The Staycation

I haven’t blogged in a while, and if you are keeping track, the last details I enthralled you all with were those of my colonoscopy (thank you for coming back to read more, I promise we have moved on to better topics). As you may have guessed, I haven’t really had much exciting to tell. I can say that I am so glad June is over, I will pretty much take whatever July and August want to dole out and accept it with gratitude and open arms. Like the old song says, I’m ready for some long overdue hot fun in the summertime.

It would, however, seem that our fun money has been largely drained by some very non-fun expenditures, and so the hubs and I made the adult decision not to take a real vacation this year (thanks, Cigna and the ever-evil money hungry game that is health insurance) and opted to staycation instead. Wheee. Who needs Bermuda or even the sandy shores of Hilton Head Island when you can stay in Charlotte, North Carolina, after all? The perks of adulting just keep getting better.

But, my mom admonished me during a phone conversation not too long ago that I have been “a real Debbie Downer lately,” so I am going to do my best to turn it around—does that makes me a Positive Polly? Perhaps. I have started thinking of the good things about a staycation and I’ve come up with a few. I had to use my imagination, but that’s what a Polly does. I suppose.

It’s not like all of our past vacations have been smooth sailing: we are the kind of folks who have bee known to have a disaster or two strike. I got so sick off some raw oysters years ago, I laid on the cool, tile floor of our beach villa rental’s bathroom and practically begged Jesus to just go ahead and call me to heaven. Instead, he left me to lay there, sweating, vomiting, and shaking with chills until it was time to crawl to the car in my pajamas and ride four hours home clutching my pillow and a sleeve of Saltine crackers, moaning for mercy. We have also been on an emergency hurricane evacuation flight out of the Bahamas (not the relaxing Caribbean get away we had envisioned), and on another ill-fated jaunt, found some very inappropriate leftovers from the previous guest in our hotel room shower in St. Thomas. Maybe staying home this year is our best bet, after all.

I keep hearing that the airports are chaos, full of more angst than ever before with long lines, angry passengers, and cancelled flights. Gas prices are so expensive, even my notoriously lead foot has eased off the accelerator, so at least with a staycation, the answer to that infamous vacation question “are we there yet?” becomes: of course you are! You have arrived! Right this way, and as luck would have it, you are staying in the VIP suite. There are no wait times, no need to tip the waitstaff, and you will find the bar and the snacks are tailored specifically to your liking.

I decided to go ahead and get into the staycation state of mind Friday night at dinner. After all, when you’re staycationing, when does it start? When does it end? Does anyone care? Pass the tiki drinks.

Another big and somewhat dreaded part of vacation for us is having to leave our dogs behind. We have a pet sitter that we adore, and I honestly think the dogs prefer her house to ours, but I still hate the idea of leaving the fur kids while we go away for a good time. With a staycation, this isn’t even an issue. One big happy staycation family, here we are! Is it as relaxing as getting away from it all? Not even close. But the dogs are having a good time, and that’s what really matters at my house, anyway. If we had gone to Bermuda like we really wanted, I would have missed the joys of seeing our dog Charlie throw himself onto my lap on our huge pink flamingo float, even though he hates our pool. He hates the pool, hates the water, but he loves his humans and the idea of entertaining them…okay, and the possibility of getting dog treats. Still, it was pretty darn cute.

This was a pretty good staycation moment, I have to admit.

So the staycation is cheap, convenient, less stressful, and the dogs are happy. I’m still more than little envious when I scroll through my social media feeds and see pictures of all the fabulous places my friends and acquaintances seem to be enjoying. I tell myself I can live vicariously through their posts, and use them for inspiration for next year when the timing is better. In the meantime, we will be here at the Stancil resort enjoying the amenities and soaking up the rest of the summer. We’ve been told by the manager it’s fine to extend our stay, although I do wish housekeeping was a little more on the ball. I have heard that the owner and his wife are our kind of people, and the bartender keeps comping our cocktails. Cheers to the staycation, and no matter where your travels do or don’t take you, happy summer, y’all.

Ah, seeing all the sights during staycation 2022. Wish you were here!