No More Stay-cations!

     Last year, we took a stay-cation. It is always good to take a week off work and rejuvenate yourself. I thought I would take advantage of the time off and get a lot done around the ranch. It was relaxing not to have to follow a schedule, to wake up every morning and have the whole day open to do whatever we wanted. Vacation ended there. We did have a vacation from a work schedule. Our to-do list, however, did not get much attention. After using up a week of vacation, not only did I not feel refreshed and ready to go back to work, I didn't feel like I got anything accomplished. I promised myself no more stay-cations.
    We have to put in for our leave preferences for the year in October. So this year, I knew I needed to take off enough time to actually go somewhere. Instead of taking all my vacation time at once, I thought I would split it up and put in for one week in the winter and one week in the summer. I still have a child in school
so to take a winter vacation I chose a week that included several "No School" days.
    What do you do in the winter for vacation? You have two choices; you can go to the snow or away from it. We chose definitely away from it. We decided to vacation in Florida.  There are a lot of things to do in Florida. We chose a few things to put on our schedule and left several days open to improvise. We planned to leave on Saturday and come home on Friday. That left a weekend after vacation to relax and get used to the idea of going back to work and school. I highly recommend at least one complete day to get situated after your travel before you head back to work. Two days is best; one day to unpack, do laundry, and restock your fridge and the second day to do nothing!
     I am going to dedicate the next seven days of this blog to chronicle our trip and review the sights and services we encountered. My first recommendation is don't fool yourself with a Stay-cation. Take advantage of your evenings and weekends to explore your local attractions within driving distance and to accomplish your home and ranch projects. Use your two or three weeks of vacation leave to really "GET AWAY!"
      If you find that you can never seem to afford to go any where, start your vacation fund today. We have an out of state "savings only" account with a direct allotment to set aside an automatic amount every paycheck. At the end of the year, a 25 dollar allotment every two weeks adds up to a $650 vacation;  50 dollars adds up to $1300; and $100 adds up to a $2600 vacation! Do that for everyone in your household that has a regular paycheck. Pay yourself first... you deserve a vacation this year.
     Now that you have a vacation savings fund in place don't forget your passport. An adult first time passport will cost $135 and a minor under age 16 will cost $105.  You can usually get your passport photo taken at your local United States Post Office. Check the hours that they offer Passport application processing as it may be different than regular post office hours. You can find out everything you need to know about how and where to apply for a passport by clicking on Passports at www.travel.state.gov .
   Getting a passport sounds like a lot of money, especially if you have several family members. Every family member must have their own passport. But give up a few trips through the drive-through and it will more than pay for itself in the long run. Once you have your passport in hand, the door of opportunity opens for vacations of a lifetime. We had no travel plans in mind when I decided to get our passports. I knew without them I'd go no where so I decided to take the first step to making our travel dreams come true. It wasn't long after they arrived in the mail that I was surprised with a larger income tax refund than expected. Passports in hand, my son and I booked a rather impromptu trip with my mom to Japan.
    It can take up to 8 weeks to get your passport. You never know when a good deal will come along and many of them will require a passport. You'll be surprised how many great deals you can get on wonderful traveling vacations. Don't get stuck on another Stay-cation. Apply for that passport today and get ready for your next great "Get Away!" Or stay home and read blogs about other people's vacation adventures!