As I mentioned in the last post, we have been stay-cationing a lot lately. If you are like me (obsessed with travel, but the extravagant bucket list in your head exceeds the lifestyle you can afford), stay-cationing is a great way to explore the world around you while staying within budget. I get restless if I don't travel, so I have tried to be a tourist in my own state. Here are a few things I have done to ease that wanderlust on my art teacher salary:
Re-live past vacations
I feel the wanderlust, but really, we just went on our honeymoon to Mexico four months ago. We stayed at a resort for a week. I got to go to New York for work in February. And I lived in Italy a few years ago for two months. Matt just got home from two years in the Philippines. We've done our share of traveling. I was smart enough to blog about every single day of my study abroad (thank you, past self). Thinking about good memories helps the wanderlust subside.
The old bridge in Florence, Italy where we lived.
My 20-year-old self at the top of the cathedral in Florence, Italy.
The David at the top of a hill overlooking Florence.
A water taxi ride in Venice, Italy.
On our honeymoon in May
At Central Park in NY in February
Times Square!
Plan a vacation a year in advance
Ever since we started dating, Matt has wanted to take me to see the California Redwoods. I know, I know...I'm from California, but I've never been there! We are already planning a road trip for next summer. Planning so far in advance means that we can save up every month instead of having to find the money all at once. Plus, the excitement of our upcoming trip will probably keep me happy all winter long. The longer we wait, the more excited I'll be when we get there! We're going to rent a motor home and drive up the coast of California. I can't wait!
Do touristy things in your state
Last weekend, we took a road trip down to St. George and hiked The Narrows at Zion Nat'l Park with some mission friends. We stayed in a hotel the night before (can you say 13 people in 3 rooms??), hiked in for a few hours, and had a bonfire on the red rock that night. It was only 3 hours away, but that's all I needed to get my mind off of work + real life.
Before we left!
The water was SO COLD!
We hiked a few miles and turned back.
Take advantage of your town
I hate the question, "What are we going to do tonight?" Usually, it ends up being nothing because we have to spend all night planning! I have started using utahvalley.com and my personal google calendar to flag events up to 6 weeks in advance. I put any activity that sounds fun into my calendar, and when we're bored, we look up what's going on that night! We never use everything I save, but it's nice to have events at our fingertips when we need them.
My roommates and I used to host parties to get to know people in our ward. This party's theme was Cowboys and Alien.
Hiking in Springville!
Springville Art City Days
Sometimes I go on walks by my house...
and see awesome things like this old house!
Riverwoods Chalk the Block!
Daydream on Pinterest
Sometimes just looking at pictures of other places helps me feel better about being stuck at home. I have a Pinterest board devoted to travel, and look at it anytime I need a mental vacation!
What do you do to take a mental vacation?
2 comments:
I love this post. We are in a staycation phase of our life and it has been really fun to explore New England because there are so many awesome things really close. Thanks for reminding me!
And I definitely want to start planning a bigger vacation for the summer now :) Planning is half the fun for me.
I wish I could explore New England! Maybe we should come visit you!! We have a summer cruise in the works for 2013. The redwoods trip didn't pan out. Hopefully we'll be doing it sometime soon.
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