Vacationing at Home & Need Your Suggestions

@Crankycakes -- great lineup.  Can you say more about official Adventure Day?  What does that entail?  I should add Official Adventure Days to my schedule, too.

@Condo Blues -- awesome post!

Beth Terry@fakeplasticfish
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Although we've got a couple camping trips and a couple of day camps thrown into the mix, I'm looking for the good stuff to do too!

My family really needs a little structure, so we had a family meeting at which we agreed on the schedule:

Sunday - church/playground/groceries
Monday - library day
Tuesday - our local science museum (we've got a membership so this is kind of free)
Wed. - official adventure day
Thurs. & Fri. - they're with my ex
Sat. - Play at Home day (we live in a big cohousing place, so there's a lot to do outside)

What I like is that I've got a reason to get them away from the *&%#^$% Disney Channel ("Hey guys, we've got to get to the library!"), but we've still got flexibility.

I’m veteran of staycations. Sometimes by my choice and sometimes the
choice was made for me by outside forces, for example on my honeymoon. At the last minute we had to ditch our plans because I was still recovering from an ankle injury and we had to do something less walking intensive than we originally planned. We still had fun, just a different kind of fun than we originally planned. 

Attitude goes a long way in making a stay at home vacation fun. I wrote an article about it and have some ideas on deciding what to do and how to do a staycation fun  http://condo-blues.blogspot.com/2009/07/8-tips-for... ( http://condo-blues.blogspot.com/2009/07/8-tips-for... )

Condo Blues Frugal green living that's big on style and small on budget http://condo-blues.blogspot.com/

Many years ago, I made a list of the 100 things I wanted to do before I died.  I think it was cuz Oprah said to do it.  Every now and then I pull it out and review it.  Some things I can check off the list (like completing a marathon) and other things I just get rid of because they don't seem relevant anymore.  Maybe I'll pull out that list again to get ideas.

I love the idea of checking at the library and also playing tourist in my own neighborhood.

Sadly, I many not get to do any of these things this summer because I just heard from my sister that my parents are having difficulties with getting around and getting organized and need us to come and help them move.  So that may be my summer vacation.

Of course, there's always BlogHer!  Can't wait!

Beth Terry@fakeplasticfish
www.fakeplasticfish.com ( http://www.fakeplasticfish.com )
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Make a list of things you've never done before, but would like to do. Some of them can be things that excite you, some can be things you just never have the time for, and others can be things outside your comfort zone. Then every day, choose one and do it...I've been doing this for the last month. I call it my "Month of Living Dangerously', which I started because I was in a little bit of a rut. It's been totally fun, every day is unique, and I'm going to make it a lifestyle choice now (rather than just an experiment)

http://maryandseansadventuresabroad.blogspot.com/2...

My first book, Off the Beaten (Subway) Track: New York CIty's Best Unusual Attractions ( http://offthebeatensubwaytrack.com ), came out last summer and is about taking a "subway roadtrip" in NYC instead of renting a car (most New Yorkers don't have cars), leaving the city, and driving around. There's plenty of unusual things to see and do right within the 5 boros if you live in NYC, or anywhere that has good public transportation!

Suzanne Reisman ( http://www.blogher.com/member/suzanne-reisman ), Contributing Editor - Feminism & Gender ( http://blogher.org/topic/feminism-gender )
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants ( http://cussandotherrants.com/ )

thebloggingmum mentioned making a list of movies and books (which is great)-- I say take it to another level! Start a bookclub--you can do it in the backyard, living room, front porch or wherever. You can do it with your family, your friends, or fire up a skype call with some of your friends that live far away (maybe they are on a staycation too). CODEPINK Women for Peace has a bookclub where it recommends books, provides reading guides and more. Last month they did Story Teller's Daughter (by Saira Shah) and this month its The Places in Between (Rory Stewart)--both about Afghanistan, great travel narratives, autobio nonfiction, good stuff! you can use their resources (full disclosure, I work for them, but I also do the bookclubs with women in the NYC area) here- www.codepinkalert.org/bookclubs ( http://www.codepinkalert.org/bookclubs )... GoodReads hosts online bookclub forums too (though not as fun as sippin' wine or tea with friends or fam and really digging into these books.) happy staycation!

One of our favorite things to do is to make a list (or find one) of movies or books, etc.

Then we start on the list, and talk about it as we go. We've found a few gems in various lists, which has been a nice surprise! 

Librarians usually have the scoop on what's going down in the neighbourhood, including the off the beaten trail kind of stuff. Also, more and more libraries have family museum passes available that allow you to get into local museums for free.

Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca/ ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca/ ).

Beth,

Living in the bay area, you're lucky. Play tourist at home! Take BART to Oakland Museum or the Asian museum in SF. Visit Alcatraz. The A's have $2 tickets on Wednesdays! I could give you weeks of ideas.

Those living other places can do the same thing. There are usually sites near one's home that the natives never visit. Pretend you're there on vacation, and play tourist.

Debra
A Stitch In Time ( http://astitchintime.blogspot.com )
Weight for Deb ( http://weightfordeb.wordpress.com )

Lucky you, going to BlogHer! And thanks for the link. 

We are going to try to go cheaper this year while still vacationing. We will be driving about 5 hours to go to a living history museum, spending the 4th of July at another living history museum in our town (just a couple miles from us), and in a week or two going camping a couple hours' drive away. I splurged on camping supplies (a real tent that my husband can stand up in! sleeping pads!), but we can drive for little and stay for pretty much free if we find a spot in a public wilderness area. We can eat the same as at home, so it will be pretty cheap. 

My recent idea for making staycation more appealing is to learn a skill. In a week, if you focused, you could really make some progress at a craft (knitting, spinning yarn, sewing, scrapbooking), a skill (woodworking, plumbing, cooking) or a new ability (from tennis to dancing). You could check out books or videos from the library and really study up. 

I do love reading travel literature, so it also could be really fun (especially for the childless/free to go all out!) to read some travel literature that really takes you away, mentally, and then make food related to that area, rent a movie about it, decorate, entertain or whatever.

I'm thinking they key to a more fun staycation is to think about what you've thought "I'd do that if I just had time ..." and do it. And tell everyone you're GONE, of course! 

Good luck!

Susanna a.k.a. Cheap Like Me

Cheap Like Me blog
http://www.cheaplikemeblog.com
Where economy and ecology meet the good life.