From the ancient mineral baths of the Dead Sea to the legendary Golden Door spa of California, great spas of the world have been coveted vacation destinations for centuries. But with so many luxurious day spas located nearby, there’s no reason you can’t pamper themselves and still remain close to home.

We all know that life can be stressful.  And our bodies and minds, without proper attention, end up taking the brunt of that stress.  That’s why with haute mud wraps to hot-stone massages,chakra realignments to miracle treatments that have you aging in reverse, there has never been a better time to take care of yourself (mind, body and spirit) and take a spa-cation!  Your body will thank-you!

How to Make it Happen

This one’s pretty simple. Pick the pool, pay admission, and enjoy. Call ahead to see if floaties or other water toys are allowed. If going to the pool might be a regular activity for your family, consider buying a season pass to save money.

Pack all the pool essentials in a carry-all bag:

• Sunscreen
• Sunglasses
• Visors
• Goggles
• Beach towels

Don’t forget some extra cash to treat yourself to a snack at the concession stand. It’s your vacation, so go ahead–indulge!

Additional Activities

1. Sign the kids up for swim lessons. If they’re all ready good swimmers, sign them up for a summer swim team.
2. Create your own backyard waterpark.

How to Make it Happen

Perhaps the best way to learn is by doing. Buy a kite, pick a breezy day and an open space, and see if you can get your kite in the air. If you find you need a little more help, check out this website, www.ehow.com/how_1289_fly-kite.html.  There are also video guides on YouTube, which you can find using an online search.

If you want to make this a bigger project for your family, try making your own kites from a pattern or kit. Kite kits can be purchased from hobby stores. Let the kids help assemble the kite and decorate it anyway they want.

Additional Activities

1. Once you have the kite, don’t let it get crushed by shoving it on a shelf in the garage. Take it out again. Become an expert and give advice to others trying to get theirs in the air!
2. Have everyone in the family design his or her own kite. Have a family contest to see which kite flies highest. Which stays in the air the longest. Which looks the best.

Since 1991, Regal theaters have been providing a service called “Free Family Film Festival”.  This program last nine weeks and it provides free movies for kids and parents on selected weekday mornings.  First-come, first served seated is limited to theater capacity.  This is a safe, fun and great way for kids to spend a rainy summer day indoors.

Tickets for the 2009 Free Family Film Festival are exclusively available at select theaters’ box offices on the day of the show.

You can go to the Regal’s website to learn more information about the Free family film festival.

Fresh Strawberries

Fresh strawberries were a staple on my grandmother’s summer table. She picked them from her own garden and to this day I’ve tasted nothing better in the world. With so many meals coming out of cans and boxes, lifestyles today don’t always encourage eating fresh, and few of us still tend our own gardens. But Grandma’s garden is making a comeback—with a twist. Pick-Your-Own farms are increasingly popular and allow you to pick as much fresh fruit or produce as you want, usually paying by the pound. These farms allow you to reconnect with the food chain, as well as providing fresh, healthier produce without the commitment of tending your own garden. Cherries, berries and grapes are all popular pick-your-own farm staples.

How to Make it Happen

Finding a Pick-Your-Own farm is the trick. Look for ads or information in community parent magazines, web searches, or simply call your local Chamber of Commerce for leads. These farms survive on consumer use so they do advertise. Word of mouth recommendations and roadside signs are also good ways to find a popular farm destination.

Once you’ve found a nearby farm, plan your day and go. It is important to come prepared for sun and insects. Pack sunscreen, sunglasses, bug repellent and gloves. Remember, berries stain! So don’t wear clothes you don’t mind getting messy. You can take your own sacks but most farms should provide baskets. You are usually charged by the pound and pay when you leave.

Additional Activities

• Learn how to make jelly with your fresh picked berries.
• Visit a local Farmers Market to support local growers and to supplement your fresh produce intake.
• Like eating fresh from the farm? Start your own small garden and commit to growing a few of your favorite summer foods.

