The Power of a Daycation
It's that time of year when many people are planning trips here, there, and everywhere. That time when the culmination of paid time off is spent visiting places one wouldn't ordinarily go. Typically my family does the same thing. Afterall, isn't that the idea behind a vacation?
However, this year we talked it out and decided, "why limit ourselves?" I know that isn't an easy thing for everyone, and we are rather fortunate due to being so close to a lot of lakes as well as a state park. So, this year we chose to purchase the annual entry pass to said state park (a 30 minute drive up the interstate) and make it a summer of daycations.
To kick off this choice, we packed the van up with a cooler of goodies, our beach stuff, a change of clothes for everyone (as a precaution), and headed north. Thanks to some unbeknownst road construction the drive took a bit longer than it should, but for the most part it was a short, sweet, trip.
We spent a few hours playing at the beach, swimming and building sandcastles that would inevitably crumble once dried out. Even though there were hundreds of others also enjoying the weather and the lake's cool waves, the day was perfect. There is an understood language during summer, one that doesn't need an interpreter. It is the language of relaxation, kicking back, looking terrible in a swimsuit (or good if you are lucky enough) and not really caring, and simply playing. You can do those things as an adult, playing that is, having children just multiplies the joy. After the beach we had a cookout then took a small hike through the woods. By that time my precious children had assumed their cantankerous super powers and shared their total disdain for all things physical. Basically, they were exhausted. Which means, it was definetly a GREAT day!
Mr. Man and I checked out the campgrounds to see the new spot we picked out this year (since our normal one was already reserved) and it looks like we made a good choice. We can't wait for our actual "vacation." The DNR tore down a lot of the trees because of the Emerald Ash Borer, so the campgrounds don't look like they used to, but with the new trees that were planted and all the other general fixes the grounds look really nice. Perhaps next year we will look into buying a camper, who can say?
In the end, sure, we all got a little toasty even with our SPF 45, but we made memories and can't wait for the next day we are all free to enjoy another daycation.
However, this year we talked it out and decided, "why limit ourselves?" I know that isn't an easy thing for everyone, and we are rather fortunate due to being so close to a lot of lakes as well as a state park. So, this year we chose to purchase the annual entry pass to said state park (a 30 minute drive up the interstate) and make it a summer of daycations.
To kick off this choice, we packed the van up with a cooler of goodies, our beach stuff, a change of clothes for everyone (as a precaution), and headed north. Thanks to some unbeknownst road construction the drive took a bit longer than it should, but for the most part it was a short, sweet, trip.
We spent a few hours playing at the beach, swimming and building sandcastles that would inevitably crumble once dried out. Even though there were hundreds of others also enjoying the weather and the lake's cool waves, the day was perfect. There is an understood language during summer, one that doesn't need an interpreter. It is the language of relaxation, kicking back, looking terrible in a swimsuit (or good if you are lucky enough) and not really caring, and simply playing. You can do those things as an adult, playing that is, having children just multiplies the joy. After the beach we had a cookout then took a small hike through the woods. By that time my precious children had assumed their cantankerous super powers and shared their total disdain for all things physical. Basically, they were exhausted. Which means, it was definetly a GREAT day!
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| Audrey running to the lake. |
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| Lilly and Kelly building their sandcastle. |
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| Mr. Man with Lilly and Audrey building another castle. |
Mr. Man and I checked out the campgrounds to see the new spot we picked out this year (since our normal one was already reserved) and it looks like we made a good choice. We can't wait for our actual "vacation." The DNR tore down a lot of the trees because of the Emerald Ash Borer, so the campgrounds don't look like they used to, but with the new trees that were planted and all the other general fixes the grounds look really nice. Perhaps next year we will look into buying a camper, who can say?
In the end, sure, we all got a little toasty even with our SPF 45, but we made memories and can't wait for the next day we are all free to enjoy another daycation.
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