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Health & Fitness

Enjoy Your Hometown Staycation

Summertime staycations can save money in these difficult financial times. Try these 7 tips to help enjoy your vacation here in the Marina without spending a bundle.

All year long you've heard from your friends outside the Marina that you live in a perennial vacation spot. So now that the summer solstice has given us more time between sunrise and sunset and we are officially in vacation mode, how are you using the extra daylight hours?

With the economy still a problem - and no signs of an early end - there's no need to vacation away from home. Instead, take advantage of free and low-cost local alternatives to expensive summer travel. Here are 7 tips for planning a staycation this year:

1. Make use of the libraries in Marina del Rey, Venice and Santa Monica. The hours may be cut back but the library is still a good source of entertainment. You can take out DVDs and CDs, as well as books, rather than buying them. And many libraries are still sponsoring programs that are informative and interesting for the whole family. Why not create a summer book club for your children, teens or yourself with friends? You can decide to read "beach books" or some classics, settle on best-selling non-fiction, beautifully written novels or award-winning titles. Your weekly discussion groups will be engaging and fun for everyone. 

2. Check out the museums all over L.A. Some of them have admission-free days, particularly for local residents. Plan your schedule around these days so that you can introduce your children to art, history, nature, music and crafts. The bonus is that you, to, will gain from these visits and enjoy the time you spend there. Visit the zoo or an aquarium to learn first hand about the habitats and lifestyles of many species.

3. Enjoy free concerts in the park, community festivals and low cost theater productions. Consult Patch for notices and schedules about events coming up like the classical and pop music concerts at Burton Chase Park. Search for public tours of civic buildings and corporate businesses. Educational day trips to government offices and companies give you the chance to view beautiful art work and learn about what goes on behind usually-closed doors. Community playhouses often have revivals of classics, musicals or innovative avant guard shows at reasonable costs. You can explore small theaters in Santa Monica and Venice or line up for rush, discounted tickets at more well established ones downtown.

4. Get outside. Here in Marina del Rey we can walk on the beach, hike in the hills in Santa Monica, bike on the path along the sand, rent a boat and take it out on the Pacific, or just fish from the pier. Sitting on the beach - enjoying the vastness of the waterscape, the warmth of the sand, the sound of the waves crashing, the smell of sunscreen, the open blue sky - is like a mini-vacation itself. Plan a picnic on the grass or take in a baseball game at Dodger stadium, sitting in the bleachers. Drive up to Malibu for a full day of hiking in the simple beauty of nature. Park Rangers may be available to give you informative talks about the flora and fauna you are seeing.   

5. Do some cooking or baking with family or friends. It's always fun to hang out in the kitchen together, even in the summer. Make some tried and true favorites like chocolate chip cookies. Teach the kids some of your old family recipes or try out an interesting new one. Summer can be the time to schedule potluck evenings with family friends. Everyone can pitch in to keep down the costs and create a diverse menu. Bring the recipes to share and you have new dinner ideas to use during the coming year. Cap off the evening with charades and team games or you can set up tournaments for board games.

6. Explore a new area or hobby. Summer might be just the right time to finally get going on that interest that has been percolating on the back burner. Have you wanted to start a family tree? Now, take the time to get on the Internet and start researching. Organize your snapshots? Get out those photos and arrange them in an attractive scrapbook or ebook. Learn about the universe and star gazing? Visit the Griffith Observatory.

7. Include some staycation plans solely for adults. Schedule a joint massage for you and your partner at a local spa. Take a day cruise to Catalina or a short train ride from Union Station - just you two. Splurge and stay at a nearby bed and breakfast. You'll find that the time alone for a romantic getaway refreshes you and your relationship.

Planning and taking a real staycation gets you out of your everyday rut and creates memories to share throughout the year. Now that you've got lots of good ideas for taking a staycation without draining your funds, get out there and enjoy yourself! And don't forget to take lots of pictures so you won't forget any of the delightful details.

© 2011, Her Mentor Center

Rosemary Lichtman, Ph.D. and Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D. are family relationship experts who have developed a 4-step model for change. If you are coping with acting-out teenagers, aging parents, boomerang kids or difficult daughters-in-law, we have the solutions that make family rifts disappear. Visit our website, HerMentorCenter.com to subscribe to Stepping Stones, a free ezine and our blog, Family Relationships to receive practical tips and our free e-book, Courage and Lessons Learned.

 

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