This past weekend, it had been my intention to go with my dad to the Smoky Mountains for a quick four day getaway. However, our plans were altered mainly due to strong predictions that the weather was not going to be fun weather to camp in and would ultimately ruin a short vacation anyway. Since I had already submitted for PTO and had not taken a break from work in awhile, I decided to go ahead and take a "vacation" anyway.
The problem is that with most forecasts predicting rain for half the vacation time and without the desire to scramble together a last minute four day weekend roadtrip, I was ultimately left with a "staycation", sitting around the house all weekend with no particular plans. At least, that's how I felt on Thursday when looking at things. However, as the weekend has gone by, I've made it a commitment to take advantage of this free time and treat it as if I really were far away from home and not in my every day setting with routines.
It wasn't all big and grand. Shoot, most of my weekend involved sitting and being in the car. However, I truly felt that without my normal routine and doing things out of the ordinary, I had found some small way of making a staycation feel more like a true vacation that I haven't had in a good chunk of time. Here's how. Please also bear in mind that I'm an unmarried young adult, so my experiences may differ from your.
-Put the road in Road Trip: I was already planning on spending two full days stuck in my car during my initial vacation plans. I might as well carry on and hit the road as long as there wasn't a storm stopping me. My dad and I took a quick trip up to Hannibal and back on Friday (about 4 hours of just driving and sitting, mind you). On Saturday, I decided to do a quick pilgrimage and spent an equal chunk of time circling around central Missouri where I stopped at various Catholic places I came across.
Part of the point of driving around so much was just to see the sights. I had never really seen most of the spots I was passing through, and it was cool seeing gorgeous riverways, thick tree covered hills, and little historic towns along the way. Missouri is a gorgeous state to drive through in my opinion and this weekend emphasized that beauty in my eyes.
-Take pictures: Generally if you're on vacation, you're almost guaranteed to have a camera in your hand. Since it's an unusual/ brand new setting and you're likely to not see things the same way again, you want to capture an image to preserve the memory of the thing or place you stopped at on vacation. Well, as I said before, I had not really been to some of the places I drove through over the weekend, so I had to have my camera on my phone at the ready at all times.
Part of my Saturday adventure naturally came with the need for a camera. I intentionally sought out these Catholics churches and shrines on a very particular route. This is because one random side hobby of mine is to collect pictures of different Catholic churches, statues, and icons and create an album of those pictures on my Facebook page. It's not very detailed, and in some cases I'm literally doing a drive-by and taking a quick pic before moving on. However, having the camera gave me a mission and purpose on an otherwise wandering experience.
-Check out the local fare: Tons of small towns and new places have something interesting to offer when it comes to their food and drinks. Purchasing such foods and drinks helps support small, family businesses and it gives you a taste of something you may not otherwise have consumed before or after.
I didn't do too much of this. I did make a pit stop though on my journey Saturday. In the town of Washington, I sought out an ice cream joint to cool off on a warm afternoon. I found Dairy Delight and tried their scoops of Mint Chip and Raspberry Truffle ice cream. Both sweet and cool. Had I been better prepared, I would have tried some other foods at the little festivals going on in Washington or Hermann that day, or I would've made a pit stop at the Daniel Boone Brewfest if I wasn't by myself. So, not a total success in this area of vacation experiences, but at least I can say I tried something local, something different and I enjoyed it.
-Put a good movie on: Of course, I did spend some time at home each day, mainly in the evenings when the rain was most likely to come down and I had had my fill of outdoorsy stuff during the day. Sometimes on vacation, especially after a day of being on the road, you just gotta sit back, relax, and put something good on TV. That was one of my favorite things about road trips growing up, having access to cable TV in hotel rooms so I could surf for multiple movies and TV shows I wouldn't have otherwise had access to. This past weekend I just decided to watch "Saving Private Ryan" because I knew it was a good movie, but I hadn't seen it in so long and I wanted to make sure it really held up since I put it on my Valuable Films List.
-Take advantage of good weather: The main purpose of a vacation, such as camping, is to be outside and to explore natural settings. This can only work when the weather cooperates by either being warm, sunny, or at least not raining.
Because the forecast called for rain for half of my vacation weekend, I knew I had to get outside whenever the weather was good. I went to the driving range a couple of times as well as played a round of golf on Monday. I went for a walk with my mom on Sunday in a park I had never really been to before. I checked out grottos and statues in the woodlands outside of a shrine. Even just the driving around was an attempt to take advantage of good or sunny weather (it made for some spectacular views) so that I didn't stay cooped up in my house.
-Don't worry about regular life too much: Since on a vacation you're normally far away from the stresses of work and extracurricular activities, I attempted the same concept for my staycation weekend. Granted, it was hard. I had all this free time to worry about Crossroads (Catholic young adult ministry) plans, looking at different job opportunities, and just scheduling my future in general. However, even Scripture tells us not to worry and to not put so much focus on tomorrow but rather be present in the present. So, if I ever thought of a different task to take care of, I just told myself "Well, it's going to have to wait until after my vacation", a similar concept to when I rest on Sunday and don't worry about work or chores when I have the whole day free.
-Blast the jams: What's a vacation roadtrip without music? Whether it's to keep the mind occupied or to keep me awake, music is always a big part of my vacation experiences. This weekend, I dug into the recent discography of an indie country blues musician named Parker Millsap as well as listened to more of the acoustic folk tunes of the Oh Hellos. Even on Saturday evening when I was just relaxing, I went back to some Arctic Monkeys music I hadn't heard in awhile.
-Spend time with family: All of my vacations growing up were with my parents and my brother, so it comes naturally to me to equate vacation time with family time. I made time during the extended weekend to spend time individually with my dad, my mom, and my brother, just catching up and chatting in ways I do not get to do on a regular basis.
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