even if we don’t take an entire week off to do it, we can fit in some excursions here and there.
What about everyone else? Has the rising cost of travel and gas caused you to rethink your travel plans? Or are you going on a real vacation?
Our vacation is being replaced by an out-of-state wedding that we need to attend next month. Fortunately, the wedding will be near one of Rhode Island’s top vacation spots.
The wedding is at 5:00 on a Saturday evening so we’ve reserved our hotel from Friday to Sunday. A little of Friday and half of Saturday and Sunday will be ours to make the best of. We’ve never been there before so we’re going to try to make the most out of it. I’ve checked their tourism sites and there seems to be quite bit for the kids, as well as mommy and daddy to do.
If we didn’t have the wedding to go to, I’m not sure what we would have done, if anything. We keep talking about an overnight trip to Hershey PA, but haven’t gotten there yet. Maybe next year.
Comment by Dani — July 1, 2008 @ 12:26 am
It is winter down here in Australia, so first up I am quite jealous of your warmer weather!
We also love our staycations. No packing, no long driving (yay)and all the comforts of home.
Often people talk about ‘going away’ but I love the idea of checking out all the wonderful places nearby that we have talked about going but never got around to it.
Looking forward to hearing about your local travels
Comment by Clare — July 1, 2008 @ 1:19 am
With our budget, our vacations have ALWAYS been “staycations”!
Comment by Brigitte — July 1, 2008 @ 5:21 am
Well, we did a fake-cation, as our friend calls it. We stayed in our city, but still did the hotel thing. The problem we have is that we love the French Quarter and the rest New Orleans has to offer, but it is so horrible and expensive to park that we feel the need to do everything in one day. I won’t say it was a complete flop, but I like your idea better. We will be exploring our city this summer and remain in our own home.
This decision isn’t hinged on the price of gas, but that my husband has new businesses that he would rather not be away from for even a minute. Me, to be totally honest, I would still prefer our 2 trips to Destin, FL.
Comment by SoMo — July 1, 2008 @ 10:05 am
With small children (2 under 3), the idea of going away for more than 1 week a year fills me with dread. A week on ‘holiday’ where the kids sleep appallingly, and the aftermath lasting several weeks afterwards as they settle back to their routine again. Uh, no thank you! Staycations rule.
And the price of gas here would make your eyes water – $12+ per gallon. Truth!
Comment by Jen — July 1, 2008 @ 3:33 pm
We did a “staycation” a few years ago. We stayed home and visited the zoo, children’s museum, water park, Six Flags, things like that. For dinner we had a different “country” each night. Italian, Mexican, Chinese and a steak place. It was alot of fun. We turned off our phone and I didn’t do any housework (except for the the basic cleanliness stuff) for the whole week. It was fun!
Comment by peepnroosmom — July 1, 2008 @ 6:09 pm
We are taking a staycation as well. We just got a new puppy last week so how exactly would we travel? Also, we weren’t planning on going anywhere anyway. I have an aviary trip, a museum trip, a lake/lighthouse trip and hiking planned for this summer. We will explore areas here that we haven’t yet and it should actually be more relaxing than going away for a week with 4 kids 10 and under.
Comment by Jennifer — July 1, 2008 @ 8:21 pm
We are attempting a real vacation this year on the road. We are driving from TX to TN, then to NC and final destination is VA. All this in a 2-week period with two children, ages 4 and 1. Can anyone say ADVIL! Hubbie thinks it will be a piece of cake. Anyone have any car games for this age group? There are only so many DVDs an adult can take in one day.
Comment by Jen in TX — July 7, 2008 @ 11:30 pm
We drove from Va to Orlando in March with a 3 year old and an 18 month old. The DVD player worked great. We also made several stops just to walk around and get out of the van. Our trip was great. Remember…plenty of snacks and dvds. Hope this helps.
Comment by Trace — July 8, 2008 @ 12:51 pm
Thanks, Trace!
Comment by Jen in TX — July 9, 2008 @ 12:46 am
We drove from south Texas to Ohio this summer (our 4th time) with a 7 year old and 2 6 year olds. (They were 3 and 4 the first time). We drove 2 days, stayed in a hotel with an indoor heated pool in Arkansas overnight, and stopped for lunch each day at a McDonald’s with a playroom so they could run around for awhile. AAA has some fun sticker books which occupied them in the car. We also stocked up on some things from the dollar store to hand out at intervals. Lollipops are great for a little peace a quiet for a while. We played games like (I’m thinking of an animal with a long neck and spots. . . ) We looked for letters in alphabetical order on license plates. We took a little potty in the car for emergencies. Anyway, these are a few things which have helped us go down the road with our sanity still intact.
Joan
Comment by joan — July 12, 2008 @ 11:01 pm