Staycation favorites

During a recent interview for the Candy & Potter radio show in North Carolina, I was asked about my favorite staycation activities. After that, I decided to put a together a quick list. Every staycationer's preference will be different, but here's my list.

For families:

Behind-the-scenes tours
Formal ones are available at company museums and factories, as well as at fire stations and police stations. But if parents ask nicely, they can also get their kids a tour of a movie theater projection room, the pinsetters at a bowling alley or other places kids are curious about. Television stations, radio stations and newspaper production facilities also offer tours.

Museums, observatories, planetariums
Art, science, children’s, aviation, history … there are lots to choose from, and most have areas dedicated to kids. My kids spent nearly two hours at just one exhibit involving golf balls rolling up and down hills to show the science of rollercoasters. A new trend is the museum sleepover, a program aimed at preteens and teenagers.

Scenic train rides
Ranging from about 30 minutes long to day trips, they can be a romantic idea for adults but they also often cater to kids. Some have pretend “train robberies” and other shows.

Water parks
They’re easier to find now than they used to be, because many cities have built them as part of their recreation centers and natatoriums. Community swimming pools are another option.

Zoos and aquariums
Young kids love the zoo, of course, and there are some very good aquariums around the country. Many zoos also offer behind-the-scenes “VIP” tours and have special camp programs for kids.

The next five:
Sporting events (as well as stadium tours)
Camping (as well as hiking, biking, wilderness viewing areas, state parks)
Regional amusement parks
City festivals
Family fun centers (with bowling, miniature golf, go karts, laser tag, that sort of thing).

Especially for adults:

Sunset cruises on lakes (usually with dinner)
Wine-tasting and winery tours
Community theater and touring Broadway productions
Historic home tours
Concerts
Ski-lift rides in offseason
Staying at a local resort for a few days
In-town Bed and Breakfasts

*** "The Great American Staycation: How to Make a Vacation at Home Fun for the Whole Family (and Your Wallet!)" is now available. You can find it in stores or online.

Another staycationer found

Here's someone who, I believe, has the right idea about staycations. This is pretty much the way I felt before I started taking staycations with my kids:

I had never been one for the idea of a “staycation”. In fact, my ideal of a vacation usually involves getting my passport stamped and drinking coke out of bottles in a place where you can’t drink the water. I like my vacations exotic and culturally challenging. So to think of staying here in the OC was an interesting twist. However, it turned out to be such a good solution for a short getaway. We were able to prepare and pack very casually. And I can't tell you how great it was to arrive at our destination without once being asked "how long 'till we get there".

You can read more details about her staycation at Mama Manifesto.

Staycation tip: Let’s talk About food

Talking about food is easy for me. Unless the talk is about how I shouldn’t be eating as much of it.

Anyway, food is a staple of the vacation experience. No matter how far away you go, or how close to home you stay, it should be a highlight. It was for Melissa in Massachusetts, who I interviewed for the book. She said the favorite part of her staycation was discovering that local food that was as good as anything she’s had on vacation. She didn’t have to “make a monster carbon footprint and break the bank” to experience great food and service.

You undoubtedly have your favorite local restaurant. It’s the place where you have a favorite spot to sit and don’t need to see the menu before ordering. That restaurant has a place in your staycation, but to create the vacation environment, why not try something new?

Consider another staycationer's tip to a successful staycation:

“It’s about pushing yourself to do something you wouldn’t normally do,” she said. “Force yourself out of your comfort zone.”

Here’s your chance to break your staycation out of the ordinary. Spend a week sampling international foods. Visit a Thai restaurant one night, a Mexican one the next, and finish with Italian, French, or German food. You can get recommendations on all types of food from sites such as www.roadfood.com and www.chowhound.com, which have user reviews of restaurants across the country.

If you like to cook or bake, try experimenting with something new. If it doesn’t work out, you can just laugh it off and head to a restaurant.

*** "The Great American Staycation: How to Make a Vacation at Home Fun for the Whole Family (and Your Wallet!)" is now available. You can find it in stores or online.

