Stay-Cations
Gasoline has topped $4.00 a gallon and continues to rise. The economy sucks and inflation is eating away at discretionary money. Food is becoming more expensive. Businesses are closing. Housing prices have plummeted to a 20 year low. We are still working long and hard (unless we lost our jobs), yet we seem to have less and less every day.
Our hardworking souls still need breaks and vacations, but where do we go? I get about 4 weeks of vacation per year, but last year I only took two weeks. My company, in all of their wisdom, paid me out for my unused vacation, so I had to pay taxes on it! Not only was I not able to carry over those vacation hours, I ended up paying for them in the long run. Not this year; I am taking every hour of accumulated vacation. Uncle Sam is not going to get it.
We have (had) three trips planned this year. The first one was driving to Loreto, Baja, Mexico to deliver some children's clothes to some disadvantaged children. We completed this mission. This was good for the heart; bad for the wallet. The price of gas (significantly reduced when you heavily load your truck), 3,000 miles of desert driving with the air conditioner on, lots of pit stops, and accommodations - it would have been less expensive to fly. However, we could not have taken those needed clothes.
My wife and I had also planned on our first trip to mainland Europe (on saved frequent flyer miles!) for our anniversary. Since snaring one of those precious seats on an international flight is not the easiest thing to do, I was elated to get some wonderful connections for this long flight. It took me many years to convince my wife (a white-knuckle flyer) that it was now safe to go. We were all set. We even had our Rick Steves backpack bags. We were going with another couple who have been to Europe many times. We had planned on sharing the rental car and fuel. If you think $4.00 or more a gallon is high here, this is about the price of a liter in Europe! Along with the devaluation of the dollar against the Euro, this was going to be another trip that cost a lot more than we anticipated. Unfortunately, we canceled the trip. One of our dear friends and traveling companions was just diagnosed with lymphoma. It started as a simple lump in the neck; now she is undergoing about six months of chemotherapy. While the prognosis is excellent, we decided that we would postpone our trip until we can ALL go together; perhaps next year or the year after.
Finally, we had a family trip (about five days) planned for August. A friend of mine bought an old church camp near Yosemite years ago and has renovated it for family reunions, and of course, church groups. When she offered to give it to our family for a week, we jumped at it. When twenty or so extended family and friends arrive, we will sleep in bunk beds, share in the cooking, and spend some quality time being a family again. And, more importantly, we are close to home; only a few hours drive. This will be our Stay-cation this year.
We really have a great mountain home with a beautiful view, lots of trees, and lots of quiet. We have a place that really is a vacation spot, yet we always seem to find other places to go. Yesterday, my wife and I sat under our three year old cherry tree that produced extra fruit for the first time. Not wanted to share any more with the birds, we picked ALL of the cherries, sat under the tree, and ate 'em. We ate an entire tree (albeit, a small tree) of cherries. It was nice.
We also have a hot tub where we can soak and relax. We can see planes flying overhead heading for the airport about 40 miles away. Those people are tired and weary; we are relaxed and enjoying each other's company. Why do we only find time to do this about once a month? The frogs use our hot tub more than we do.
I have a hammock. It is in the garage, not under a nice tree where I can read and fall asleep.
We have a boat that we have not used in two years. It sits in our garage, taking up space, gathering dust, and developing mechanical problems due to the fact that it is not being used. When we make the effort to haul it to the lakes or rivers, we have a great time. Why don't we stay home and do it?
We love to kayak. There are dozens of places within a stone's throw of our house to kayak, so why don't we plan a day trip and just kayak? Why do we have to go "somewhere"? We are already here.
We like camping. We have a new tent that we bought three years ago on sale. It is still in the box. We could actually camp in our yard, or drive about 10 miles to a beautiful camping area. We don't even go on picnics anymore. The Pacific Ocean is only a few hours away; walking on the beach is free.
We like to fish. We have all of the equipment and dozens of lakes and rivers teaming with fish. We don't go. We buy our fish at the grocery store.
There are places near us that we have yet to visit. The Amtrak terminal is a few miles away and it is relatively inexpensive to take a rail trip to San Francisco for the day (or the weekend), or any of California's wonderful recreational areas. We have always planned to take the grandchildren on this venture, but we have not.
My wife is going to be 62; I am 57 (she wanted a younger man). We both work full-time in our clinical practices; 12-hour intensive shifts. We plan on working for about eight more years. Many of our friends and family members are already retired and are starting to gloat about it. My brother calls me from his sailboat when I am on my way to work. Our friends invite us to a cabin they have rented, but we have to work. This torture will continue for eight more years, so I better get used to it.
Learning to relax and not work so much is not an easy task. If we do stay home, we find some work to do around the house. I am not sure we know how to kick back, but I do know we need to have more Stay-cations. I think that several four-day mini-vacations close to home (or home) would probably serve us better in the long run than an exhausting and expensive trip to Europe.
I suspect that more people will be rediscovering their local treasures. Stay-cations are definitely in our future plans. I suspect they will be in yours as well. There is nothing wrong with having a vacation at or near home. Not only is it less expensive and less stressful, it helps feed OUR economy.
