Featured Article
Take A Staycation: Camping At Home
by Ben Anton

A staycation is a vacation that you take without really going anywhere. You can stay close to home, like your neighborhood park, the campsite on the outskirts of your hometown, or even your backyard. A staycation emphasizes what is most important about vacations – time with your family and friends. You don't need to go anywhere special to enjoy each other's company.

Why Now?

For the most part, staycations are growing because of the ever-rising fuel prices and the general economic downturn. A bigger percentage of a household’s income is going toward paying for the higher priced gas people need to get back and forth to work and school.

Additionally, increasing food prices mean more income is needed to buy food every month. Planning a vacation is hard work already, but trying to figure out where the money will come from to pay the gas (in addition to the regular travel expenses) to get there can be even harder. This is why staycations are becoming even more popular.

A staycation is a vacation spent either at home or very near to home as a means to take a holiday without spending a large amount on travel. By eliminating the need to travel a great distance, most vacation costs can be cut dramatically. Without the stress of trying to figure out how to pay for the staycation, families will find that they enjoy a much needed respite that much more.

Below are some great ideas for easy staycations you and your family can take this summer to cut down on fuel, food, and equipment costs.

• Camp In Your Own Backyard. Plan a weekend camping trip with your kids in your backyard. Set-up your tents, pack up some coolers, throw together your camping gear, and maybe even set-up a simple fire pit or purchase a small enclosure for a fire pit and enjoy the outdoors at home. By turning off your phones and saying no to the TV and internet, you and your kids can experience the outdoors and the great weather this summer with very little cost.

• Find a Local Campsite. Ask your chamber of commerce about camping areas in your city or just outside your city limits. This is a great way to experience how tourists to your town may see your city while traveling through. This is also a great way to get outdoors and meet other people who may be sharing your camping area.

• Take In Your Local Attractions. While you are talking with the chamber of commerce, ask them about fun things to do on the weekend in your area. So many of us know very little about the interesting and exciting things available to us in our own city.

It might be a few more years before you can afford to take that road trip across the country. But, that doesn't mean that you won't be able to spend some great quality time with your family and even with your friends. Go on an adventure, even if it is one in your own backyard, and see what there is to see. No matter what else happens this summer, you will be able to head into the fall months knowing that you had a great staycation, where your family was able to just be together and to enjoy themselves. There can be nothing greater in the world.

~Ben Anton, 2008

Ben Anton lives in Portland, OR and writes for DLK.
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