Awe, just look at those pictures on Insta of your friends smiling in the pool, in Italy, with drinks, and tans. Yay them.
Ok, in all honesty, I do have an awesome trip planned, but its not happening until the end of November. That’s like Christmas. It might as well be an eternity away. But, I am not going to let this summer go by without at least pretending to be on vacation.
In the following, I have listed three reasons a staycation can be a more rewarding experience than traveling, or it is validation you can use to explain to your friends why you never go anywhere. Either way, no matter where you spend most of your time, you can be reminded of how and why you landed in your hometown in the first place.
You are an expert
No more FOMO for you! There is so much pressure on vacation to find the places only the locals know. Or to see as much as possible considering the price you paid to get there. When I took my family on our first ever tropical vacation last year, I had so much anxiety about trying to squeeze in everything, I actually cried when all they wanted to do was nap in the rental one of the days. Don’t even ask me about the hour and a half drive to see the amazing monkey preserve to pull up to a run down shack, in a shady part of the middle of nowhere.
Sure, trying new foods and changing up the view reminds us how awesome and diverse the world is, but there is nothing like the satisfaction of already knowing where to get those delish organic green smoothies, what time the absolute best breakfast burritos are sold out, and not having to open google maps every time you leave the hotel.
It’s more than a little ego boost to know the smoothest waters to take your paddle board, where to see the most inspiring sunsets, and the back roads to take to avoid the summertime traffic.
Learn about the tourists
My default mode seems to be set on the ‘I prefer to be alone’ setting. I love to be alone, until I don’t. When people travel, they simply cannot isolate themselves because of then unfamiliar environment. There is no choice but to ask for help. It may be directions, help with a menu, currency questions, and many other basic tasks. Asking for help opens us up and humbles us to be teachable. People naturally like to help each other.
When we are comfortable, know where we are going and what we need, we rarely interact with others that we don’t know. You probably can’t relate, but some people even pretend not to see people they know when they’re running errands, simply because they don’t have the time to chat. The nerve! (insert winky face emoji here)
Because you are now planning your hometown staycation, schedule in some opportunities to talk to people you don’t know. Ask where they are from, and maybe what has brought them to your part of the world. Remember, this is a vacation, so your are not busy running errands. Be friendly. How cool would it be to know you were that nice girl who told them about the awesome mine tour they experienced, and the local handcrafted soda brewing tour.
Look for “Invisible” stuff
I have this weird fascination with Bigfoot, but not for the reasons you might think. I love the mystery of it. There is no solid, scientific evidence that Bigfoot exists, but here’s the cool part: There is no solid, scientific evidence that Bigfoot doesn’t exist. Uh huh. See what I did there? That’s the magic. It’s not that I think he’s out there, trying to eat campers, it’s that he might be.
The point is, ever since I started sharing my fascination, people starting popping out of the woodwork, telling me that they are “believers”. I’ve been gifted several Bigfoot collectors items, that I totally love, even though I consider myself an anti-collector. There is even a Bigfoot believers conference somewhere up north I’ve been invited to. I’m in the tribe ya’ll! Who wouldn’t want to be an exclusive member of a tribe like this? I even have the t-shirt.
There are tribes of people doing the coolest stuff in every corner of the world. You can find them on social media, a google search, or just going for a walk with your eyes open. I even found the cutest little tribe of fairy house builders right down 3rd Avenue, in my town, that several locals don’t even know is there! What the ….? A whole fairy community. Invisible! Awesome.
Cheapest, Endless, Instagram Worthy
My heading was not just a bunch of keywords thrown together to get your attention. Ok, yes it was.
Traveling is a dream of mine so I won’t sit here and try to make it sound incredibly dull and not worth the money. What I hope to do though is inspire you to be excited about where you spend most of your time. From now on, I will use the hashtag #hometown, #durangocolorado or #staycation to post on Instagram for ideas. Will you do that too?
I am so grateful to live almost all my days in this gorgeous place, interact with interesting and unique people, and feel like I am an expert on local favorites.
If you have been following my story, you know I am transitioning from teaching to writing. I would love to hear your ideas about staycations, travel, education, and writing in the comments below!
Reach out to me at hello@rachelwhatif.com with your story or ideas for a stay-cation.