By the way, we did use some of those frequent flyer miles to make a trip to see my brother and sister-in-law in Maryland. I now live vicariously through his retirement. I will be able to go out on his boat for the first time and also spend a few days in Washington, DC. I know this isn't really a Stay-cation, but we are getting closer. And, it's going to be better than Europe.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: vacation, stay-cation, travel, health and wellness
Our hardworking souls still need breaks and vacations, but where do we go? I get about 4 weeks of vacation per year, but last year I only took two weeks. My company, in all of their wisdom, paid me out for my unused vacation, so I had to pay taxes on it! Not only was I not able to carry over those vacation hours, I ended up paying for them in the long run. Not this year; I am taking every hour of accumulated vacation. Uncle Sam is not going to get it.
We have (had) three trips planned this year. The first one was driving to Loreto, Baja, Mexico to deliver some children's clothes to some disadvantaged children. We completed this mission. This was good for the heart; bad for the wallet. The price of gas (significantly reduced when you heavily load your truck), 3,000 miles of desert driving with the air conditioner on, lots of pit stops, and accommodations - it would have been less expensive to fly. However, we could not have taken those needed clothes.
My wife and I had also planned on our first trip to mainland Europe (on saved frequent flyer miles!) for our anniversary. Since snaring one of those precious seats on an international flight is not the easiest thing to do, I was elated to get some wonderful connections for this long flight. It took me many years to convince my wife (a white-knuckle flyer) that it was now safe to go. We were all set. We even had our Rick Steves backpack bags. We were going with another couple who have been to Europe many times. We had planned on sharing the rental car and fuel. If you think $4.00 or more a gallon is high here, this is about the price of a liter in Europe! Along with the devaluation of the dollar against the Euro, this was going to be another trip that cost a lot more than we anticipated. Unfortunately, we canceled the trip. One of our dear friends and traveling companions was just diagnosed with lymphoma. It started as a simple lump in the neck; now she is undergoing about six months of chemotherapy. While the prognosis is excellent, we decided that we would postpone our trip until we can ALL go together; perhaps next year or the year after.
Finally, we had a family trip (about five days) planned for August. A friend of mine bought an old church camp near Yosemite years ago and has renovated it for family reunions, and of course, church groups. When she offered to give it to our family for a week, we jumped at it. When twenty or so extended family and friends arrive, we will sleep in bunk beds, share in the cooking, and spend some quality time being a family again. And, more importantly, we are close to home; only a few hours drive. This will be our Stay-cation this year.
We really have a great mountain home with a beautiful view, lots of trees, and lots of quiet. We have a place that really is a vacation spot, yet we always seem to find other places to go. Yesterday, my wife and I sat under our three year old cherry tree that produced extra fruit for the first time. Not wanted to share any more with the birds, we picked ALL of the cherries, sat under the tree, and ate 'em. We ate an entire tree (albeit, a small tree) of cherries. It was nice.
We also have a hot tub where we can soak and relax. We can see planes flying overhead heading for the airport about 40 miles away. Those people are tired and weary; we are relaxed and enjoying each other's company. Why do we only find time to do this about once a month? The frogs use our hot tub more than we do.
I have a hammock. It is in the garage, not under a nice tree where I can read and fall asleep.
We have a boat that we have not used in two years. It sits in our garage, taking up space, gathering dust, and developing mechanical problems due to the fact that it is not being used. When we make the effort to haul it to the lakes or rivers, we have a great time. Why don't we stay home and do it?
We love to kayak. There are dozens of places within a stone's throw of our house to kayak, so why don't we plan a day trip and just kayak? Why do we have to go "somewhere"? We are already here.
We like camping. We have a new tent that we bought three years ago on sale. It is still in the box. We could actually camp in our yard, or drive about 10 miles to a beautiful camping area. We don't even go on picnics anymore. The Pacific Ocean is only a few hours away; walking on the beach is free.
We like to fish. We have all of the equipment and dozens of lakes and rivers teaming with fish. We don't go. We buy our fish at the grocery store.
There are places near us that we have yet to visit. The Amtrak terminal is a few miles away and it is relatively inexpensive to take a rail trip to San Francisco for the day (or the weekend), or any of California's wonderful recreational areas. We have always planned to take the grandchildren on this venture, but we have not.
My wife is going to be 62; I am 57 (she wanted a younger man). We both work full-time in our clinical practices; 12-hour intensive shifts. We plan on working for about eight more years. Many of our friends and family members are already retired and are starting to gloat about it. My brother calls me from his sailboat when I am on my way to work. Our friends invite us to a cabin they have rented, but we have to work. This torture will continue for eight more years, so I better get used to it.
Learning to relax and not work so much is not an easy task. If we do stay home, we find some work to do around the house. I am not sure we know how to kick back, but I do know we need to have more Stay-cations. I think that several four-day mini-vacations close to home (or home) would probably serve us better in the long run than an exhausting and expensive trip to Europe.
I suspect that more people will be rediscovering their local treasures. Stay-cations are definitely in our future plans. I suspect they will be in yours as well. There is nothing wrong with having a vacation at or near home. Not only is it less expensive and less stressful, it helps feed OUR economy.
By the way, we did use some of those frequent flyer miles to make a trip to see my brother and sister-in-law in Maryland. I now live vicariously through his retirement. I will be able to go out on his boat for the first time and also spend a few days in Washington, DC. I know this isn't really a Stay-cation, but we are getting closer. And, it's going to be better than Europe.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: vacation, stay-cation, travel, health and wellness
0 Comments:
Post a Comment