I love traveling. If I could make a career out of it I would. Unfortunately, I have yet to come up with a way to enjoy a career of travel while still enjoying a career of motherhood. Most of us I think tend to get away for a week here or there. Sometimes though it can be hard to get away for that long. Maybe it’s money, time at work- whatever. The fact is though, there is a good reason to get away. We all need it for our sanity. So, what about just a weekend getaway? I am big on weekend traveling. Love it. I am fortunate to live in Colorado, because just an hour or two driving west from where I live dumps me in the heart of the Rocky Mountains where I can camp, boat/water ski, hike, rock climb, snowboard, etc. This weekend I’m traveling to Salida, CO. It’s an “old west” town with a penchant for music, art and outdoor sports. It’s so nice there. My excitement this morning got me thinking, everyone should do this! It’s just a weekend, so it’s doable for nearly everyone. Here are my top ten reasons to get away for the weekend:

1. Change of Scenery. Ruts are bad. They stomp on our spirit and cause mindless droning for weeks at a time. A quick and cheap weekend trip can be awakening and refreshing. Break out of your rut!
2. Exploration. I myself can tell you that of all the cool places to visit in Colorado, I have probably not scratched the surface. So many of us think of a vacation as leaving the place we live… so naturally, we go far. As far as we think is necessary to feel as though we are free from our life. In doing so, we skip right over all kinds of great places. Do some searching on the internet about your state or region. I bet you’ll find some great places to explore. I always figure for a weekend trip, a 4 hour drive is no big deal, and if it’s something supercool, then a 6-hour drive is ok, too.
3. Budget-friendly. Yep. There’s nothing better than a vacation that is kind to your pocketbook. This weekend for instance, I will pay only for gas and food (my sister lives in Salida). Next weekend I’m taking my kids to a hot springs town where we will soak and eat ice cream and drink coffee and repeat. That trip will cost me less than $250, and that’s including the hotel. You can’t beat weekend getaways when it comes to cost.
4. No Time off Work. Taking a weekend trip saves you time off from work. In turn this can allow you save up your time for a bigger trip later.
5. Fewer Mental Health Days. Anytime I’m feeling overloaded, tired, or frustrated about my job, I take a “mental health day”. I consider it to be a valuable tool towards keeping me on-track and motivated at my job. Taking weekend trips seriously reduces the number of “mental health days” I need to function. This in turn also helps with number 4: saving time off for the BIG trip.
6. Education. Any trip away from home is a chance to learn. Whether it’s about yourself, history, geography, or something else, you learn. The more stagnant and routine our life, the less our body takes in and absorbs. I mean lets face it, if your weekend is currently a regimented two-day shopping and eating spree, what have you left to learn from it? Do something different!
7. Variety. The cool thing about quick trips is the variety of things you can do. A full length vacation requires planning so that you can do this and that, and go here and there. With a weekend trip, you pick one thing, and then each time you a take the weekend to travel you pick something else. It great. Here’s an example of the various things I could do here, all within a four-hour drive (some of them I have yet to do). Camping, stay at one of the Hot Springs, tour the Anasazi Indian ruins, go four-wheeling in the sand dunes, stay in a fancy hotel at a ski resort and ski/snowboard, rent a cabin the middle of nowhere and be a hermit, find a Ghost Town, or visit the vineyards on the west side of the state for a weekend wine tasting adventure. I’m sure there are even more things I could do.
8. Kids. OK, so maybe you don’t have any. For those of us that do, weekend trips are by far the best way to go. It’s long enough for them to learn and play and build great memories, but not so long that they get cranky and over-stimulated. A weekend trip geared towards kids can be fun even for parents. Our annual fall hot springs trip is something I look forward to all year long.
9. Purpose. Sometimes I get caught up in the “why” of life. Why am I doing this day-in and day-out? What’s the point? It’s easy to feel like your putting into life more than you’re getting out if you only really getaway once a year. Weekend trips are great reminders of what you can do in your life… they can answer the “why”.
10. Your health. I do believe whole-heartedly that weekend getaways can improve your health. Health is so much a part of your attitude. And sometimes the best fix for your attitude to run away from your life. Even if it’s only two days.

SO there you have it; as if you needed 10 reasons to take a weekend trip! Do some searching and find something that’s not to far from where you live (but still far enough away for it to feel “foreign”), pick an activity and then jump in your car on Friday afternoon. I truly value my little getaways, and I think everyone should incorporate them into their life. Happy Friday….

**Photo of Pagosa Springs, CO.

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If I Were President, I would:

1. Fire Everyone in the White House.
2. Find an American who has spent his/her entire life helping people worldwide, and I would put him in charge of foreign affairs. It would be even better if that person hated oil.
3. Locate some truly grateful and joyful people who love what our country should stand for and want to make a difference to become the domestic policy and public affairs department.
4. Hire a pacifist to head up the defense department.
5. Hire an environmentalist to run the energy department.
6. Hire Jon Stewart to be my Press Secretary.
7. Ask Maya Angelou to help me write my speeches.
8. Put together a cabinet consisting of kids ranging in age from 7-17. They still remember what life is all about.
9. Find the wealthiest person in America who also gives the highest percentage of that wealth away to help others; he/she would be my economic adviser.
10. I would require lobbyists to prove they are lobbying for things they are truly passionate about by working for less than a teacher’s salary. And maybe on that note, pass some kind of amendment that gives teacher’s the salary of oil and gas lobbyists…. hmmm.
11. Remind people of the reason for separation of church and state.
12. Ask every American to read the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence at least twice a year, rather than one time in Junior High School.
13. Get a jump plane and set up a landing area for the White House lawn so I could skydive into work everyday (just kidding. It would be cool though).

The way I see it, anything is an improvement over the current situation, although it’s probably a good thing I’m not leading the country! What would you do if you were President? My son answered this question when he was 5, and you know what his answer was? “I would make all the people eat Broccoli”… Just an example of how you should impose NO limits on answering this question for yourself. Your answers could very well help you make a proper decision come election time for who you feel would best function as our President.

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