In his book The 4 Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss promotes his notion of mini retirements. Basically, for every couple of months he works, he spends a few weeks relaxing outside the country. While this routine isn’t within my grasp (yet), I’ve started taking mini vacations and the results have been wonderful.
In December, my wife and I packed the kids into the car and drove to my sister’s house in Pennsylvania. We rented a small apartment and spent four days walking around the state park, visiting my extended family and eating awesome pizza. The cost was very low – the apartment was only $100/night for four people, which we split with my other sister and her husband. That’s a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with a full kitchen for 4 people at $50/night. No hotel can touch that. We also got a small grocery order instead of hitting a restaurant 3 times per day and did mostly “free” activities, like the park, etc.
This past weekend we spent at an Coco Key, an indoor water park in Fitchburg, MA. The only reason we did that was because the price was so great. They just opened about a month ago, so they’re looking to lure initial guests to try things out and generate a little word-of-mouth marketing. For $140, we got two full days in the park and a hotel room for four people plus breakfast. That’s insane.
The benefits are many. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by work lately. Today, I’m absolutely raring to go. My wife and I had an actual date to the mall and a dinner without kids (parents with toddlers will recognize how even the mall + a hamburger with your spouse can be wonderful) and that was tremendous. Plus, we got some awesome bonding time with the kids that didn’t include rushing to the bus stop, gymnastics or the dinner table.
While I can’t yet jet off to Argentina for a month, I can find a bargain, take advantage of it and fully recharge my batteries. Sure, the economy sucks right now, but the places you’d like to visit are feeling it, too, so prices are low.
Finally, why spend all of your two weeks at once in the summer? Do two days here, three days there. Find something local and fun, support an area business and “depressurize the cabin” a bit. You’ll be glad you did.