Signs of the Times (part 5) - Staycations

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Summer will be officially over September 22, and in many places, children are already back at school.  And during this transition, some of may look back at our ...

Vacations ...

As Labor Day comes this weekend, this particular holiday marks the end of the summer and * sob!* summer vacations.  Hence, I reflect on the few trips we took - on a budget.

One trip was made economical by cashing in points to stay in a national chain.  That was sweet.  Another, we stayed off the beaten path in a most reasonably priced motel - old, but clean, comfortable beds, and working AC.  (More than I get at some high price chains.)

But other trips, motels - especially in a bad economy - did not reflect that we still were in a bad economy.  Hence, we made use of ...

Daycations ...

We had looked into some short stays near some National Parks, as we are living already within reasonable driving distance from some good ones.   But we checked the prices, even the two star motels and to quote Chris Rock in the TV show -  In Living Color  [reference:  Counting Down The 12 Most Memorable Recurring "In Living Color" Characters - 8. Cheap Pete]

** Good Lord that's a lot of money! **

It seemed we were not alone in our sticker shock.  Though high tourist season, many places near the parks still had vacancies.

So instead, we took some wonderful daycations - where it is always cheaper to sleep in our own bed, though we had to tough out long days to drive to get back home.

Which brings us to another popular option ...

Staycations ...

We are retired and live in a beautiful area, so we are blessed that many of our days are extended staycations - that is, stay-at-home vacations.  It has been claimed that word was coined by the writers of the Canadian sitcom, Corner Gas.  [reference:  World Wide Words: Staycation]

This episode "Mail Fraud" may have been the vehicle to make staycations part of the culture.

Below is the first few minutes of the episode (from: http://youtu.be/5c0SzzZB9uw ) which introduces the concept:




Daycations ...  staycations  ...

It is a trend of enjoying life in a tough economy and on a budget.

And these are some 
Signs of the Times ....

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Previous posts in this series:

Signs of the Times (part 1) - Camping in the Parks (2012)

Signs of the Times (part 2) - Layaway (2012)

Signs of the Times (part 3) - Layoffs (2013)

Signs of the Times (part 4) - Doomsday Preppers  (2013)

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Photo from -  everystockphoto.com fourth-july-luckenbach