TRAVEL TIP #11 DON”T USE FINANCES AS AN EXCUSE TO “STAYCATION”

Oh --- oh --- I am running out of blog travel ideas. If anyone out there has points about travel that would be interesting for this site, let me know. It would seem that the key travel points I contemplate before hitting the road have been covered by the first ten posts. Send me questions, comments and tips. I may diverge from traveling advice to trip reviews. Where did I LOVE to go? Which trips were not as enjoyable as I had hoped? We shall see. Maybe I shall park the blog for the summer and come back in the fall.

Today, let’s take a look at cheap trips with great rewards. Where can we go on a $100 budget? $50? $1.40?

I am smiling as I recall a $1.40 day trip my husband and I took when our daughter was a baby. Yes, $1.40! We were inventive and courageous when we were younger. And we had a blast. We still do.

Where to go?

1. FREE Public beaches. Our daughter was a few months old and we were a typical broke family. Not a broken family. A BROKE family. Our gas tank was full and we were down to white bread and bologna in the fridge. Feeling the urge to explore, we looked at options for a day of fun in the sun. At the time, we were living about four hours from Virginia Beach. We packed sandwiches and a Thermos of iced tea, packed our little one's baby food and took off in our beat-up clunker. We made ONE mistake. We failed to take road/bridge tolls into consideration. Fortunately, we had enough loose change to make it through all the gates to and from the beach.


2. FREE/CHEAP State parks in many areas are free. There are picnic tables, hiking trails, stocked ponds and lakes (for ye ol’ fisherMEN and WOMEN out there), bike trails, horseshoe courts, tennis courts, and golf courses. You can buy a two-person tent for less than $20 and pitch it overnight. Some parks have free camp sites; others charge less than $20. Pack the food you have in your pantry, throw in a Frisbee from the Dollar Tree and a deck of cards, and have fun!

3. FREE Local bike trails. We are blessed with miles and miles of paved biking
trails in several communities near us. A couple of water bottles and a sandwich
bag of nuts and raisins will tide you over for a snack along the way. We bike almost every weekend during the summer.

4. FREE Summer programs in the park. One local park has movie night in the park.
Families can sit on the bleachers for the show or sit in their own coziest lawn chairs. The park specializes in family movies like the OLD Disneys and it is great fun. Find out what show is coming to a park near you. Ask your local park and recreation organization to set up an outdoor theater.

5. FREE Concerts in the park. Summers are filled with free music EVERYWHERE. There is nothing like music to lift the spirits.

6. FREE Arts and craft festivals. Although many summer festivals charge
admission, there are still opportunities to attend small festivals where you can
stroll along the walks, admiring paintings, pottery, wood carvings, photography,
baskets, and other works of art.

7. FREE Church socials and music programs. Most community churches offer a
wide range of social activities including music programs, ice cream socials, plays, book clubs, etc. It is a good idea to support the church with a monetary donation, but FREE is FREE. In university communities, many musicians are highly trained professionals who will knock you socks off with outstanding concerts.

8. FREE University lectures, concerts, faculty recitals. etc. We are within easy driving range of three major universities and have a wide choice of activities that
we can attend at no charge. Over the years I have attended lectures by wonderful
noted individuals including Homer Hickam, Maya Angelou, Carl Bernstein, John Grisham, U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Renquist, Phyllis Schafley, Erin Brockovich’s attorney (whose name I have momentarily forgotten!!!!!!!!!!), Hurricane Carter, Jake Gillenhaul (sp?), and many, many academics and celebrities.

9. FREE Book festivals and book signings. By far, one of my greatest experiences with wonderful author exposure is the Virginia Festival of the Book. Most activities
at the multiple-day festival are free and open to the public. Top New York Times
best selling authors and a host of authors in a wide variety of venues make the annual book celebration one of the most outstanding forums of its kind. If you are
within a few hours of Charlottesville, it is well worth the drive. Check out their calendar of events and have fun.