Did you like this staycation idea?  It came directly from my book “101 Great Staycations” You can learn more about my staycation book here

In an effort to encourage summer vacations at at national parks, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced yesterday (Tuesday) that entrance fees at 147 national parks and monuments - including the Grand Canyon and Yosemite - will be waived on 3 weekends this summer.  There are 391 national parks located across the country in 49 states.

“During these tough economic times, our national parks provide opportunities for affordable vacations for families, I encourage everyone to visit one of our nation’s crown jewels this summer and especially to take advantage of the three free-admission weekends.”

The weekends are June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16.

If you’re looking for a National Park in your area. The U.S. National Park service has this really neat feature on their website called “Find a Park” You can search for a park by name, location, activity or topic.

So what are you waiting for? Grab your camping gear, call some friends and make plans to stay during one of these free weekends at a National Park.

And if you’re looking for some camping gear, StaycationIdea.com has teamed up with CampingWorld.com who is offering some wonderful limited time coupons on camps, tents, sleeping bags and the other gear you’ll need to enjoy your free weekend at a National Park.

Great Idea (of course), but just as you would want to get your car’s oil changed before embarking on the family vacation, you might want to address some of these backyard health risks before starting your summer staycation. Here are the top 8 back yard health risks as identified by Winnie Yu of MSNBC.com.

1. Dangerous Grill Placement - make sure your grill is not placed near flammable material like low-hanging tree branches, deck rails or house siding.
2. Toxic Plants - 68,000 people a year are poisoned by plants so make sure you do some research before picking that new plant or flower for the garden bed.
3. Tiny pools of water - it doesn’t take much water at all to create a mosquito breeding ground.  Do a weekly check of buckets,pails, fountains and birdbaths that might be collecting stagnant water around the yard.
4. Not-quite-extinguished charcoal - it doesn’t take much eat from a still-warm charcoal to start a fire.  Make sure you soak coals with cold water and toss them in a metal trash to minimize your potential fire risk.
5. Unfenced pool - the dangers of a unfenced backyard pool are obvious so make sure you install a 5 foot high, 4 sided fense to keep the kids and pets safe from accidental drownings.
6. Pesticide residue - even in small amounts, the poisons that kills plant-eating insects can make you seriously sick.  Use the power of the food chain and reduce your pesiticide use by attracting birds that eat those flower loving bugs. 
7. Weather-worn deck - warped decks are hard to navigate and easy to trip on, which is why you should water-proof your deck every 2 to 3 years.
8. Too-short ladder - when you try and over extend your reach, you increase the chances of you and your ladder becoming top-heavy and falling over.  Take the extra time and get the right ladder for the right job. 

Thanks to Winnie Yu at MSNBC.com for highlighting these dangers to safely enjoying your backyard staycation!

8 health risks in your own backyard - More health news- msnbc.com

Last weekend, while exploring our little creek, we came upon some marine fossils in some soft limestone along one side of the creek bed.  The kids thought it was so cool finding fossilized shells and coral.   My kids were so excited that when they had their cousins over later that day to play, they insisted that my wife and I take them back down to the creek to show them our new discovery.  We ended up turning our little walk into a true fossil adventure.  We started by grabbing an old soft-sided tool bag and stuffing it with everything a good paleontologist needs.  Our little toolbag had:

• Household Hammer and chisel
• Old, used paintbrushes for dusting off our fossils
• Old toothbrush (for the finer work)
• Flashlight(s)
• Notebook and pen (for writing and drawing our finds)
• Magnifying glasses
• 32mm film canister (for collecting smaller fossils)

We didn’t use half the stuff in the bag, but the kids had fun in the preperation.  We looked through my workshop and desk drawers together while talking about things a good “fossil hunter” would need on an exploration. 

