Inexpensive but Fun Summer Vacation Ideas
Monday, June 13, 2011
With the official start of summer just about a week away visions of summer vacation hotspots have smothered my mind.
Last week my younger brother, Joe, and I rode our bicycles from NJ back to our roots in central PA. Joe took a bus to my house in NJ, and away we went. We carried a tent, sleeping bags, a small stove and pan, a can of baked beans, some spaghetti noodles, and a jar of tomato sauce, along with an extra set of clothes for each of us, some cash, and our ID’s.
The bus ride to my house cost Joe precisely $14. We left NJ on a Tuesday, and were home by Thursday afternoon. Our trip wasn’t long in regard to days spent on the road by any stretch of the imagination, but the daily mileage was tough. Of course, we picked the hottest days of the year thus far to bike with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit on two out of the three days. There were definitely moments when we felt as if we would never make it home and instead succumb to heat exhaustion. But even with the heat surpassing seasonal records, we had a great time. It’s a lot of fun being out on the road. And heck, we did it all for a measly few bucks.
We spent about $5 a piece daily for lunch and a little less than that total for dinner both days. We ate hotdogs and baked beans the first evening cooked in a pan on our stove set atop of sewer, and spaghetti and moon-pies the second night. We were back home by the end of the third day. For dinner that night our parents picked up the check in celebration of our arrival.
We slept in a city park the first night, illegally of course, and in an abandoned relatives house the second night, so our housing was free.
Overall, the trip couldn’t have cost us more than $50 total, a cheap three day vacation, and a good way to kick off the summer. Proof that vacations don’t always have to be long, elaborate or pricey. For me, a vacation is simply a break from the routine of our everyday lives.
Now, I understand not everyone considers three days of strenuous physical activity “vacation”. Heck, after getting a flat tire ten miles into the trip, experiencing a brake problem on the morning of day two, having my gear cable snap thirty miles from home on day three just about when the wind decided to be extraordinarily uncooperative, and having to bike those last thirty miles with only my three hardest gears across repetitively rolling hills and up a mountain, even I was ready for a different type of vacation.
Still, I’m of the school that believes accomplishing something difficult beats any luxury vacation. I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of rolling up to our destination on bike. It was totally cool! And it brought back a flurry of emotions reminiscent of arriving in San Francisco a few years back.
Now, here are a few not-so-tough-on-the-checkbook vacation ideas for those slightly saner than me, and also for those looking for a little summer dare…
1. Pack up your gear; load it on your bike, and head out for a two plus day ride. If you’re lucky enough to live close to a city, the beach, or even a friend’s house, why not give the car a break from the heat and take the time to venture there on the wheels of your bike? Destination biking is a blast. You don’t have to go fast, just plan a safe route. Go at a realistic and safe speed. And, possibly above all, pack light! On your way to the beach, stop for lunch at a local joint you wouldn’t usually consider. Prop yourself up against your bike in a field part way into the ride, and enjoy a little sun on your back while taking a break from the repetition of biking. Grab a drink when you arrive. Kick back on the beach, or just enjoy the company of good friends. Wake up the following morning, and head right on back to where you began. You won’t have to deal with traffic. When you run into construction, you’ll often get the go-ahead in advance of the cars, and your route will definitely be more scenic than any major highway. Be sure to check out your state’s bike routes, and also take advantage of www.mapmyride.com and other biking websites such as www.adventurecycling.com. Often times, members of maymyride.com will share their saved rides with other members. This is a good way to scope out safer biking routes. Definitely take advantage of friends who live in the area, and inquire as to which roads are “bikeable”, meaning which roads have a shoulder, are not so well traveled, and have good visibility, etc. Whatever you do on a trip like this, have fun. Don’t let the mileage get the best of you. Remember, you’re on vacation. All you have to do is bike!
