How To Rock Your Summer Staycation

Despite recent travel restrictions we had a great vacation last month!

Until now, I had never been on a real staycation. Sure, I have taken time off work and hung out in my home town, but I never had a time when I relaxed at home and treated myself to activities and eating out for a whole week.

So, we treated ourselves to a staycation and it was wonderful! I didn’t have to cook dinners, we didn’t have to clean the house or do dishes. And we didn’t have to actually travel. Don’t get me wrong, I love to discover new places, but flights are expensive and so are hotels and AirBnb.

And travelling with a baby has been a lot of work. It’s tough to share a hotel room with someone who goes to bed at 7:00 pm. We often come home from trips feeling like we need a few days to recover before getting back into our routine life.

Well, with a staycation, you don’t have to deal with the hassle. No waiting in lines, no sitting on planes or in the car for hours on end. Just imagine waking up and suddenly you are on vacation!

Here’s the rundown on our staycation. Hopefully, you will find inspiration in this post for your own staycation, wherever you live.  Now, without further ado, here are my staycation tips for you:

 

MAKE A PLAN

Hiking is the perfect staycation activity for us

When you plan a trip, you don’t just book the flight and call it planned, right? Who doesn’t love researching their next travel destination and make a list of restaurants they would like to try or things they would like to do and see?

The great thing about a staycation is that you most likely already have a number of favorite restaurants just minutes from your house! Take some time to plan and pick several of your favorites and one or two new places to eat out. That guarantees you will be satisfied AND adventurous with your staycation meals.

And what about things to do? Maybe for your staycation you would simply like to go to the pool every day (if it’s open). That’s great. Make it a plan! Maybe you want to research some new things to do. You may be surprised to find many hidden gems in your own city. You can visit some old favorites and see so much more!

When I go on vacation, I like to come up with a number of things I would like to see and do, but I don’t plan out an exact schedule. That way, when the vacation comes around, I know what there is to do, but I don’t have to do any of it if I don’t feel like it. That’s the beauty of a staycation too. You can write down some ideas and on any day of the week, take your pick.

Perhaps you will write out a flexible plan and then when staycation rolls around you may realize you don’t want to do any of them. What better time to chill at home?

 

PREPARE

Wildflowers on our hike

On the day before our “trip,” I cleaned the whole house so I would be able to relax throughout the week. You could even hire a cleaning service so your vacation can start a little early. Josiah mowed the lawn and we vowed to only water the garden and leave the rest of the work for after our staycation.

We also bought ourselves some special snacks to last us all week, like we would do on a road trip. I didn’t have to do any meal prep because we ate out all week!

But maybe you don’t want to eat out all week, either because that doesn’t work for your budget or because you would like to have some healthy, home-cooked meals. In that case, I recommend that you do some meal prep before the start of your staycation.

If you plan to go to a show, aquarium, museum, or the zoo, you may want to buy tickets ahead of time. Then when your staycation comes around, all you have to do is show up.

We planned to spend our evenings at home, sometimes watching movies. Instead of wasting staycation time searching for something worth watching, we picked some out beforehand. We made a short list of movies that we found on Netflix, Disney+, etc. so that we could get right to our relaxing night in during staycation. 

Whatever your preparations are, do all that you need to in order to ensure that your vacation is relaxing and as stress free as possible.

IDEAS

For my readers living in the Salt Lake City area, You can discover some unique restaurants you could try during your staycation HERE and HERE.

·     And here are some of my favorite desserts in SLC 

·     Go to the Zoo

·     Go to the Aquarium

·     Play at a pool or splash pad, or run through the sprinklers

·     Choose a few hikes or nature walks you would like to try

·     Give yourself an at-home manicure/pedicure

·     Treat yourself to a fancy bath or spa day

·     Go shopping for some new clothes

·     Have a game night at home: try some new board games or a new video game. 

·     Go for a bike ride around your neighborhood

·     Lay out in your backyard and get a tan

·     Try a new hobby or rediscover an old one

·     Set up a hammock in your backyard or at a park and relax with your favorite tunes and a lemonade or smoothie

 

WHAT WE DID

Monday (pre-staycation): I thoroughly cleaned the house while my husband took care of our one year old

Tuesday: We relaxed at home all morning and then had lunch at Red Iguana which is a favorite of ours. We saved the leftovers for dinner. I took Josiah to one of my favorite secret spots in Salt Lake City: Garden Park Ward Building.

We went to Dolcetti for some gelato! The pistachio is one of our favorite flavors.

We made a reservation at a favorite restaurant.
Social distancing means fewer crowds!

Wednesday: We had breakfast at the Black Bear diner for Josiah’s birthday, partly because it’s close and partly because we had a coupon. We like their blackberry bear claw French toast. I saved the leftovers for breakfast the next morning.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing. I laid out in the sun while our baby splashed in his tiny wading pool. We read a lot and built Legos. We had dinner in our home that night with Josiah’s parents who came over to celebrate his birthday.

After baby was in bed, I treated myself to a fancy bath scented with roses and coconut. I poured homemade rosewater and some coconut milk right into the bath, then added rose scented bath salts and rose petals. I used a rose scented candle, rose spray, and coconut lotion. I even had some roses from my mom’s garden. It was wonderful and the perfect staycation activity!

Thursday: We took our little boy to the aquarium. It was fun to see his reactions to the jelly fish, sharks, and other sea animals.

We went to Pizzeria Limone for lunch. My favorite is the Pera pizza and Josiah’s is the Secca.

Friday: My mother-in-law babysat in the morning while we went on a hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon. We did the Stairs Gulch hike and it was gorgeous! The trail follows the stream all the way up the gulch. It’s all just a series of waterfalls surrounded by lush ferns and wild raspberries. It was breathtaking and felt so good to step out in nature.

We ate lunch at The Salty Pineapple where we got some delicious Hawaiian style food. We saved the leftovers for dinner and then got shave ice in the evening at a Hokulia shave ice stand. I guess Friday was our mini Hawaiian vacation day.

What do you want to do on your staycation? And what would you add to my list of ideas? Share with us in the comment section!

Hi! My name is Kait. Follow this link to learn more about me and my blog.