Seen and Heard
Try a Staycation!
This summer, the hot destination is home
-Mary Beth Sammons
Forget Fodor's, airplanes and seashells. My youngest daughter and I plan to cycle along Lake Michigan, hop on a double-decker bus to tour Chicago's neighborhoods, hit the galleries, shop the Magnificent Mile, and maybe enjoy an afternoon at the spa. We're "staycationing" this summer-taking the opportunity to spend the weeks ahead exploring a city just 25 miles from our suburban home base.
And hey, venturing out on this unhurried hangout time makes the two of us trendsetters. Move over Chevy Chase and the National Lampoon. Staycationing is taking off this summer as gas prices skyrocket, the headaches of air travel worsen, and tourists look to shift travel plans to save money but still have some fun.
Our Staycation comes at a perfect time. With the college-age bro home for the summer and (hopefully) soon working, a longer excursion seemed out of the picture. "Mom, I can't miss work," he proclaims, which translates to prison sentence for the rest of us, who can't exactly leave the homestead in the hands of the family's chief social planner (if you get my drift). So close-to-home getaways (we can bust a party faster) seem more practical this summer.
Even though we've always enjoyed distant getaways to places like Sanibel Island and San Francisco, choosing to stay close to home gives us the chance to explore places in the city we just never have the time to visit. And unlike with our more ambitious excursions, we get to plan more of these, because they're less expensive and easier to pull off. Plus it gives us more time for lazy afternoons at our fitness club's pool and more opportunities to recharge and reconnect.