2. Head out for a weekend hike. Again, pack up your gear and some food, lace up your hiking shoes, grab your map, and get out of dodge! Oh, and don’t forget your tent! You don’t need expensive equipment for a trip of this nature, just a good sense of adventure. If you don’t know where to go hiking in your end of the woods, head out to a local outdoors shop and inquire from the staff where favorite hiking hotspots can be found. Weekend hiking trips are cheap, fun, and exciting. Plus, you’ll get to spend a night or two under the stars breathing in fresh air. I suspect we could all use a little of that. You’ll be one with nature. There will be no checking in to your hotel room, dissatisfaction with the cleanliness of your sheets, or disgust with the restaurant service. It’s just you and the outdoors.
3. Don’t like to bike or hike? How about giving kayaking a try? If you don’t own a kayak, this trip could be a little more expensive than the first two as you’ll have to rent one for a few days, but if you’re up for it, throw your camping gear into your kayak, and head down a stream. Camp out 10-15 miles later. Wake up, and continue on your way. At the beginning on the trip you could drop off a car at the end of your destination so you have a shuttle back to your starting point. Or, you could have someone pick you up. Either way, enjoy your time on the water and don’t forget your insect repellent, sunblock, and life-jacket. Oh, and a fishing rod wouldn’t hurt. Again, a great way to enjoy the outdoors. In PA there’s a rails to trails route called the Pine Creek Trail located between Jersey Shore and Wellsboro (location of the PA Grand Canyon). The water that parallels this trail is supposed to be a lot of fun. I’m hoping to kayak it myself later on this summer. Will keep you posted.
4. So, if you were hoping for something a little more low-key, weekend camping trips are fairly inexpensive, and a great way to spend quality time with family and friends. I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t enjoy sitting by a campfire, kicking back, laughing, telling funny stories, roasting marshmallows, and eating S’mores and mountain pies. You could venture to a less “rustic” campground such as a KOA with individual showers, a pool for guests, and refined tent sites, or a more remote spot in your favorite State Park, on a public beach, in a mountain valley, or even in your own backyard. That’s right: if you can’t get away, I say bring your vacation to your backyard. Again, to me, vacation is simply a break from your norm. I remember how cool it was for me as a kid to camp out in my backyard during the summer months. My parents would start a fire. We’d roast marshmallows, catch lightening bugs, and fall asleep right under the stars. We could always come inside if roughing it wasn’t in the cards that night.
5. Take a road trip. Now, this isn’t as eco-friendly as riding your bike to the beach, a friend’s house, or some historic site, but there are a lot of cool places to see here in America, many of which just might be only a short distance from your house via car. Whether you head to an amusement park, a National Park, or a big city, a road trip is a great way to spend time with family and friends. You can talk and play games in the car, stop places along the way, and take the back roads if you wish. If you head out for a multi-day trip, you can camp, stay in hotels, stay with friends and/or family, or do a combination of all three. Some of my favorite east coast road trip destinations include Hershey Park, and Dorney Park in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, NYC, Ocean City, NJ, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, VA, Busch Gardens, Water Country USA, and Lancaster, PA.
6. Take a train ride. Spend two days riding a train to Disney. Then, hit up all the amusements. The train ride will serve as a vacation in and of itself.
7. Take a weekend cruise. These days you can find deals on cruises left and right.
8. Host a family gathering at an amusement park, or campground. Get the gang together for the weekend. Play cards, listen to stories, ride rides, go kayaking, sit around a campfire, and just enjoy the company of one another.
9. Host a BBQ at your place…or a pool party if you’ve got one! Of course, this is only a vacation for those who like to play host, but sometimes just doing something a little different than normal feels like a vacation. And you can always make it potluck!
10. Adventure on your own local winery tour and tasting. Grab your friends, a big van, and a designated driver, and find your new favorite wine.
11. Head back to your alma mater for the weekend. Live it up like the old days
12. If you live close enough, take a train into NYC, or a bus to Philadelphia, or whatever city you’re near, and get dinner, check out a show, take a walking tour of town, and even stay overnight if the urge is there.
