Staycation

I really needed a getaway. My search on Groupon and other discount sites didn't produce the needed savings I had hoped for. After adding up the cost for boarding the pups, gas, eating out, hotel (even checking hotwire, hotels.com, AAA) our getaway was halfway to a thousand dollars--and accounted for only a short weekend. No thanks. With family making an 18 hour journey south to visit us in the next two months, we opted for an alternative. To feel as if we enjoying the benefits of a romantic randesvous we agreed to a few rules, which I highly recommend if you are embarking on a staycation yourself: 1. I do not have to cook. Order out, eat out. Find inexpensive places we haven't been to before but had good reviews. We elected to try a place 30 minutes south of us. Benny's on the Beach. WOW! Normally we wouldn't drive that far for a meal, but we were on staycation! And man was it good. Nicholas offered to take me to the Brazilian Court on Palm Beach, but I was hunkering to try this right on the beach, breakfast with bragging rights joint. 2. We don't have to make the bed. While we didn't have a maid cleaning our room, adding a fresh soap bar or making our bed each day, we didn't obligate ourselves to picking up, straightening up or even getting up by a certain time. Although I like getting into a freshly made bed, I was on staycation. 3. No work! Part of why we pack and go is to remover ourselves from the distractions: laundry, dishes, piles, schedules. . . . So I used my phone to send happy texts, not follow up calls and emails. I'm sure the pics I sent of us at the beach to my family freezing in the northern spheres was much appreciated. It felt good to give ourselves permission to not be productive unto anything other than relaxing, after all, we were on staycation. We had an amazing time We leisured about, found new adventures and saved money. I believe it's been over 4 years since we have been to the beach together, and we only live 20 minutes from it. Strolling around on south Palm Beach, enjoying a local green market, playing with our dogs, revelling in the beauty of our newly bloomed orchids. . .it was an altogether wonderful staycation.