Thoughts from Staycation

Most every year my family joins my in-laws for a vacation.  Our destination of choice has usually been Panama City Beach, FL.  This year however, we decided to do a "Stay-cation" at my in-laws house in the metropolis of Decatur, AL.  It's free lodging and they have a pool!  We spent most everyday swimming, hanging around watching TV, and interspersed some shopping trips and movie trips in between.  Basically it was everything we would do at the beach minus the hot sand that sticks to your feet.  We saved lots of money and still had some great memories.  Here were a few pluses from staycation.

1. Money - It was a lot less expensive and we used some of the money we saved to eat good and go to the movies.  It was nice not having to shell out $1500 for a condo.  It was also nice not to have to constantly say "Do we have enough money for that?"
2. Memories - We built some great memories that didn't revolve around the same tourist hype we usually have to deal with.  We also made time each day for a family devotion where each member had the opportunity to share their testimony. 
3. Less Hassle - We didn't have to deal with beach road traffic, long waits at the restaurant, trying to scope out a lounge chair at the pool, or crowding 8 people in a condo.  We didn't have to worry about swimming in a pool with other people we didn't know doing things we didn't know. 

Overall, it was a great deal and one we will probably do again.  (Did I mention my in-laws have a pool?)