13. Go to Grandma’s house for the day!
14. Take a hike along a section of the AT closest to you. Pack a picnic lunch. The AT isn’t in your end of the woods? Pick another spot. Mount Nittany in Lemont, PA is a fun hour hike. Shingletown Gap in Boalsburg, PA is just slightly longer. I always enjoy hiking up a mountain, breaking at the top for lunch, then moseying back down.
15. Go to the pool for a day. Find a swimming hole. Take a dip. Find some old inner tubes (from tractor wheels!) and float down a stream. Poe Paddy outside State College is a great spot for a float! Bring a few hoagies, a bag of chips and a half dozen Cokes. Just relax and enjoy the day.
16. Register for a 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, triathlon, bike ride, whatever. Make a weekend get-away out of it. Explore the area. Meet fellow runners. Beat your PR.
17. Rent an RV, and take a tour of our country’s National Parks: Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, and Glacier. Check out the Hoover Dam, Arlington, Williamsburg, Yorktown, and whatever other American historical, archeological, or natural sites you run across. Take in the buffalo, the moose, the deer, and the mountains. Get lost in the history and beauty of our country.
18. Participate in a charitable event: the Breast Cancer 3-day, the MS 150, or Walk for Life.
19. Sign up for a bike tour. A number of states have these. My younger sister and I participated in RAGBRAI 2 years back. This is a week-long ride across Iowa. A big tractor-trailer carries your gear, and dumps it in tent-city each night. You get to tour the state, meet fellow bikers and local folks, eat great food, and camp out for a week. You don’t have to be a biking wizard to participate in most of these bike tours. You just have to have a good sense of adventure and a strong will to accomplish something bigger than you.
20. Just stay home. Turn off your cell phone. Avoid the internet at all costs. Grab a good book, and enjoy a little R&R…in the sun and the silence
Whatever you do, enjoy the summer. Before you know it, it will be gone.
That’s a wrap.
With the official start of summer just about a week away visions of summer vacation hotspots have smothered my mind.
Last week my younger brother, Joe, and I rode our bicycles from NJ back to our roots in central PA. Joe took a bus to my house in NJ, and away we went. We carried a tent, sleeping bags, a small stove and pan, a can of baked beans, some spaghetti noodles, and a jar of tomato sauce, along with an extra set of clothes for each of us, some cash, and our ID’s.
The bus ride to my house cost Joe precisely $14. We left NJ on a Tuesday, and were home by Thursday afternoon. Our trip wasn’t long in regard to days spent on the road by any stretch of the imagination, but the daily mileage was tough. Of course, we picked the hottest days of the year thus far to bike with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit on two out of the three days. There were definitely moments when we felt as if we would never make it home and instead succumb to heat exhaustion. But even with the heat surpassing seasonal records, we had a great time. It’s a lot of fun being out on the road. And heck, we did it all for a measly few bucks.
We spent about $5 a piece daily for lunch and a little less than that total for dinner both days. We ate hotdogs and baked beans the first evening cooked in a pan on our stove set atop of sewer, and spaghetti and moon-pies the second night. We were back home by the end of the third day. For dinner that night our parents picked up the check in celebration of our arrival.
We slept in a city park the first night, illegally of course, and in an abandoned relatives house the second night, so our housing was free.
Overall, the trip couldn’t have cost us more than $50 total, a cheap three day vacation, and a good way to kick off the summer. Proof that vacations don’t always have to be long, elaborate or pricey. For me, a vacation is simply a break from the routine of our everyday lives.
Now, I understand not everyone considers three days of strenuous physical activity “vacation”. Heck, after getting a flat tire ten miles into the trip, experiencing a brake problem on the morning of day two, having my gear cable snap thirty miles from home on day three just about when the wind decided to be extraordinarily uncooperative, and having to bike those last thirty miles with only my three hardest gears across repetitively rolling hills and up a mountain, even I was ready for a different type of vacation.
