Staycations and why we never need to leave the state

Last week I received amongst the usual ton of fliers and paperwork in my mailbox, a "Vacation Guide" from the lovely folks over at the Herald and Dispatch. You may have seen it. It was a colour newspaper with stories about going to King's Island, OH, or Myrtle Beach, SC or "see this" in Kentucky, or how wonderful THAT is in North Dakota. I didn't see one story about all the wonderful things to do in West Virginia. It struck me as a little irresponsible. At a time when gas prices are high and in a state like West Virginia where we could do with some tourist dollars, doesn't it make sense to advertise the great parks, natural attractions and festivals that take place in THIS state during the summer? Why are we encouraging residents to earn money here and spend it elsewhere?

I coined (after hearing it elsewhere) the phrase "Staycation". It was probably on "The Today Show" or something but it's becoming a popular idea to enjoy your own backyard this summer. Have cookouts, go fishing, invite friends and family over. You don't physically need to be somewhere other than home to have a "vacation". It's what you decide to do with the time and who you decide to spend it with that matters. Sometimes I believe people will go on vacations simply to have something to talk about at work or with friends because no-one likes to say "Oh I just stayed home." People like to say "Yer, I went to the beach! It was awesome." When they are actually wondering how to treat that nasty sun-burn and pay off the looming credit card bill.

"So, Allclick" I hear you cry "What's the deal? Are you telling me to stay home, or go on a in-state vacation? Make up your mind, buddy!" Well actually I'm saying go enjoy West Virginia this summer but if you feel like just staying at home be proud of it and make THAT your vacation to be proud of.