Staycation Ideas

Archive for the ‘Fall’ Category

To find your way in the world, all you need is a compass and a map. Those are also the two things you need for the fast-growing sport of orienteering. Orienteering challenges participants to find their way on a pre-determined path using a compass, a map, and one’s own physical and mental abilities.

How to Make it Happen

According to the US Orienteering Federation, www.us.orienteering.org, the objective of orienteering is to “…run, walk, ski, or mountain bike to a series of points shown on the map, choosing routes––both on and off trail––that will help you find all the points and get back to the finish in the shortest amount of time.”

Designed as a sport, participants pass a series of control markers that they must punch to prove they’ve been there. The goal is to finish the course as quickly as possible.

For more information on how to get started with orienteering, important safety tips and competition locations, visit www.us.orienteering.org.

Additional Activities

1. Practice your skills with a compass by taking an off-trail hike in the woods. Use caution and never hike where it’s prohibited. Always let someone know where you are going.
2. Try geocaching.
   

You weren’t just buying a place to live when you purchased your house. You were buying your part of the American dream. It’s where you would make your home, raise your family and write your history. But how much do you know about your own home?  When was it built? What has it survived? Who has it comforted? Maybe its time to learn a little more about this place you call home.

How to Make it Happen

Start with the basics. Contact your county assessor’s office for information on when your home was built, who the previous owners were, and if/when there have been any additions to the original building. These records are often online. If online records do not go back far enough to identify the original owners, pay a visit to the assessor’s office for historical records.

If you live in an older home or neighborhood, you might be able to find information at a local historical society. Consult old newspapers or county records to provide cultural context for your home throughout its history. If you can identify the original owners, try to research how they came to your town, how they were employed, and what happened in their lives. Again, local historical or genealogical societies may be able to help with this research.

If you live in a newer house you have the honor of starting its history. Our homes acquire personality through our memories and shared experience. So write down the important events of your history in the house––the milestones and accomplishments your family shares in this home. Take before and after pictures when you renovate or redecorate a room. Save clippings of important local events or natural disasters that your house witnesses or even survives. Some day you can pass these memories on to your grown children, or leave it as a gift to the next homeowners.

Additional Activities

1. Research an historic site. (Idea #51)
2. Join a local historical or genealogical society.

Geocaching is a fast growing phenomenon that involves using GPS technology to locate specifically placed, but hidden containers, called geocaches. Think of it as a treasure hunt for adults, although children will enjoy this too.

How to Make it Happen

To participate in geocaching, you will need a GPS device and the ability to hike, sometimes in rough terrain. The website, www.geocaching.com, provides helpful tips on how to get started, the location of geocache, and reviews on GPS devices.

Active geocachers not only hunt geocache, they also place them and create hide and seek adventures for others. When you find a geocache, you sign the log left with the marker. You then get online and share your adventure—including stories and photos—of locating the geocache.

Geocaching.com claims there are almost 765,000 active geocache in the world: surely one of them is near you!

Additional Activities

1. Visit different geocache locations around the country.
2. Try orienteering. 
3. Go trail hiking in the mountains.

Be a science geek for a day and visit a nearby, accredited Science Center. These learning centers often feature touring exhibits on subjects like dinosaurs and robotics. In addition to featured exhibits are displays on everything from biology to mechanics to space. Many are often connected with planetariums. So take a day to learn about your earth, its inhabitants, and the universe around it.

How to Make it Happen

Visit www.astc.org/sciencecenters/find_scicenter.htm for a list of accredited science centers. Pick one near you and visit its website for hours of operation, special exhibits and admission prices. Many science centers feature planetariums and IMAX theaters, which will likely cost extra, but are worth the price. If you live nearby, consider buying an annual membership for yearlong admission and other perks.

Additional Activities

1. Buy a chemistry kit or science set for your kids and do experiments with them.
2. View stars in your night sky.

For some people, the only good thing about winter coming is the turning of the leaves. While you may not be ready for snow and cold, it’s hard not to appreciate the color show nature puts on right before winter. If you live in a state with four distinct seasons, now’s the time to get out and enjoy the reds, pinks, oranges, yellows and browns that are autumn.

How to Make it Happen

Mother Nature does all the work. All you have to do is go for a walk or a drive. If you go by car, pick the curviest road in your county and don’t rush. Let cars pass you by. Just enjoy the scenery.

Additional Activities

1. Create a leaf collection from leaves you found on your walk. Learn what type of trees they come from.
2. Fall is the perfect time to plant a tree. Plant one in your yard, or donate one to a city park.