Still, I’m of the school that believes accomplishing something difficult beats any luxury vacation. I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of rolling up to our destination on bike. It was totally cool! And it brought back a flurry of emotions reminiscent of arriving in San Francisco a few years back.
Now, here are a few not-so-tough-on-the-checkbook vacation ideas for those slightly saner than me, and also for those looking for a little summer dare…
1. Pack up your gear; load it on your bike, and head out for a two plus day ride. If you’re lucky enough to live close to a city, the beach, or even a friend’s house, why not give the car a break from the heat and take the time to venture there on the wheels of your bike? Destination biking is a blast. You don’t have to go fast, just plan a safe route. Go at a realistic and safe speed. And, possibly above all, pack light! On your way to the beach, stop for lunch at a local joint you wouldn’t usually consider. Prop yourself up against your bike in a field part way into the ride, and enjoy a little sun on your back while taking a break from the repetition of biking. Grab a drink when you arrive. Kick back on the beach, or just enjoy the company of good friends. Wake up the following morning, and head right on back to where you began. You won’t have to deal with traffic. When you run into construction, you’ll often get the go-ahead in advance of the cars, and your route will definitely be more scenic than any major highway. Be sure to check out your state’s bike routes, and also take advantage of www.mapmyride.com and other biking websites such as www.adventurecycling.com. Often times, members of maymyride.com will share their saved rides with other members. This is a good way to scope out safer biking routes. Definitely take advantage of friends who live in the area, and inquire as to which roads are “bikeable”, meaning which roads have a shoulder, are not so well traveled, and have good visibility, etc. Whatever you do on a trip like this, have fun. Don’t let the mileage get the best of you. Remember, you’re on vacation. All you have to do is bike!
2. Head out for a weekend hike. Again, pack up your gear and some food, lace up your hiking shoes, grab your map, and get out of dodge! Oh, and don’t forget your tent! You don’t need expensive equipment for a trip of this nature, just a good sense of adventure. If you don’t know where to go hiking in your end of the woods, head out to a local outdoors shop and inquire from the staff where favorite hiking hotspots can be found. Weekend hiking trips are cheap, fun, and exciting. Plus, you’ll get to spend a night or two under the stars breathing in fresh air. I suspect we could all use a little of that. You’ll be one with nature. There will be no checking in to your hotel room, dissatisfaction with the cleanliness of your sheets, or disgust with the restaurant service. It’s just you and the outdoors.
3. Don’t like to bike or hike? How about giving kayaking a try? If you don’t own a kayak, this trip could be a little more expensive than the first two as you’ll have to rent one for a few days, but if you’re up for it, throw your camping gear into your kayak, and head down a stream. Camp out 10-15 miles later. Wake up, and continue on your way. At the beginning on the trip you could drop off a car at the end of your destination so you have a shuttle back to your starting point. Or, you could have someone pick you up. Either way, enjoy your time on the water and don’t forget your insect repellent, sunblock, and life-jacket. Oh, and a fishing rod wouldn’t hurt. Again, a great way to enjoy the outdoors. In PA there’s a rails to trails route called the Pine Creek Trail located between Jersey Shore and Wellsboro (location of the PA Grand Canyon). The water that parallels this trail is supposed to be a lot of fun. I’m hoping to kayak it myself later on this summer. Will keep you posted.
4. So, if you were hoping for something a little more low-key, weekend camping trips are fairly inexpensive, and a great way to spend quality time with family and friends. I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t enjoy sitting by a campfire, kicking back, laughing, telling funny stories, roasting marshmallows, and eating S’mores and mountain pies. You could venture to a less “rustic” campground such as a KOA with individual showers, a pool for guests, and refined tent sites, or a more remote spot in your favorite State Park, on a public beach, in a mountain valley, or even in your own backyard. That’s right: if you can’t get away, I say bring your vacation to your backyard. Again, to me, vacation is simply a break from your norm. I remember how cool it was for me as a kid to camp out in my backyard during the summer months. My parents would start a fire. We’d roast marshmallows, catch lightening bugs, and fall asleep right under the stars. We could always come inside if roughing it wasn’t in the cards that night.
