Take a Staycation

When you travel, where do you like to go? Are you a couple who loves wineries, a solo cyclist or a family bent on camping? Stay true to your own vacation dreams and consider which options close to home can reproduce your favorite trips. Give your trip a name to add excitement. Maybe you can't call it “The French Riviera,” but “Fabulous Trip 2010” or “We Love Our Hometown” works.

Plan, plan, plan. Travel encourages arriving somewhere new and seeking out what appeals to you. Staying at home without a plan to go out encourages garage-cleaning. Begin by considering what makes your city famous. Whether your town hosts the New York Philharmonic or America’s largest ball of string, this is your time to go see that attraction. Places and events locals often miss include the following:

• Community theater
• Minor league, college or high school sporting events
• Farmers' markets
• State parks
• Museums and historical sites

Once you've decided to take your staycation, block that week or weekend off your calendar. Set a starting and ending time for your staycation, and accept no new social engagements, soccer games, book group meetings, etc. Do not answer your work phone. Do not check your e-mail. You are “out of town,” even if you never leave your own living room.

When you can, ditch your car. There's no better way to see your city with new eyes than from the window of a bus or train. Read maps, buy tokens and plot your day with the eyes of a car-free tourist. Even the smallest towns yield hidden treasures when you take new routes. Walking or cycling also pays off in helping you see familiar sights in whole new ways.

You deserve some pampering. Take a few hours out of your staycation to enjoy a home manicure or pedicure, or even just a long, candlelit bath. Wrap yourself in those fresh towels from your pre-staycation cleaning frenzy and luxuriate in your own surroundings.

Unless you love to cook and are planning a culinary staycation, stay out of your kitchen as much as you can. Part of the joy of traveling is eating new things, from road food to five-star meals. Experiment with unfamiliar places in your hometown. You just might find a new favorite as you expand your palate by trying one of these:

• An unfamiliar ethnic or regional food
• A grocery store you don't usually visit
• A church bake sale or lemonade stand
• Dessert in a coffee shop
• A picnic lunch in a new-to-you park

You may not have a long plane trip or train ride in front of you, but taking a few hours to read something that’s been languishing on your nightstand or a new find from your library or favorite bookstore is a key part of a staycation. Don't make it a chore. Leave aside the book group selection you don’t like, and work-related material is strictly off-limits. Find a fun novel and curl up in your favorite chair to make yourself feel worlds away. Or choose a book of local history and discover new places to see right outside your door.

You take photos when you travel. Your staycation should be no different. Carry your camera as you tour your town and capture yourself in front of that historical marker you always drive by, or create a portrait with the farmer at the new fruit stand you discovered. Don't forget to make a scrapbook or album out of your pictures and souvenirs.