10. FREE – SMITHSONIAN!
This is my favorite all time #1 FREE experience.
a) The National Zoo is yours for the walk-in. Go see the pandas --- and the elephants, and the monkeys.
b) The Air and Space Museum. This is a crowded one, so plan your visit carefully. You can explore everything from the first flight of the Wright Brothers to the current scientific work of the International Space Station. There are paper airplane seminars and contests and many, many free programs. McDonalds serves lunch, so that is cheap! The IMAX movies require admission, but you may be able to justify the cost by saving money in other ways.
c) The American History Museum requires a whole day to take in the
treasures of our country. See Abraham Lincoln’s stovepipe hat, Dorothy’s
ruby red slippers from the Wizard of Oz, and the magnificently restored Star Spangle Banner (the HUGE American flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write our national anthem).

d) The Museum of Natural History with it breathtaking dinosaur
skeletons, and such great exhibits as the Hope Diamond make up a
visit you will never forget. There are free interactive exhibits and
child activities with live species and chemical experiments that your kid
or grandkid will never forget.

e) The American Indian Museum offers a lovely perspective on the history of
the first Americans. Ask the staff to point out the rainbow on a sunny day. Watch the free programs throughout the winding levels of beautifully displayed artifacts.

f) The National Portrait Gallery is far enough away from the congestion of
the main Smithsonian museums that you can spend an entire day just taking in GREAT works of art, including the official portraits of U.S. Presidents. There is a lovely cafeteria where you can grab a bite without standing in a long line during peak lunch times.

g) The Smithsonian has many other facilities including smaller art museums scattered along the mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the U.S. Capitol.

11) FREE The National Gallery of Art is in close proximity to the Smithsonian. I usually spend an entire day quietly enjoying Monet, Rembrandt, Rousseau, and my favorite, Rubens. The galleries are extensive and absolutely beautiful. The Gallery has a wonderful Garden Café with fine cuisine. The food is a little pricey, but the exhibits are free. Some people mistakenly believe that the National Gallery is part of the Smithsonian. Unlike the Smithsonian, which was founded by a bequest of Englishman, James Smithson, the National Gallery of Art was established by an act of the United States Congress. Nevertheless, the benefits for the public are the same: FREE admission. If you CAN make a contribution to either institution, please do so. I am committed to seeing these exhibits accessible to ALL people. Our National Parks now require admission which can be a burden for families who are strapped for funds. Personally, I think it is a HUGE mistake to exclude Americans from the experience of exploring our great parks. If we are not vigilant, the Smithsonian and the National Gallery may follow suit.

12) Call your elected Senator or Congressman and tell her/him you would like
to tour the Capitol with your family. You may see Congress in action as a young intern strolls through the exquisite halls of the U.S. center of power.

13) Check with your Senator about Whitehouse tours. Policies change from
time to time. If you have a Boy Scout troop or a science team, you can schedule
a tour of the Whitehouse. I was able to take my daughter through the Whitehouse when she was about five years old, but she was too young to remember it.

14) The National Book Festival in Washington D.C. is free. Hopefully, this
wonderful festival will be continued. Initiated by Laura Bush and the Library of Congress, it is an incredible gathering of many of the top writers in the world. Last fall I stood in line for two and a half hours to get the autograph of James Patterson for my grandson. I stepped out of line about five minutes before reaching the autograph table, and my grandson stepped into my place. My favorite photo from 2009 is the one where the kid met THE author! If you have questions about how to ENJOY the festival without getting lost in the crowd, send me a comment below.

15) There is also an International Folk Festival in Washington. I have not
actively participated as a guest at the festival, although I have been there
during the gathering. Also, the American Indian Museum has pow-wows and a variety of programs that may appeal to you.

16) I shall close this post with my all time FAVORITE free EVENT: THE
ANNUAL JULY 4TH CELEBRATION IN WASHINGTON! Fireworks, free concert of the world’s top musical artists, and a huge party of 600,000+ celebrants! There is an art to managing oneself well on the Independence Day Washington gathering. I think that will be my post for next week. I hate to give away my “secrets” but since there are only a few people reading this silly blog, it probably will not make much difference.
Entertainers we have heard on the 4th? Barry Manilow, the Beach Boys, John Williams conducting Star Wars theme, Huey Louis (Lewis?) and the News, Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Smits as emcee, Dolly Parton, Clay Aiken, Jerry Lee Lewis, Maurice Gibb, the Sesame Street muppets, Jason Alexander as emcee, Barry Bostwick as emcee, and many, many more. All free! Greatest concert in the world. Do not miss it! FREE.

OK. Next week I will tell you my “secrets” of making the Fourth of July on the steps of Capitol Hill the greatest vacation of a lifetime.

Have a good week. Get some sunshine --- in moderation. Enjoy each day and travel without excuses that there is no affordable place to go. I have barely scratched the surface. There are LOTS of places to go! Just do it!

Be safe.