What do you do for Vacation?

Vacation? What's that?

If I had the money, I could go on a vacation now.
DS is bunking here while going to college and he knows how to care for the animals.
Thinking on that... should go on a vacation.. only "vacation" I have had.. is when I had to fly over here to look at property.

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Shari

Yeah next week after one of them pays me, I think I'll tell them they belong in the city. They would rather spend money on lawn than pasture for their animals.

My "homesteading" definition is living as debt free as possible, cooking my own foods and preserving, sewing, etc. The few animals I raise hit the freezer before the fall every year, so I get to go where I want. Part of my frugality is to pay for travel. This year will be Vietnam for 10 days and San Francisco for 4. I might get drawn for a New Mexico Elk tag so that will change things. I will drive 4 hours to the city just to spend the night and see a show or a museum exhibit that I want to see. Mini vacations are the best.

I leave for a month or so every winter and a week here and there throughout the year. Neighbor kid checks on and feeds my livestock. I pay him $250/week for about an hour a day of work. It's well worth it to me and I consider it part of the cost of the trip, just like airfare.

I don't consider these vacations, though. I don't sit around doing nothing while I'm away from the ranch. I sit around a lot more at home than I do when I travel.

When we lived up in Indianapolis, we were able to take some nice vacations, mostly out West.
We have visited & camped in Utah, Idaho, Montana, both the Dakotas, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, California, and Nevada.
We have been to see the Grand Canyon, out in Arizona. I wanted to stand on the edge of that great big Ditch........ And I did. It was Awesome, really Awesome.
We also visited the Great Meteor Crater, in Arizona. I stood on the edge of that too.
We visited Mount Rushmore.
And, We went to see the Painted Desert, and Petrified Forest.

We spent a little over a week. at Yellowstone National Park. There are lots of Geysers, there. We got wet when Old Faithful blew out hot sulfur water & Steam.
There are amazing Hot brilliant colored, bubbling Pools all over the park. Lots of signs warning folks to stay out of the water. a couple weeks after w were there, some young folks went swimming in a hot pool. The gas erupted and the kids got severely burned.
There is So much to see, in this Great Country.

But, since we moved out here,, to our little place in the woods.....
We spend all our vacation time right around here close. And I'm "Retired". So, every day is a Vacation day. One more year and Dear Wife will be Retired too.
Then maybe we'll find a way to travel occasionally, again.........

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Be Intense, always. But always take the time to
Smell the Roses, give a Hug, Really Listen, or
Jump to Defend your Friends & What you Believe in.
'Til later, Have Fun,
Old John

If you could only get away for a day consider some of the old engine shows and old tractor shows that are held all around. They are not all the same so you need to make sure you're attending a true engine show not a craft show. There lots of old equipment around and some for sale. I range from Portland Indiana to Frostproof fl, from arden nc to meridian, ms. Portland and frostproof aren't day trips but worth it. Just had the steam show in Cummings Ga. Cummings is always good.

Most shows are cheap to get in, food is good/cheap, people are friendly, a lot of things to look at. Now it may not be what the wife would think is fun but a few of us older guys find it high dollar entertainment.

Bellcow

This year we went to Colorado & New Mexico for a month during the summer. Last year we wandered around on the mainland for about six weeks. Visited Kansas City for a week and then we went to the East Coast and went sailing around Newport, Martha's Vineyard, Block Island, etc. Next year we're going to Orlando, although we don't know for how long. Four to six weeks, most likely. We have house sitters who fly over and take care of all the critters. They seem to enjoy feeding the critters in exchange for hanging out in Hawaii for a month or so.

Vacations together are a thing of the past since we got animals.
We can get some friends to come over to feed the livestock for a day or two, but our GP will not let anyone in the house if we aren't home no matter how well he knows the person.
We have used a great boarder for the dogs but dang, it costs more to board the dogs then it does for us to stay in a hotel per day.
I have found the more we become homesteaders the less we want to leave our home.