Have you ever tried a stay at home vacation?  I mean, not just a long weekend but a full week off from work just to stay at home?  You should try it.

With a stay at home vacation you’ve eliminated the majority of your normal vacation expenses like travel and lodging.  That’s huge and it saves you a bundle.

Not only that, you effectively extend your vacation time since the days you would normally be traveling are now extra vacation days.  Nice!

So now that you have all this time and money, what are you going to do!?

Get a massage.  Try those restaurants you usually don’t want to spend the money on.  Take the kids to a sitter and go out on some dates.  Go to the movie theatre several times.  Rent a sports car for a few days!  Do nothing.  Sleep in.  Order food to go or to be delivered.  The possibilities are endless.

You have so much more control of this situation - so have the week of your life.  You’ll come back from this vacation a lot more rested, and a lot less poor!
 
You know what?  There is definitely something cool to be said for traveling with your parents or parents-in-law, especially if you have kids. 

You can save a lot of money by staying together.  You can probably find a two or three bedroom place to rent by the week for less than it would cost each of you to stay separately in hotels.  And chances are you’ll actually have a lot more space for visiting and relaxing.  Plus, with a kitchen you can save money on meals too.  Who knows, maybe your mother-in-law cooks amazing chicken and dumplings or your father is an expert with the barbeque!  These more functional accommodations (as opposed to cramped motel rooms) will improve the quality of your vacation. 

If it’s possible to all travel in the same vehicle, then you’ll not only have more time to visit during the trip, but spend half as much on gas too.  Let one person drive so everyone else can relax without the hassle.  There’s another benefit of driving all together if you have kids.

We recently went on a road trip with my wife’s parents and took their minivan.  We sat in the front seats, her parents in the middle seats, and our four year old in the back seat.  Guess who buffered all the “are we there yet” questions and questions - not us!  It was a nice break for a change.  And here’s a side perk.  If an elderly parent is handicapped, you have all the best parking spots everywhere you go! 

Once you’re at your favorite spot (ours is the coast), you have plenty of grandparent and grandchild bonding time.  So there's more couple time with your spouse and that is always good.  And of course, it's just plain fun to spend time together with your parents and make memories. 

Oregon coast, can’t wait to see you again!

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