A Tale of Two Vacations
September 01, 2010Recently my family and I went on vacation. Well, actually it was two vacations; one right after the other. The first was a working vacation—I worked while my family vacationed. I travel quite a bit in my line of work so whenever the kids are out of school and I’m going to be away for a few days I like to bring the family along with me. It gives them something to do, and to be honest with you I really enjoy the company. It also saves us money. I have to get a hotel when I travel, and I have to get to and from the hotel, so at least part of the travel expense is covered. It also gives my children an appreciation of what their dad does for a living, and after a long day of work I enjoy hearing about the fun things they did that day. And who doesn’t enjoy sitting in a hot tub with their significant other watching the kids jump into the hotel pool?
So what about my second vacation? Well, that one was actually a stay-cation. Even though the working vacation was less expensive than a full fledged vacation, it still cost money, so for the week after my working vacation we decided to spend a week off at home. The truth is many of us never get to enjoy the benefits of the community we live in. When was the last time you played tourist in your own backyard? We invited my family to come visit us in North Carolina. Now we don’t live near a major city, but there is plenty of small town stuff to do where we live. From minor league baseball to the $2 movie theatre, there was something for everyone. And the best part was the price. A typical vacation can run our family several thousands of dollars easy, but a stay-cation costs just a few hundred. And most of all, I don’t feel like I need a vacation after my vacation. Without the stress associated with travel, I was actually able to relax.
With all the money we saved between these two vacations, next year we’re planning a trip to Italy. Hey, after putting up with my family for a week, I think I deserve it.