Extend Your Vacation

Posted on June 10, 2009 - Filed Under Beach and Vacation Travel Tips and Help, Travel, Vacation Time

I just read a great post on the Chicago Tribune about extending your vacation. The writer (Mary Schmich) gives 10 tips to make your vacation last longer.

I do think that these are some great tips, and most of them I have already done.

1. Start Your Vacation Early: By using the internet, you can look at where you’re going, and get yourself excited and in the mood before you ever start.
2. Clean the House Before You Leave: This one is easy as my wife can’t stand to come home to a dirty house even on a normal day, nevermind after vacation. Doing this means you don’t have to do any work when you get home.
3. Bad Habits: See #4
4. More Bad Habits: Basically, get out of your routine. Make your life different while on vacation. For the second part of this, if you can’t get out of your routine, then go somewhere that makes the routine impossible. Go somewhere without internet, or TV.
5. Do Something New: This sort of goes along with #4. Do something different to make your vacation special. If you do everything exactly the same as when you are home, what’s the point of going on vacation?
6. Get Some Sleep: This is a good tip, even if you think it might not be. A lot of people might say “I want to get the most out of my vacation, no sleep for me”, but that means you’ll be tired and not enjoy it as much. Also, it means that you won’t feel rested when you get home.
7. Act Like You’re Still on Vacation: Even after you get home, act like you are still on vacation. Relax, read a book, don’t work. This will make the transition easier and not so stressful. This is why I usually come back a bit before I have to go back to work so I can still have time to get back into the swing of things.
8. Don’t Buy Crap: Yes, everyone wants some souvenirs to take home, but don’t buy something that is just going to sit around and collect dust.
9. You Live in a Vacation Destination: This was written for Chicago, but many places are in fact vacation destinations. I live in a boring little town called Canton, but every year in July people come from all over the country (even the world) to Canton for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival. Most places have something to offer. Enjoy these places through the summer to get out of your routine.
10. Get Back Online: After you’re done, look at all those bookmarks that you had on you’re browser from when you were planning your vacation. Remember the places you went, the people you met, and the things you did. Keep the vacation memories alive.

So what do you think? Do you have any tips for keeping your vacation going?

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