Vacation or Staycation?

Since Walter and I have been married, we have been fortunate enough to be able to take a vacation each year. For us this is truly a blessing because it was not a common practice for us growing up. We are so grateful for the opportunity to get a way for a while with our children to enjoy them as well as enlighten them about the world around them.

As with everything else we do, when planning a vacation I am very considerate of our budget. This year I must be a bit more creative because of the gas prices being so high; we always travel by car and at this rate a large portion of the budget will be spent on gas. Though this is true, I refuse to take a staycation. I am encouraged to be more open minded and ingenious with my ideas.

It is a common practice for me to pick a theme and to consider our curriculum for the current school year. We like to use our vacation to check out sites that relate to our studies. For instance, when we were studying caves and dinosaurs we visited Kentucky where there is a Dinosaur Museum and lots of caves.

This year we plan to take multiple short trips consisting of travel to places that are close in proximity be it no more than two to three hours away allowing us to leave early and return at the end of the day. This will save us money because we will not be lodging overnight. The areas of study to consider are Early American History, Modern Art and Chemistry.

We took our first road trip this week to Cincinnati, Ohio. We visited the Cincinnati Art Museum where we indulged in a scavenger hunt, then we took in the sites on the riverfront while enjoying ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. After observing the balloon man's craftiness, the children had balloons made for them and they had fun playing with those before we went window shopping. We closed the day with a little fun at Game Works and sandwiches and fries from Wendy's. Believe it or not we had a day of fun for just $50.

Do you have any suggestions for a fun frugal vacation?