Vacation Shmaycation- try a STAYCATION!

I don't know about you guys, but once summer hits, it seems I start to need weekends for my weekends!  Every year, the hubby and I lament how it seems we never have a free weekend; between BBQ's, family time, birthday parties, beach and pool dates, and this summer, trying to get ready for our little fellow, we're already booked up until I'm due!

We've been talking endlessly (since January...YES, JANUARY!) about doing a family vacation.  Unfortunately, a little thing called life got in the way.  Some unexpected busy-ness at the hub's job staved off an almost booked trip to Disney World in Feb/March.  Deciding to have our bathroom remodeled put off a much looked into beach vacation in April/May, and our family road trip to Michigan squashed all thought of a week in Wildwood in mid-June.  Now that it's juuuuust about July, and I'm almost 35 weeks pregnant, any promise of traveling before the little dude arrives is out of the question.  At first I was bummed (we travel a lot, so going 8 months without packing the big suitcase for a week is a decent stretch for us); but after an overnight at my mom's house last week I realized that traveling with the nug is getting hard.  Like, really hard.  Like packing a duffel bag for me, a mini suitcase for her, a pool bag, a beach bag, all supplies for both activities (blankets, toys, floaties, enough suits, regular diapers, swim diapers, sunscreen, sun hats...), toiletries for both of us and other miscellaneous items, for a ONE NIGHT stay, just felt crazy.  And that's the easiest kind of stay considering I didn't have to supply beach chairs, umbrellas or house toys (since my mom has all of that for us at her house).

That's when we decided to finally  jump on this trend of staycations.  There's a lot of reasons people take them these days (rising costs of flying, gas prices, the economy, and so on),  but for some reason we never thought to try it ourselves.  Considering we live in an area FILLED with tourist destinations, it's pretty silly that we haven't!  So, what does one do on a staycation?  Apparently, just about ANYTHING except chores or work- sounds like fun, to me!  I've been doing a lot of research on them for an upcoming article on staycations for Miss A (due out next week), and it seems you can do anything from host a cocktail party to a family decathlon in the back yard.

As for us, with so much in our area (central NJ, about 45 minutes out of Manhattan and 30 minutes to the best local non-BENNY beach- BENNY's being folks who are from out of town- say Northern NJ or some area of NY who don't stay but clog up the parkways and parking lots every.single.weekend in the summer), narrowing the list was tough.  Of course, toddler friendly is an absolute must (it drives me batty when people take small kids to events inappropriate for their ages and don't understand why the poor, bored kids are misbehaving).  So here's what we've got so far:

* The beach/boardwalk/aquarium:  This is a no-brainer in NJ, especially for beach lovers like ourselves.  We especially enjoy getting to the beach early in the morning (around 7 am, when you still need a sweatshirt and can enjoy a cup of hot coffee and a bagel while the sand heats up), and leaving before the real heat sets in...and crowds!  Our favorite local beach also has a swing set; so when we take the nug for a beach walk, she gets a little play break in the middle of our shell collecting.  Pt.Pleasant Boardwalk (about 10 minutes further from said favorite local beach) is the family version of the one you see on Jersey Shore- lots of kiddie rides, games and family attractions.  The boardwalk is also home to a wonderful little aquarium with a touch tank and lots of colorful fish, sharks, penguins, sea lions and alligators.

* 4th of July fireworks:  Since this is the first year that the nug could really appreciate them, I was so bummed that the Red Bank fireworks (a HUGE display run by the same company that does the Macy's fireworks in NYC) were canceled.  Sadly, many of the local fireworks have been put off for 2012 in light of increasing costs and diminishing donations; leaving our options a little bit limited for a first time fireworks outing. Luckily, the above mentioned favorite beach still has theirs, making for a fun night out with dinner, evening beach snuggles and a sky lit up with colorful explosions.

*The pool: Since we already belong to a pool club, it wouldn't make sense not to utilize it during our down time on our staycation.  Not to mention, the nug has a few little friends there she loves seeing!

* A local ball game:  For us this is the Lakewood Blue Claws.  First Energy Park in Lakewood is one of the  most family/kid friendly venues I've ever been to- with a large playground right above the seating stands, fun characters running around and a host of on-field, in-between innings games (like hula hoop contests or races).  They also have a post-game fireworks display every weekend!

* The NJ Fair:  Okay, I'll admit it, this has been one of my favorite -alright, my absolute favorite- thing to do to kick off summer every year.  Well before the nug came along, I've loved going to this fair since they have kind of everything a regular fair has, but tenfold.  Rides, games, food, and attractions- you definitely get your money's worth. Amongst their many attractions, they have a hypnotist show that is great, a BMX bike show, a petting zoo, a big cat show, shark show, racing pigs and if you want you can pay to ride in the original Batcopter (as in the Batman helicopter).  They also have carnival like attractions (a small circus, the world's smallest woman and horse, psychics and caricature artists), and my personal favorite, the candy tent.  It's basically a pay per pound candy store with all of my childhood favorites!  It's a can't miss for me, and definitely fits in well with our "vacation at home" theme.

*The Liberty State Science Center:  With Saturday being the kick off of 4th of July week, southbound any highway is no place I want to go (which means no beach or local attractions anywhere NEAR a beach).  That in mind, we wanted to pick someplace to go that was indoors, and north of where we live.  While we could always head into NYC, the city in summer heat is no vacation in my book.  The Liberty State Science Center, known for it's hands on exhibits, is a great place for the nug to get a little introduction science.  While it *might* not keep her attention the whole day, it will be a fun segue into going to museums.

*Monmouth Park:  On Sunday we'll be having a day at the races!  We have invited our friends and family to meet us at the track for a day of betting on horses and hanging out.  I know I've mentioned this before, but this particular track (on Sundays especially) is extremely family friendly.  With a playground, free face painting, pony rides, bounce houses and live music, there's not a chance your kids will get bored.  Not to mention, it's wallet friendly, too!  At $3.00 an adult (kids under 12 are free), and the ability to bring in your own coolers of food/drinks (alcohol included), you can choose to spend as much or as little as you want.

Alternates/down time extras:

* The zoo: While we do have the Bronx Zoo well within driving distance, we have a couple of terrific zoos even closer.  If we find we have some extra time, we'll definitely be heading to one of them since the nug is a HUGE lover of animals.

* All day movie fest: In case of inclement weather, I'll be stocking up on family movies and snacks so we can have an all day movie/play/snuggle fest in our basement.

* Family dinner night: experimenting with some new recipes in the kitchen where we can all get involved!

*BIRTHDAY CAKE! Yup- my 31st birthday has quickly approached with my barely noticing.  It feels like weeks ago I was writing about how anxious I was on the eve of my 30th birthday; and here we are already, a year later.  While last year the hubs sprung for an amazing, long 4th of July weekend at a beach house on LBI with sand, friends, family and lots of tasty drinks to ring in my 30th, my 31st will be decidedly more low key.  Almost full term with nuggest #2 (God willing and the creek don't rise), I'll be happy to be able to waddle around on our staycation!  We might spring for a dinner sans original nug, but other than that, no big plans in the works.

I have to say, it's been an absolute WHIRLWIND of a first year in my 30's.  Fun with friends, a couple of trips, and a baby on the way, I definitely can't complain (yet).  Hopefully it's not just beginner's luck; if the rest of my 30's go as well as my first year, I might even be happy to hit 40 just to see what happens next (I said *might*).

Since we have this fun staycation planned for next weekend, I have a lot to get done (who wants to do chores on vacation???).  Keep a look out for my article on Miss A next week for a ton more staycation ideas and tips for making it successful! Happy Tuesday!