Staycations: Take Your Vacation at Home

With Summer in full swing, a lot of people are thinking about their vacations and how much they are going to cost. With the price of gas rising consistently from week to week, a lot of people who normally take a trip out of town are staying at home. Now, that may seem like a waste of vacation time, but it's not, really. A lot of people don't realize just how much you can do without going hundreds of miles away. Here are 3 ideas of what you can do on your own staycation.

Local Camping
There are campgrounds in almost every area. Most state parks have a campground that you can use and KOA is spread across the entire country and part of Canada. They offer cabins, tents, RV parking along with a few other amenities. Camping doesn't mean that you have to pitch a tent and sleep outside, it can be renting a cabin for a couple days just to get away from the hustle and bustle of home. If you choose to Camp at a KOA campground, some sites offer free WiFi, Cable television, indoor swimming, fishing, and a fitness center free of charge with your camping site. Take a weekend and get away, go camping without going far from home.

Picnic In A Park
Every town and city has some sort of park, even if they aren't very large. Everyone grocery shops unless they eat take-out on a daily basis. What do these two things have to do with one another? When you grocery shop, pick up the items you'd want to take on a picnic with you and take a day, pack up your lunch and go to the park. If you don't cook, or don't want to take the time to pack a picnic, stop by your favorite take-out restaurant and get whatever you want and go to the park. You don't have to leave town, you get to take some time to relax and you can even invite others to join you at little expense to them.

One Night Hotel Stay
Within miles of a city of any size, even small cities, there is a hotel of some sort. I'm not talking about those cheap, creepy motels that you hear about crimes being committed at. I'm talking about somewhere like the Hampton Inn or one of the other franchise hotels. You get the feeling of being out of town without the long trip by car or plane to get that feeling. You get use of all the hotel amenities, such as their pool, fitness center, and free high speed Internet in your room. This is probably the most expensive Staycation option, but it gives you more of the vacation feel by taking you out of your home and into a hotel.

My husband and I choose the staycation option this year when he was on his vacation last week. What did we do? We went cherry picking at a nearby orchard then went to a park that flanks Cayuga Lake to enjoy some relaxation time before we headed back home. It was nice, it was close to home and it didn't cost a ton of money to get away. Enjoy your vacation, staycation and summer. Hopefully you can find something to do that you enjoy!