Jan 25

Written by: brendan
1/25/2010 1:08 PM

So we're in that ugly, dirty old snow, tired of the cold, feeling a little stir-crazy part of winter right? The holidays are over and you're pretty tired of sledding and the general charm of the winter wonderland outside your door has grown annoying and you're thinking, "Okay I wouldn't mind just a little global warming.." When you start going there, and you're not in a position to necessarily go on a vacation, consider the fun that's possible with a STAYcation. Here's an example. This past weekend my wife and I had seen the kids do enough video games and cartoons for a while (not to mention impromptu wrestling matches and the occasional argument we'd need to intervene on) and we were just ready for a little change of scenery. Well we got it, and we didn't need to travel far. We surprised the kids and jumped into the car and headed just a small jaunt down the road to the brand new Holiday Inn Express & Suites on Lake Lansing Road in East Lansing. After we were greeted by the friendly staff and went up to check out our suite, the kids were in their baithing suits and in the swimming pool in no time flat. With them in their glory jumping around in the pool my wife took some time to do a little shopping at the nearby Eastwood Towne Center and to check out fabric at Country Stitches, also close by. I was more than happy to stay with the kids to supervise and read a book I've been meaning to get to since Christmas. Ahhh... I thought to myself, "I honestly have to check into a hotel to feel relaxed enough to sit down and read a book when it isn't like bedtime? Ouch!" Anyway the kids swam for hours and, as tends to happen, built up quite an appetite - so my wife and I loaded them up in the car for the long journey (across the street) to the Spartan Hall of Fame Cafe, a local family favorite. We had a great meal and instead of immediately cleaning up, like we'd have to do at home, we looked around at the cool old Spartan memorabilia and browsed the little gift shop. So we get back to the room and the kids are pleasantly full from dinner and tired from all the swimming. We were happy to see though, the room had a fridge and microwave so we popped some popcorn and watched a movie for a while. We all slept great and in fact I only have one complaint about the night's rest. It was so good that now my wife thinks we should get a new bed at home. New bedding, mattress, pillows, the works. Truthfully she's probably right. The bed was so comfy I was tempted to take the pillow I used home with me. Well the kids woke up early and wanted to do more swimming, but before we did the family took advantage of the free Express Start Breakfast which was super nice. Eggs, sausage, juice, yogurt, bagels, toast, cinnamon rolls, coffee - I mean the works. My wife and I finished up eating and the kids went to get ready to swim some more. Again with no cooking or clean up required, my wife and I chatted, read the paper and then spent some time in the fitness room while the kids had fun in the pool. On the drive home (it didn't take long as we were 15 minutes from home, after all) I honestly felt like I was coming home from a small vacation. We got a break from the day to day stuff that gets in the way of relaxing and truly enjoyed the weekend. So you don't need to travel far to shake the winter blahs - take it from me after a successful operation - staycation. Try it yourself, you won't regret it.

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