After much research on Mexico and Hawaii, Ryan and I began looking at rental houses in San Diego, not wanting to be contained in a resort where our search for a casual restaurant would be an ordeal. In San Diego, we’d get the weather, the beach, and be able to have oatmeal on hand to just make a quick breakfast in our rental. Then, after thinking about packing up everything to fly, we switched our search criteria to Santa Cruz, CA. So basically, our big summer vacation is going to take place about 90 minutes from our house. I am totally excited, almost as if we were getting new stamps on our passports.
To take it to the next level of convenience and cheapness however, we could have just canceled all work obligations for a week and stayed home. Called a staycation by the trend-watching media, this would allow us to spend all the money saved on travel on meals and activities that we never engage in. Just think about applying a $200/day budget to a week at home. Bring your meals in! Bring a babysitter with you to the beach, so if you want to fall asleep in the sun, it’s ok! Rent a crazy backyard tent and sleep out there! Host a margarita party for 20 friends!
Beyond the budget issue, there’s the time at home to appreciate. Not the time to clean out the garage, but rather the time to use those toys you usually don’t feel like setting up. The tunnels, the art supplies, the huge cardboard boxes I’ve been saving for fort-making.
And the outings! The zoo, the farmer’s market, the public pools with cool splashy things. Having the d-a-d at home during the day makes some of these possible for me. He can take the baby to Gymboree or to Studio Grow or to SFMOMA or all the other things that stay-at-home-parents can do. And I can do sewing projects, make pumpkin pie, and build very tall lego buildings with my almost-4-year-old without having baby sis pull at our legs the whole time.
And one more naughty thought for working moms: plan a staycation for you and your partner and KEEP your daycare situation. How much fun would that be? Daytime movies, leisurely bike rides, afternoon naps, lunchtime at a restaurant.
For those who live in the below cities, keep in mind we have staycation guides for each of them.
San Francisco
Washington D.C.
San Diego
Portland
Seattle
New York City
Chicago
If you are willing to write one of these guides for Santa Cruz before August 15, I will be your best friend forever. (Sorry, Heather!)
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Although I dream of sipping margaritas by a pool in Mexico it was not happening with our new baby. So we looked closer to home and also settled on the Santa Cruz mountain town of Felton. It met our #1 criteria- within a nap’s length drive for our car hating baby. (Yes, I know babies usually love cars- ours doesn’t- yes, we’re sure.) We stayed at the Fern River Resort. Decent cabins with porches- some overlooking the small river. We grabbed sandwiches at the New Leaf Market and had a bottle of wine at the small Hallcrest Winery. Sat outside on the deck looking at the redwoods. For dinner we grabbed pre-marinated meat and some pre-made salads at the organic/natural New Leaf Market. Grabbed some corn at the Tuesdays Farmer’s Market and grilled it all up back at the cabin. Clean up was zero since everything was prepared or grilled.
The next day we walked around the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, and I would recommend getting there by train from Roaring Camp railroads in Felton. We didn’t, but I have done it in the past and it was great fun. After a relaxing nap back at the cabin we went for a walk in Henry Cowell State Park just up the road. We had dinner at La Bruschetta which was delicious. We sat on the patio under the redwoods and there is a small lawn area and a small sandbox for kids. The next morning, after stopping for homemade chai at The White Raven coffeeshop we headed home with our sleeping, quiet baby. A great getaway.
Great ideas! This year my my husband has taken two weeks off but my parents are taking the kids for one of those weeks. So we’ll be kid free and husband will be fancy free. Too bad poor me has to work. Oh well!
It was so great to meet you at BlogHer. I was searching around for an email address. Email me if you get a moment.
Santa Cruz is so lovely, have a wonderful time (and see whether you can bring your babysitter with you!)