The latest term you can find popping up everywhere is “staycation”. The urban-dictionary defines it as a vacation that is spent at one’s home enjoying all that home and one’s home environs have to offer.
With the cost of gas going up quicker than the thermometer in July, most families are trying to getaway without leaving home! When you travel to a hotel what is the one thing that everyone loves besides having someone else make their bed every morning? The hot tub next to the pool and/or the sauna in the swanky spa.
Who doesn’t like to relax while away on vacation? So why not have these affordable amenities at home for you to use everyday? Hot tubs come in all shapes and sizes and range in price from $3995 to well over $12,000 depending on how big and how many bells and whistles you are looking for. Infrared saunas are the latest in sauna technology and come in sizes from 1 to 4 people with prices starting at just $2399 and simply plug into an existing household 110V plug. Even some hot tubs use 110V and they all fill by using a garden hose from your outdoor faucet (no plumbing needed). You can’t get much easier than that!
Some of you might be thinking why would I want a “hot” tub or sauna when you are already hot and sweaty during the summer months? Well a pool is nice, but can really only be used for MAYBE 4 months of the year here in New England, but you can use a hot tub year round! In the summer set the temp to be below body temperature and it will still feel refreshing and you will still get the benefits of hydrotherapy. With a sauna you have sore muscles from mowing the lawn or playing a couple of games tennis that need some heat therapy which is quite comfortable on a cool summer evening or morning. Both a sauna and a hot tub are going to provide you with years of relaxing and fun times with family and friends so start planning your staycation today!
Here is a blog entry that I found about one family’s staycation:
“Gasoline has topped $4.00 a gallon and continues to rise. The economy sucks and inflation is eating away at discretionary money. Food is becoming more expensive. Businesses are closing. Housing prices have plummeted to a 20 year low. We are still working long and hard (unless we lost our jobs), yet we seem to have less and less every day.Our hardworking souls still need breaks and vacations, but where do we go? I get about 4 weeks of vacation per year, but last year I only took two weeks. My company, in all of their wisdom, paid me out for my unused vacation, so I had to pay taxes on it! Not only was I not able to carry over those vacation hours, I ended up paying for them in the long run. Not this year; I am taking every hour of accumulated vacation. Uncle Sam is not going to get it.
We have (had) three trips planned this year. The first one was driving to Loreto, Baja, Mexico to deliver some children’s clothes to some disadvantaged children. We completed this mission. This was good for the heart; bad for the wallet. The price of gas (significantly reduced when you heavily load your truck), 3,000 miles of desert driving with the air conditioner on, lots of pit stops, and accommodations - it would have been less expensive to fly. However, we could not have taken those needed clothes.
My wife and I had also planned on our first trip to mainland Europe(on saved frequent flyer miles!) for our anniversary. Since snaring one of those precious seats on an international flight is not the easiest thing to do, I was elated to get some wonderful connections for this long flight. It took me many years to convince my wife (a white-knuckle flyer) that it was now safe to go. We were all set. We even had our Rick Steves backpack bags. We were going with another couple who have been to Europe many times. We had planned on sharing the rental car and fuel. If you think $4.00 or more a gallon is high here, this is about the price of a liter in Europe! Along with the devaluation of the dollar against the Euro, this was going to be another trip that cost a lot more than we anticipated. Unfortunately, we canceled the trip.
Finally, we had a family trip (about five days) planned for August. A friend of mine bought an old church camp near Yosemite years ago and has renovated it for family reunions, and of course, church groups. When she offered to give it to our family for a week, we jumped at it. When twenty or so extended family and friends arrive, we will sleep in bunk beds, share in the cooking, and spend some quality time being a family again. And, more importantly, we are close to home; only a few hours drive. This will be our Stay-cation this year.We really have a great mountain home with a beautiful view, lots of trees, and lots of quiet. We have a place that really is a vacation spot, yet we always seem to find other places to go. Yesterday, my wife and I sat under our three year old cherry tree that produced extra fruit for the first time. Not wanting to share any more with the birds, we picked ALL of the cherries, sat under the tree, and ate ‘em. We also have a hot tub where we can soak and relax. We can see planes flying overhead heading for the airport about 40 miles away. Those people are tired and weary; we are relaxed and enjoying each other’s company. It is the perfect Stay-cation! Posted by: Rod Moser_PA_PhD at 8:20 AM
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VISTA, Calif., December 22, 2008—Watkins Manufacturing, makers of Hot Spring® Spas, the world’s number one selling brand of portable spas, has been recognized by Flex Your Power, California’s statewide energy efficiency campaign, as a leader in energy efficiency with a Flex Your Power Award. This year’s award winners collectively saved 1.5 billion kilowatt hours, 122 billion gallons of water and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 1.3 billion pounds.