Staycation vs Vacation

Over New Years, we decided to stay in our Denver vicinity and stayed at a hotel about forty-five minutes away from home for two days.  It was fun and relaxing to have a short drive and check out “our backyard.”  Although there seemed to be a lot of last-minute packing and logistics for a near-by trip, this was due mostly to having an infant and pets to manage while we were away.

We had considered going to the Maya Riviera in Mexico, but our lack of planning early enough had meant the cost would be about $1k a day, which seemed too indulgent and unpredictable with an infant.  So we are hoping to do it later on, given enough planning and maybe getting a good deal.

We toured the Molly Brown House on the way to the hotel.  My son had never seen it and it was a good follow-up to having seen her movie, “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” and “Titanic.”  He received more insight into the town he was born in, which he appreciated.  Seeing the home decorated for Christmas was a bonus.  We learned interesting tidbits such as a local town, Arvada, having been the world capital of celery, and how the currently uncelebrated vegetable was a delicacy back then.

We got a deal at the Embassy Suites and like the family-orientation of having suites with a dividing door to boot.  The first night, on the 30th, my baby ended up sleeping curled up towards my husband’s arm pit after struggling with teething a few times during the night.

The next day, we enjoyed time in the pool, hot tub, gymn, Indian buffet across the street and catching a matinee of “Cloudy with Meatballs.”  It was the first time we took our baby to a movie theater.  She did fine overall, sleeping through most of it on my lap.

Since we normally are in bed by 10pm due to having an infant that has been getting up by 5am, we struggled to make it to midnight on the 31st.  We promptly passed out after the ball dropped in NY, with our baby in her playpen next to our bed.  We decided we don’t need to try to stay up anymore!  After all, Denver is two hours behind NY, and we can pretend it’s midnight at 10pm.

It is nice to consider a low-stress staycation here and there.  It is easy to find weekend deals at hotels in any city.  One gets to check out their city and areas they may be too busy to explore at other times.  Especially when a baby may not cooperate and their schedule must be accommodated, it’s nice to know that you are not spending a lot and didn’t spend a lot of time and energy getting there.

I look forward to future well-planned vacations with my family away from home along with staycations near our home when we have occasional opportunities on weekends.  There is merit and room for both!  Staycations can add more balance to our lives by giving us a mini break without a lot of expense or stress.