One of the great sights in nature is to see a flock of geese flying south for the winter. Seeing the geese, the ducks, the herons and others is a bittersweet good-bye ritual. We don’t want to see them go, but we love seeing them fly. Their departure means cold weather is coming, but we know also, that they will return in the spring.

How to Make it Happen

Migratory birds are in decline worldwide and several organizations are devoted to studying why. You can help them.

Visit www.charityguide.org/volunteer/vacation/bird-migration.htm for ideas on how you can help track the migratory patterns of birds in your area. (You can even sign-up for vacation packages that are devoted to this activity).

You can also call your state’s Department of Natural Resources for the best times and observatories to view migrating flocks in your state. Take binoculars, take a camera, or just take yourself and enjoy the site.

Additional Activities

1. Return in the spring to watch birds migrate north.
2. Learn some birdcalls and try them out on a nature hike.
3. Go bird watching in your backyard.

The leaves turn, the air grows cooler, the days grow shorter…it all means one thing. Football’s coming. High school, college, pro…if you love the game, ya gotta have it. And what’s not to love…the cheerleaders, the colors, the band, the mascots, and, oh yeah, the game. You’ve got a whole season of this stuff. And the ending is Super!

How to Make it Happen

Of these three choices, obviously attending a professional game will be the most expensive. To find schedules and ticket prices for your favorite team, visit www.nfl.com. From there you can link to the website of your favorite team.

College tickets can be purchased through school athletic offices, but some colleges sell out season tickets so these might be difficult to obtain. High school games will be easier, plus they’re much closer and if you know the kids playing it’s a much more personal experience. But do expect to pay admission.

Maybe you just can’t get to a game. No problem. Host your own tailgate party in your driveway or backyard. Watch the Big Game from your house and play touch football during halftime.

Additional Activities

1. Volunteer to help coach a youth football team.
2. Join a fantasy football team.
3. Enter a contest to win Super Bowl tickets. Somebody’s gotta win.

Get your Halloween pumpkins, go on a hayride, and even pet a goat. Consumer pumpkin patches are a booming business and offer a variety of fun family activities including corn mazes, tire swings, hay bale mountains, and, of course, acres and acres of pumpkins to assure you get the perfect one.

How to Make it Happen

Locate a pumpkin patch near you by doing an online search. Visit its website for hours, admission price and location, or call the operators for details. Be aware that some businesses charge one admission price while others charge fees for different activities.

Additional Activities

1. Carve your Halloween pumpkin. Go traditional with the triangle eyes and crooked teeth, or buy a book with artistic designs and trace and carve.
2. Make a pumpkin pie. Canned pumpkin works fine, but if you’re really ambition, make from fresh pumpkins.
3. Make a fall arrangement using dried flowers, cattails, gourds, pine cones and other seasonal items.

Places, like people, can all tell their own story. If you pry hard enough, they will whisper their secrets and give up their ghosts. So meet a few ghosts. Pick an historical building or landmark near you and learn the when, where, how and who about why it exists.

How to Make it Happen

Start by picking your landmark. You can choose a location important to your local heritage, or a place of national historic significance. For a complete list of the National Register of Historic Places, visit www.nps.gov/nr/.

Local and state historical societies often have libraries and other resources available to help you start your research. Preservation societies can also provide information. Other important sources to use include records of newspapers, genealogical societies, historical reenactment groups, and state and county public records.

With background information in hand, visit your site. Ask questions of tour guides and get recommendations for further reading. Some questions to ask include:

• Who or what group was responsible for building the site?
• Why did they build it?
• How was it originally used?
• What purpose has it served over the years?
• When was it erected?
• Who has benefited from the structure?
• What historical significance is associated with this site?
• What was happening in the world when it was built?

These are just a few questions to get you started. As you delve into your research, you will surely come up with many more.

Additional Activities

1. Learn about your home.
2. Join a local historical or genealogical society.
3. Celebrate President’s Day (Idea #14)

America’s agrarian roots are celebrated every fall, all across the country. As pioneers settling the land, our fore bearers knew the importance of a good harvest, and celebrated their blessings accordingly. These celebrations of thanks remain with us today, a valued part of our cultural heritage. Even if you’ve never shucked an ear of corn, take the time to be grateful for our land of plenty.

How to Make it Happen

Autumn celebrations go by many names––Oktoberfest, Harvest Fair, Harvest Moon Celebration. Whatever name it goes by, join the party. The best way to find the celebration nearest you is to either do an online search, or to call your state tourism office for a published guide to the state’s annual festivals. These guides are usually free and many times are downloadable from state tourism websites.

Additional Activities

1. With tourism guide in hand, pick another festival in your state to attend. There’s surely one for every season.
2. Want to get back in touch with your agrarian roots? Start your own garden and discover how grateful you are when something actually grows!