5. Take a road trip. Now, this isn’t as eco-friendly as riding your bike to the beach, a friend’s house, or some historic site, but there are a lot of cool places to see here in America, many of which just might be only a short distance from your house via car. Whether you head to an amusement park, a National Park, or a big city, a road trip is a great way to spend time with family and friends. You can talk and play games in the car, stop places along the way, and take the back roads if you wish. If you head out for a multi-day trip, you can camp, stay in hotels, stay with friends and/or family, or do a combination of all three. Some of my favorite east coast road trip destinations include Hershey Park, and Dorney Park in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, NYC, Ocean City, NJ, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, VA, Busch Gardens, Water Country USA, and Lancaster, PA.
6. Take a train ride. Spend two days riding a train to Disney. Then, hit up all the amusements. The train ride will serve as a vacation in and of itself.
7. Take a weekend cruise. These days you can find deals on cruises left and right.
8. Host a family gathering at an amusement park, or campground. Get the gang together for the weekend. Play cards, listen to stories, ride rides, go kayaking, sit around a campfire, and just enjoy the company of one another.
9. Host a BBQ at your place…or a pool party if you’ve got one! Of course, this is only a vacation for those who like to play host, but sometimes just doing something a little different than normal feels like a vacation. And you can always make it potluck!
10. Adventure on your own local winery tour and tasting. Grab your friends, a big van, and a designated driver, and find your new favorite wine.
11. Head back to your alma mater for the weekend. Live it up like the old days
12. If you live close enough, take a train into NYC, or a bus to Philadelphia, or whatever city you’re near, and get dinner, check out a show, take a walking tour of town, and even stay overnight if the urge is there.
13. Go to Grandma’s house for the day!
14. Take a hike along a section of the AT closest to you. Pack a picnic lunch. The AT isn’t in your end of the woods? Pick another spot. Mount Nittany in Lemont, PA is a fun hour hike. Shingletown Gap in Boalsburg, PA is just slightly longer. I always enjoy hiking up a mountain, breaking at the top for lunch, then moseying back down.
15. Go to the pool for a day. Find a swimming hole. Take a dip. Find some old inner tubes (from tractor wheels!) and float down a stream. Poe Paddy outside State College is a great spot for a float! Bring a few hoagies, a bag of chips and a half dozen Cokes. Just relax and enjoy the day.
16. Register for a 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, triathlon, bike ride, whatever. Make a weekend get-away out of it. Explore the area. Meet fellow runners. Beat your PR.
17. Rent an RV, and take a tour of our country’s National Parks: Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, and Glacier. Check out the Hoover Dam, Arlington, Williamsburg, Yorktown, and whatever other American historical, archeological, or natural sites you run across. Take in the buffalo, the moose, the deer, and the mountains. Get lost in the history and beauty of our country.
18. Participate in a charitable event: the Breast Cancer 3-day, the MS 150, or Walk for Life.
19. Sign up for a bike tour. A number of states have these. My younger sister and I participated in RAGBRAI 2 years back. This is a week-long ride across Iowa. A big tractor-trailer carries your gear, and dumps it in tent-city each night. You get to tour the state, meet fellow bikers and local folks, eat great food, and camp out for a week. You don’t have to be a biking wizard to participate in most of these bike tours. You just have to have a good sense of adventure and a strong will to accomplish something bigger than you.
20. Just stay home. Turn off your cell phone. Avoid the internet at all costs. Grab a good book, and enjoy a little R&R…in the sun and the silence
Whatever you do, enjoy the summer. Before you know it, it will be gone.
That’s a wrap.
Comments