I hope you all enjoyed the Stay-cation post within the blog. I decided to add on to this topic since there were a few things that piqued interest within the topic. Now, some of this happened at the beginning of the month and one just before Father’s Day. It was a last-minute decision to add to it, and so I hope it adds to your list of things to do on a “Stay-Cation.”
First of all, I’d like to repeat myself in stating that ‘stay-cations’ are completely do-able and can be a ton of fun. Here are a few of the things I talked about in the first post about Stay-cations:
Geocaching- it was so much fun and put our minds to work as well as the minds of the elderly adults at home in their easy chairs. They got involved and had a fun time, all without leaving home!
Matinee- We went to the new Lilo and Stitch movie after having an adventure of geocaching and were able to relax at the movie with some popcorn and snacks to refill our energy.
Now for part two of the Stay-cation… So, there are many different ways to have a fun staycation. It simply involves keeping your ears open for any possible forms of family friendly activities that you and your loved ones would enjoy. One thing that drew our attention was the yearly car show our town hosts. Even though we left early due to the smoke from the wildfires of Canada rolling in, my family and I got out for a little while and enjoyed the cars we did see. One was a classic from 1929. I managed to snag a picture of one man wth his car who had driven his car down the highway in the wind. He stated he had struggled to hang on to the steering wheel to keep it on the road due to the wind. But his was a beaut! A 1946 Ford with the original paint job. He kept his in a garage and seldom outside except of course, for the occasional car shows. I am not sure how well his car placed but he was a friendly guy and easy to talk with. These people that restore older cars put a lot of time and money into them. I believe he said that his cost upward of $14,000- possibly more. But they are worth every penny to see the cars restored to their original beauty. I wish we could’ve stayed longer, however, the smoke was coming in thick. I’m talking pea soup kind of thick. We enjoyed what we saw and hope to see more next year if we don’t manage to see one before then.
Another fun activity I kept my eyes open for was the annual “Father-Daughter Dance” that the community hosts. It’s been going on for three years now, and I have to say that it is an activity that not only do my kids enjoy, but the entire community does. They advertise it as the Father-Daughter dance but are quick to add that uncles, grandfathers or whomever the special male figure is in a girl’s life is, all are welcome to attend. My son takes my youngest daughter and has for the past three years. It is something they both enjoy and although the teenager won’t admit it, he likes to get dressed up for his little sister. I took pictures galore that night. It was pretty neat because this particular year, one man we know brought his granddaughter who had officially become his granddaughter through adoption. It was a special night for the two of them and he was teaching his 12-year-old granddaughter how to dance. In another case, a man had dressed up in a three-piece suit and had danced with his little granddaughter, who was dressed up in a fluffy white dress. Her mom, who was also the man’s daughter, was there taking pictures and I saw the two of them dance a few dances as well. It’s a source of fun entertainment and awesome to see the (mostly) little girls dressed up coming with their special someone.
For my daughter, she was pretty excited and informed her older brother that he needed to dress up handsome and, in her words, “I need to make sure to take a bath before I get dressed.” She was excited and counted down the days. He even made sure he wore the same shirt he had the previous year. That tells me that he gets into the excitement of it as well. I think he secretly enjoys it. It’s an opportunity for lots of pictures and giggles.
The next thing to keep your eyes open for is any music jamborees in your area. Although it hasn’t happened yet here, but will soon, is our annual Gospel Jamboree. We get groups from all over the United States and Canada. It’s a weekend filled with good family music and it’s free. It’s a family friendly environment and a completely come and go as you please atmosphere. There’s always good music and it’s fun to see the different groups perform. We’ve had big groups that have been entire families perform, and we’ve seen some that have been with the Gaither group. It’s fun for all ages. It’s also fun for the kids to see other kids up on stage singing with their families. It’s amazing what these kids can do when given the opportunity.
The last thing I will mention for this one is any weekly summer matinee that might be going on. I know our local one has a weekly Wednesday one and there is another one about an hour and a half away that has what’s called a Dollar Wednesday. They play older kid movies and admission is only one dollar. So, take the opportunity to get out of the summer heat and go enjoy a movie with popcorn and let your little ones enjoy a cheaper movie. It is a good way to relax and at a cheaper price. Just check your local area to see if they offer any kind of a discount for older movies.
