Stay • cation:
The Rules

by Elizabeth Brinkama

With all due respect to The Go-Go’s, sometimes a staycation and not a vacation is all you ever wanted. With gas prices inching ever closer to the $5.00 per gallon mark and airlines across the board slashing flight capacity and charging all services as if it were an ala carte menu to offset rising fuel costs, that trip across the country or abroad doesn’t seem quite so appealing as it once did.

However, if properly executed, the staycation can yield as many pleasures and joys of discovery as a regular vacation if a few simple rules are followed.

Rule #1: No housework

This is not intended to be time spent catching up on a month’s worth of dirty underwear and socks, re-grouting the bathroom tile, or cleaning the gutters. That would fall under the category of waycation, i.e. work vacation and the two should never be confused.

Rule #2: Get out of the house

Though the first syllable is “stay”, this in no way implies that you should never leave your house. In fact, it is highly undesirable for you to spend your entire staycation super-glued to the comfy chair and remote control. Go outside!

Rule # 3: Explore your world

Plan an itinerary just as you would were you indeed traveling over the river and through the woods. This is the perfect opportunity to explore your neighborhood and surrounding environs, to visit all the places – museums, parks, stores – that you don’t on a day-to-day basis and re-familiarize yourself with the town you call home.