Staycations Are Just as Fun

Do you cringe when someone asks if you've got any big vacations or trips planned for summer?  My banker did that the other day when I was making a deposit. I know, just casual conversation.  He didn’t mean anything by it. But I cringed. I didn’t have any exotic European vacation planned or tropical getaway on a remote island.

You have seen them on Facebook. The ones who post all about the wonderful trip they are planning and where they are going months before they board the plane. There is a detail of every place they will visit. Every restaurant reservation.  Every theater. Every museum.  Every veranda. Every little thing.  

UGHH! You know them. Maybe you are them.  If so, God Bless You.

I’m not jealous. I can afford to go.  I used to like to go on vacation, too. But now. I don’t know. Is it age? Am I tired? This post-Covid world we live in has changed so many of us. It forced us into staying home for so long.  My friend died of Covid. Did I forget how to travel? Is it the worry of illness and too many germs? Am I scared? 

Or do I just want to be home by dark? You know the feeling. The joy of sleeping in one’s own bed come nightfall.

Maybe I have just become an old curmudgeon. But that isn’t exactly true. I love doing day trips. You know the ones where you find that hole in the wall with the really good fried chicken or catfish. Hole in the walls like THAT, you have to ask about. They aren’t in the travel brochure.

When people go to your hometown and they ask you where they should go, do you really tell them Applebee’s or Captain D’s? No. You tell them, “Hey, this is where you go.” It isn’t pretty to look at, but if you want some really good, whatever it is they say they want, then this is where you go. It is a hole in the wall, but man, their coleslaw is really something. And make sure you order the banana pudding.

You get giddy, telling them this is a really good trade secret. This special place that they wouldn’t have known about if they hadn’t asked you. I have a great friend and colleague who loves to find the next best catfish spot, or “hole in the wall.” The not-so-fancy place that has the best fried catfish, and yes, coleslaw, home-french fries- you know the ones cut from real potatoes, never frozen, Hushpuppies, and real sweet tea. My friend and I still lament the closing of our favorite hole in the wall that we visited with his mother and mine many years ago, as no place has ever compared or come close to that greasy spoon heaven of catfish delight. The toilet paper holder was broken in the bathroom, but we had refills galore on our sweet tea. And the catfish was pure heaven.

The same is true with local museums. You get excited telling people about the local one, but how many people really go visit the local places with the gusto, of a far away place? You don’t have to be 1000 miles away from home to find a new place to explore. There are places right where you are that you haven’t visited in forever or never.

There are day trips everywhere. For kicks, get out the old paper map—yes, the paper one. You can still get them at the welcome centers or buy one. Close your eyes and hit a target. Where did your finger land? Does it look like a good spot? Try it out. Take the back road. Explore.

There is a lot to do close to home that is still pretty exciting and gets you home by dark. Stop by a local mom-and-pop store and do some shopping. Before the internet, we actually used to do that. And yes, we are that old that we remember shopping BEFORE the internet! There are really cool places to visit and shop near you.

And if you are really adventurous, you can stay the night. Your cat will survive one night in your absence. Travel doesn’t have to be long.  It doesn’t have to be stressful.

You are allowed to have fun. Maybe our needs just change as we get older. We have the money to go where we want, but for some of us, what we want is quiet and rest. If that’s you, a “staycation” might be just for you. I have been seeing those advertised more and more, booking you a vacation at home, close to home, or a day and back. 

Miriam Webster Dictionary defines staycation as “a vacation spent at home or nearby.”

Our good friend Wikipedia defines a staycation as: (a portmanteau of "stay" and "vacation") a recreational break spent at home or within a both-ways day's trip distance of it, requiring no overnight accommodation.

There is a word for people like us who like these kinds of recreational respites of short duration.  We are “staycationers.” 

So, the next time, like me, you are caught off guard by your banker or some other well-meaning person asking about your plans for summer vacation—as if you are in grade school…

Don’t cringe. 

Don’t slouch. 

Proudly tell them you have the absolute best staycation planned! Maybe, just maybe, they will tell you their trade secret of the best hole in the wall for catfish that you have missed, just an hour or so from you. When you get there, enjoy a sweet tea and catfish tail for me.