Natalie Whatley

I’m writing to you all this week feeling totally refreshed. I’ve been on a vacation I learned is one of the hottest trends sweeping the travel industry. It’s not often that a part of my life falls in the “with it” category, and finding out we were trendsetters on top of that has been almost dizzying.  I imagine you’re all turning green with envy.  

Jeff took a week off, and we’ve been on a “staycation” – defined as a vacation that is spent at home, or close to home. I hadn’t heard the term up until a couple of months ago, and just this week learned of its popularity due to high gas prices and whopping electric bills.  

The growing trend has been duly noted by those waiting to sell us something, anything to stay in the black, and is the impetus behind the heavily-marketed items needed to make one’s backyard a full-fledged mini resort.

While my backyard boasts some way scaled-down versions of resort-like features, it’s not nearly what the marketers wish I’d attain. In spite of that, we’ve been staycationing for the better part of the decade since I left the workforce.

There has been a couple of nice out-of-state trips, and some where we strayed and bedded down hours from home, but for the most part, expensive vacations were sent packing to achieve a balanced budget.

I’ve learned that vacation is a state of mind. For us, it means breaking the monotonous routine and doing things as a family that our regular schedules don’t allow frequently enough. Over the years, we’ve cleared off the coffee table and eaten dinner while watching movies, played board games into the wee hours, and gone night fishing.

One night, we got our brand-new boat stuck so badly that we had to spend the night out on Cedar Bayou – what an adventure. (I was only allowed to mention that if I also told you that it was me who vetoed the purchase of a thousand-dollar navigational system that would have aided in avoiding that mishap. Inexperience also played a large role, and I’m happy to report that we learned some things, and it hasn’t happened again.) It’s a funny family story I know Jeff wishes we’d all forget.

Just prior to the start of this staycation, I worked my hind end off getting all the laundry done, and the house cleaned. Then I secretly declared a “choratorium” for myself – no household chores other than what was necessary for survival. I kept it a secret just in case one of the kids decided to clean up something; didn’t want them to feel restrained by my edict.

Schlitterbahn Water Park in Galveston was as far as we went this past week. The guys also took in various golf courses, we made a family trip out of getting all the back-to-school shopping done, tied up some loose ends around the house, and the kids enjoyed an afternoon bowling with their dad.  

Our staycations have taken us to many unintended destinations – mostly places buried deep within the heart of our family. I can’t help but think of where we wouldn’t have gone had we been distracted by far flashier travels.  Those are the places I fully intend on visiting again.

© 2008 Natalie Whatley

Tags: staycations, vacation