Summer Vacation Ideas: All in a Single Day

Summer has always meant a get away for most people. It is the time to unwind, stretch those long legs out unto a comfortable lounge chair and take a well deserved rest with a cocktail in hand. Yes, summer is definitely here. But with the gas price hiking up, who can really afford to drive all the way to their yearly destinations and retreats? Ive been wondering about this for a time. If I only have the weekend to spare and a little bit of money to spend, how exactly can I go to a vacation? I keep picturing other people who go through all their ceremonies before launching themselves off to a good vacation. Women go to parlors and have their nails done, their foot pampered, and their highlights re done. They go to shopping malls and buy new swimsuits for the beach or winter jacket if theyre going up the alps. The men go on oiling and polishing their gears, cleaning out their tackle boxes, and maybe polishing their own car. While all the travel and custom size brochures are all enticing, I need a vacation that is well within my means – without driving off to far destinations, without flying out to another coast, and without renting hotel rooms or a private cabin. As some people suggested, vacation is not about going to truly foreign or exotic places. It is about discovery. And so, while people go off to Hawaii or Paris for a vacation, I venture into my own local town and create my own pocket vacations. Heres how I did it, all in a day. 1. Eat at an exotic restaurant Vacation is about renewing the senses, so I found myself and my stomach to a place offering foreign cuisine. Its best if you come to a place frequented by a lot of people, and it does not matter if it is Korean, Indian, Haitian etcetera. The trick is to order the most popular food or what else everybody is eating. And if you want to be a daredevil of some sorts, try something on the menu that scares you the most. 2. Take a camera with you Keep moving and shoot from all angles. I constantly took pictures of the places Ive been to, no matter how familiar. Consider it as a form of documentary on how I spent my day. While I may not have pictures of exotic places, at least I can preserve a memory of my one day vacation within my own town which in 5 or 10 years time may never look the same again. 3. Go to the market Not too many people enjoy shopping or doing the grocery, but an outdoor or Sunday market is truly something different. I went to an outdoor market and sampled new things and even bought things that simply intrigued me. This is one way of indulging myself and my curiosity. I tried a new cheese, looked for hot and fresh baked bread, and bought a pound of ground beef (I thought itd be great to make my own hamburgers tonight). Youll never know what will surprise you this way. 4. Cook for yourself Not too many people would recommend that you cook for yourself for it is a lonely thought. But then again, it is a reward that I can treat myself to and so I did. I cooked burgers outside that night and while I wait, I simply enjoyed a sweet, cold bottle of beer while listening to the Beach Boys, blasting out from my stereo.