A Vacation Around Every Corner
The long relaxing days of summer breezes and sun-kissed skin are already beginning to fade back into the days of chilly evenings and coffee shop cram sessions. Summer is over and while you may be headed back to school, that doesn't mean that you have to wait a whole year for your next vacation.
In fact, it's probably a good idea to take a couple of short vacations throughout the year. Taking local weekend and day trips can help to keep your spirits high and your wallet intact, even on Top Ramen budgets.
Long vacations in faraway lands are nice, but you don't have to go far to come home feeling refreshed. Southern Californians have always headed south of the border for weekend-long fiestas and sun-filled days. College kids from the northern United States have long known the refreshing powers of a quick jaunt into Canada. If you're not near any borders, you can even take meaningful vacations to neighboring cities just a few hours away.
Cal-Berkeley law student Tia Katrina Canlas took a weekend-long trip last year and she went right before finals. "My boyfriend at the time had never seen snow, so we decided to take a trip up to the mountains," she said.
She had a paper due the next week, and when Canlas got back from her relaxing and refreshing trip, she was able to get her work done right away. Canlas says taking short trips like this can be "a great way to procrastinate." You can stay home and watch reality TV or surf the Web all day, putting off your studies, or you can take a short trip and come home feeling recharged and ready to work. Just make sure you budget your time appropriately.
If you don't have time for a weekend getaway, consider taking a day to explore your own city. Every city has its tourist attractions, whether it's an old church, a famous bridge, or an historic monument. So why not see all the things your city has to offer?
There's no shame in being a tourist in your own city, and Time Out Magazine (www.timeout.com) can help to get you started. With Time Out, even the savviest hipster will be able to discover something new to do, right in their own stomping grounds. Their print and online guides have information on cities all over the world, from New York to Abu Dhabi -- but it's not all tourist traps and museums. Time Out seems to have panache for the random and eccentric, alerting readers to events such as the Chicagoland Ukulele Jam Festival or New York's UFOs: The Culture of Contact Multimedia Festival.
If you're getting sick of city life and are looking for a real escape, hit the back roads and see what's happening in small-town USA. There's nothing more relaxing than getting away from the nine to five hustle and exploring the quaint and quirky side of your surroundings. As I discovered last year, a trip through Iowa is not complete without a stop in the small town of Brandon, home to the biggest frying pan in the state. Trust me, it's big.
71 Miles (www.71miles.com) is another great website dedicated to local travel, offering blog-style reviews of local destinations for weekend warriors and day trippers, all from a local's perspective. Currently, they only cover Northern California but are launching the Washington D.C. Metro soon, and plan to build a national network of local travel hotspots and little-known destinations.
Traveling locally is a great way to get to know the city you live in, as well as the surrounding areas. Furthermore, you'll be able to help support the local economy and small businesses. For all you world-saving idealists (you know we love you), this means taking trips to local organic farms for hikes and picnics. Spend the weekend at a family-owned bed and breakfast or take a tour of the historical sites of a neighboring town.
Mini-vacations can consist of road trips, hikes, camping, wine tastings, cabins by the lake, and hotels in the city. There are practically endless options for weekend getaways everywhere you look, and they don't all have to end with stays-in-Vegas type debauchery but those trips are fun too.
No matter what you end up doing or where you end up going, just remember that summer may be over but your vacation doesn't have to be. Stay on the move, keep that travel bug tamed, and don't let your spirit of adventure be stifled by stuffy classrooms.
Justin Jones is a freelance writer/nomad who actually believes that life is one big vacation. Find out more at www.JustinWasHere.com.
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