Once we got down to the creek, I’ll tell you what, the kids could have spent literally all day down there.  They loved wading through the creek, getting messy and finding a way to use all those tools that we had brought in our toolbag. 

The adventure continued once we got home as we headed to the library across the street.  The kids wanted to learn more about the kinds of fossils we found at our creek.  We learned that many, many, many years ago (when Ohio was south of the equator…and a sea) Ohio looked more like the Caribbean than…well, than Ohio. That is the reason for the abundance of marine fossils that can be found in Southwestern Ohio.

Want to learn more about the fossils that can be found in your area?  The best place to start is of course your local library, but I also found some good online fossil guides for kids:

http://www.fossils-facts-and-finds.com/

http://www.paleozoic.org/paleolinks.htm

http://geology.com/

Here is the complete list as found on: http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/bicyclefriendlystate/rankings.php

1. Washington
2. Wisconsin 
3. Maine  
4. Oregon  
5. Minnesota
6. Iowa  
7. Arizona
8. New Hampshire
9. Delaware  
10. New Jersey  
11. Wyoming  
12. Illinois  
13. Colorado  
14. California  
15. Michigan  
16. Maryland  
17. Missouri  
18. Utah  
19. Massachusetts
20. North Carolina
21. Vermont  
22. Hawaii  
23. Virginia  
24. Mississippi  
25. Nevada  
26. South Carolina
27. Kentucky  
28. South Dakota  
29. Indiana  
30. Louisiana  
31. Georgia  
32. Florida  
33. Kansas  
34. Idaho  
35. Rhode Island  
36. Texas  
37. Nebraska  
38. Arkansas  
39. Ohio  
40. Pennsylvania  
41. New York  
42. West Virginia  
43. Tennessee  
44. Connecticut  
45. North Dakota  
46. New Mexico  
47. Alaska  
48. Oklahoma  
49. Montana  
50. Alabama

The League of American Bicyclists promotes bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation, and works through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America. The League represents the interests of America’s 57 million bicyclists, including its 300,000 members and affiliates. For more information or to support the League, visit www.bikeleague.org.

League of American Bicyclists * Bicycle Friendly States

With summer fast approaching and our country deep in a recession, many families are wondering how to plan a memorable summer vacation while at the same time being very mindful of every dollar spent.  Many families are wondering if they can even take a vacation at all? The answer?  Plan a staycation!

A staycation is a unique way of combining the word stay (as in stay-at-home) and vacation.  Staycations involve taking in the sights and sounds of your hometown and local area all while trying to recreate the vacation-like experience.  The hardest part of  planning a staycation is finding those activities that provide the most fun for every dollar.  Another challenge of staycations, is finding something that your kids will actually enjoy doing.

“101 Great Staycations” easily conquers both of these inherent staycation challenges by providing over a 100 unique, fun and creative staycation ideas to help assist you in planning a fun and memorable staycation experience.

Each stayaction idea contains:

1) Background and Photo - a background synopsis of each idea accompanied by professionally photographed photos to help provide you with staycation inspiration

2) How to get started - this section provides detailed steps and instructions for each staycation so that you take the idea and run with it!

3) Additional activities - Within each staycation idea you’ll find an additional activities section that helps provide follow-up and ideas for variants on the main staycation.  If you take into account all these additional ideas, there are easily over 150 staycation ideas for you!

I also realize that staycations can occur in the summer, spring, winter and fall so I’ve grouped the staycation ideas into categories by season so you plan a staycation year round! We have staycation for summer, spring, fall and winter!

When you compare the cost of traditional travel versus a staycation, you’ll realize that taking a staycation can save you literally thousands of dollars IF you know how to properally plan and prepare.

This e-book which I’ve spent countless hours writing, proofing, editing and compiling can be yours today for only $12.95 but you must act TODAY because once summer is here I will be raising the price significantly due to higher demand.  This is a introductory price!

Purchase and download  a copy of “101 Great Staycations” today!