When I was a child, my sister and I would swing as high as possible so that we could see our neighbor's red roof just over the top of our garage. Maybe because it was red - or maybe because it took so much work to see it - we felt we had discovered something magical when we saw that roof. I could never remember what we were seeing though. Was it Neverland, the home of Peter Pan? Or was it Japan? The words were confused in my mind, but the thing that strikes me most about the memory is the childhood blur between fact and fiction. I knew there was no such thing as Neverland, but part of me really believed maybe I could see the rooftops of a real live foreign country if I swung high enough.
My own children have a similar fuzzy understanding of geography. Each of our vacation destinations may as well sit side by side to them. Kansas City and Florida - they don't know one is a state and one a city. They don't know how far apart they are. All they know is that when we go to either place, we're on vacation. Which brings up my other point - how easy it is to feel you have escaped to paradise if you simply think like a child. All it takes for them is a hotel with a swimming pool.
We've made an art out of these smaller getaways. And these are 5 great ways to make your dollars and your memories stretch no matter how far you have or have not traveled from home.
1. Take it Easy
You know this one right? It's why we go on vacation in the first place. So why don't we do it? Why do we rush from one attraction to the next, dragging children through museums when they would normally be napping, filling our schedules from early morning to late at night?
Try this crazy idea: Stay somewhere cool and simply stay there. Pick a location that's perfect simply because it exists, such as a beautiful mountain cabin or the beach. Or use your vacation fund to promote your chain hotel room to a mini resort or theme hotel. Then your vacation is wrapped into one convenient location. All you have to do is wake up in the morning and put your shoes on. This saves on further travel expenses, parking, and exhaustion.
2. Get Your Window Shopping On
Window shopping and people watching - these are actual favorite activities for some people, but to me they spell one thing - not enough money to do what I want.
This is another reason to pick a perfect location. The free stuff holds more appeal. Just get me to a New York city sidewalk, and I'm sure walking it will hold as much appeal as the MET - at least on my first trip. Beaches are usually free, and the ocean is one of the most glorious sights on our earth. The view from a mountain cliff or even lesser known hilltops can be breathtaking and the hike to them enough excursion for anyone. Kids could spend all afternoon in the hotel swimming pool and feel they have vacationed. Be aware of your surroundings and consider all the wonderful ways to take them in without paying a dime.
3. Eat What you Pay For
Here's my one exception to the relax rule: Don't miss the free breakfast in the morning. I don't care if you have to drag your teenagers out of bed in their pajamas and before they have flat-ironed their hair, for goodness sake, get that cinnamon roll or Belgian waffle you paid for with the price of your room. Just sit down with your vacation budget and see how it improves when you only have to add in two more meals a day rather than three.
You can find other ways to save on food as well. Pick one great restaurant a day to spend money on, and for the other meals eat light snacks or grocery-store picnics. Besides that, at the awesome restaurants, share. The portion sizes in this country really are too much for most of us. Let two of the smallest eaters share a meal - for us, that's usually the mom and the toddler as our 8-year-old seems to be going for NBA height with his appetite.
Eating smart is one way to save money for the special attractions or that room upgrade that make the small getaway a true vacation.
4. Take Pictures
Just visiting the free zoo 100 miles from home? Take pictures anyway! Stumble onto a scenic view on one of your drives? Use it for your official vacation photo shoot. Don't let tiny getaways disappear from family history because you found it too brief to bother with the camera. Photos of the trip seal it forever as an actual once-in-a-lifetime event.
5. Don't Forget Anything!
On our last getaway I discovered a tip I will never forget again. We've had our share of forgotten souvenirs and even the loss of special items from home. There is a lost item vortex in hotel rooms similar to the one in our homes where all the mismatched socks disappear. And after two or more days in a hotel room, your own items can begin to blend in with the flowered bedspread and framed pastels.
Repack everything into your suitcases, retrieve souvenir bags, and walk backwards out of the room as you leave to load the car. After everyone is out, though, and the car is loaded, return to the hotel room with fresh eyes. Your stuff will stick out to you more now that you know for certain they should not be there. Don't forget the closet and shower, more adequately known as vortex central.
Forgetting that new Destination t-shirt or the stuffed animal hand-sewn by Grandma and slept with each and every night can turn a decent getaway into a terrible nightmare.
Consider each of these tips when you plan your next vacation. They can help you make the most of your trip no matter what the size.
I write for Adventure Student Travel where the agents specialize in educational tours to several destinations as well as graduation trips and other Student Travel needs. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Serenity_Bohon |  |
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