Splurging on staycation

During a recent interview for a magazine, I was asked:

What ideas do you have for really indulging, but still saving money, such as a day at a spa instead of a week at a resort, a really fancy dinner out instead of a week of hotel accommodations, etc.?

Good question (is that obvious pandering to the reporter?)

I have a section in the book devoted to that. Most people probably choose a vacation in their hometown for budgetary reasons, but you don’t want to be cheap on any kind of vacation. If you think about being on a budget with any vacation, whether it’s in Hawaii or your hometown, you’re probably not going to have much fun.

My idea is to have a “Staycation Reward,” which is one splurge item during the vacation. If you calculate how much you’ll save by foregoing the traditional vacation, you can take half of that or a third of that, depending on your budget, and then apply it to your vacation. It could be used for new clothes, new TV or maybe saved for the next traditional vacation.

One splurge item popular with the people I talked to for the book is spending two or three days at a local resort. You save on travel costs, but can still take advantage of the resort’s spa, restaurants and other amenities.

A stay at any type of hotel, other than a flea-bagger, is a splurge to consider for anyone taking a staycation. Staying at a hotel in your hometown might not seem like a great financial decision, but a few days at a hotel allows you to create mental distance from your daily routine and provides a good launching point for a day’s activities.

*** "The Great American Staycation: How to Make a Vacation at Home Fun for the Whole Family (and Your Wallet!)" is now available. You can find it in stores or online.

Staycation idea: Vertical wind tunnels

Want to get the feeling of jumping out of a plane, but without the fear or the expensive cost?

Try a vertical wind tunnel. It's a fun way to make a day of your staycation stand out from your everyday routine.

A vertical wind tunnel is a wind tunnel that moves air up in a vertical column and is sometimes referred to as “indoor skydiving.” You fly a few feet off the ground in a stream of air with a net below you. Some of the wind tunnels are indoor, some outdoor. Skydivers often use the tunnels for training, but the tunnels are also open for the average Joe or Joan. And although most skydiving companies won’t allow kids under age 16 to jump, kids as young as age 3 can jump into the wind-tunnel experience.

There are more than a dozen of these wind tunnels in the U.S. and more are in the works as they gain popularity. You can find links and more information for them at www.bodyflight.net. It’s less expensive than you might expect. A two- or three-minute ride, giving you the chance to float like you drank the bubble soda in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, is generally less than fifty bucks.

The tunnels don’t take up much room, and it’s probably only a matter of time before they begin appearing at amusement parks. For now, the drive might be too far for some.

*** "The Great American Staycation: How to Make a Vacation at Home Fun for the Whole Family (and Your Wallet!)" is now available. You can find it in stores or online.

The Green Staycation

Tourism is the ultimate exercise in environmental inefficiency. That’s what my friend says, and many people cite the eco-friendliness of a staycation as one of its big selling points. No flight or long road trip means burning less fuel.

I’d like to say that my desire to be green is what led me to a staycation. But although I think about the future of the Earth, I do a lot more thinking about the muddy footprints of my kids than my carbon footprint. Still, a staycation is a great opportunity to take steps toward a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

During your time at home, consider creating a compost bin in your backyard (find out how at www.howtocompost.org). You can also begin bringing reusable bags to the grocery store, replace traditional incandescent light bulbs in your home with compact flourescent light bulbs, and even shop for eco-chic clothing. If you have yard lighting, you can change it out with solar-powered lighting, and you can visit a farmers market to find fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. If that gets you motivated, try volunteering with a local environmental organization, which can be found through www.volunteermatch.org.

So where is the fun in all that environmental friendliness?

Well, the whole vacation doesn’t have to be dedicated to Mother Earth. But mix in a few green ideas and you’ll know that your staycation is helping the planet. Or at least you’ll feel better about driving the car to the grocery store for the sole purpose of satisfying a craving for chocolate chip cookies.

*** "The Great American Staycation: How to Make a Vacation at Home Fun for the Whole Family (and Your Wallet!)" is now available. You can find it in stores or online.