Big News for Us; and Ending Summer with a Bang (bonus Napping tips included at end)
For us school starts in two weeks and then it's back to the routine. This year the "routine" is going to be my best hack for being low-stress
I was trying so hard to think about what sort of message I would want to get this weekend, and what I landed on was that I wanted to not feel bummed about summer winding down. We live in the land of nearly eternal sunshine, but that’s just the weather. What we don’t live in is the land of eternal time off. So, here’s what I’m sharing today: how to end summer with a BANG and how to look forward to not-summer.
Before I get into though, I’m sending out a big thank you to the people who send me messages randomly asking for either advice or reminding me that I haven’t sent a newsletter in more than a week. I see you; I appreciate that peeps want to hear what I have to say. It makes me feel great. :)
Quick Travel Inspiration - a Few Ideas for the Future
Before digging into napping and ways to end summer break with a bang, I thought I’d share a few travel plans that I think make for awesome trips, whether it’s just adults or if you’re planning a family trip. The rest of this week’s newsletter is more what what’s happening in life, so this is the chance to get a little travel inspiration!
Wyoming Road Trip - awesome to do May through October, be thoughtful about weather issues for early or later travel
Unique National Parks in the Southeast - you can plan a pretty epic trip for any time of year if you want to do a grand SE road trip. String these five parks together and it’s the most incredible trip ever with cool cities and tons of wildlife:
Congaree National Park - and you can explore Columbia SC too
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument - visit us and see St Augustine!
Everglades National Park - you can do Biscayne NP and Big Cypress too
Dry Tortugas National Park - we have a great Florida Keys road trip plan
San Diego in Spring - we loved SD when we lived in SoCal and it’s still a favorite destination, especially with kids. From Balboa Park to Cabrillo and the missions, spring is our favorite time to visit, but it’s great year round.
BIG NEWS! So excited, you don’t even know…
Last week something huge happened: we closed on the sale of our vacation rental. After a scary nightmare of a sale on our actual house in May (you can read about it here), we really didn’t think that we would make it through selling our bungalow. WE did it though. We were selling it fully furnished, but the buyers decided that they wanted to start from scratch so they had us remove everything. Whatever, it’s done.
What we learned through the process of buying a new house and selling our home and vacation rental, all through the same agency that I won’t name (but it’s an online broker that seems like it’s got great tools and attention…) is that having a good real estate agent absolutely makes 1000% difference in both how you feel as you’re selling your home and the final outcome. Our agents just wanted to close on the sales and were not our advocates. They needed to check off the boxes, not use their network and resources to get us through.
But it’s all done and now we can fully move on. I really can’t explain the feeling of not having too worry about about guests, about booking enough stays, about the house when there’s a hurricane on the horizon, or about scheduling. I didn’t realize how much it all weighed on me until the load was lifted. So much stress just fully gone.
Tips to Round Out Summer
I won’t sugar coat it - by the two month mark of school being out I’ve got no fresh ideas to keep the kids entertained. Yes, I wish they didn’t have to go back to school, but also I really don’t know how to keep them from turning into vegetables on days when both Chris and I have to work. We have a cool schedule we do on work days that keeps them busy, but even they get sick of it.
I know not everyone has kids or still has them at home, but if you still have the mindset of “I’m on summer break!” and look at Labor Day as the end of it, all this applies to you as an adult. Here’s how we’re rounding out the summer to finish it with a bang instead of a bust.
Relive a Fun Day from the Start of Summer
We start summer break with all the stops out. We have big plans each day and conquer them and sleep like rocks each night. And then the first few weeks are done and so are we. Why not look and see what made that first week or two off so much fun and relive it?
For us it was just beach days every day possible, and then the kids (and me too) got burned out of sunshine and hot sand. I know, that’s a great problem to have. Well, we’ve been gone a lot this summer and the beach-burnout disappeared, so in this last week home we’ve been maxing out our beach time and it’s been amazing. Digging in the sand and getting smacked by waves is fun again, and I’m so thankful.
I know not everyone has a beach they can hit up every day, but community splash pads, pools and just bringing back out the sprinkler that lost its luster are all great ways to end on a fun note.
Pretend Vacation - TOTALLY A REAL THING
Somehow I only just learned about Resort Pass and it’s kind of brilliant. Don’t have time to go on a weekend getaway or don’t have the budget for a fancy hotel for whatever reason? You can actually use Resort Pass (this is not sponsored in any way) to have access to pools, lounge spaces, private beaches, spas and more. It’s a genius way to go on a pretend vacation or make your budget trip a bit fancier for a day.
Now, I’m not necessarily condoning this, but if you live someplace that doesn’t have an option like this, sometimes it is pretty easy just to wander into a pool area. TOTALLY KIDDING. I’ve “never” done that… But good luck.
Do Back to School Shopping as a Fun Day
I think one of the things that makes the last stretch summer really set in is getting the school supplies list email, and then also realizing that the kids don’t fit into any of their non-swim clothes anymore. And that’s why back to school shopping is actually something you’ve got to do. Growing up I thought it was so that we could look nice for school even if we couldn’t afford it. Now I know it was because we grew, and we still couldn’t afford it.
But now as an adult who’s more financially secure than how I grew up, I like back to school shopping to be fun (still not over-the-top though). We make the school supply shopping into a scavenger hunt, the clothes shopping into an optional activity (because I will make decisions for them if they don’t want to participate), and then we make the rest of the day a collection of fun stops. This year our day out included Target, lunch out, window shopping for a shocking amount of time at Barnes & Noble, and then ending the day with sorting through Pokémon cards and decks at our local Pokémon hub, the Woké Poké (amazing place).
While this might not sound thrilling, it’s actually a great way to punctuate summer, share a little joy while being productive, and it’s a good reminder that even though the last few weeks have been really boring because of work obligations during summer break, we still want them to have fun and pursue their interests.
One Final Summer Jaunt
I know that this may seem like something you can’t just pull together super fast at the end of summer, but just see if you can give it a try. A weekend away, a random camping trip to a county park, a two day road trip to visit cousins… There are lots of easy, low stress trips you can plan with little to no notice before fall sets in. I’m super fortunate because I’m my own boss and I can tell myself to take some days off (and I guess not get paid), but also I get to turn little trips into work down the road, so it’s easy for me to justify.
Anyways though, I think rounding up the fam or grabbing a friend for a short-notice trip is a great way to finish summer with a bang. We’re cutting it super close with a trip to Maine right before school starts, but with amazing flight deals, a surprisingly cheap rental car and a rustic cabin close to friends makes it a no-brainer for us. And yes, I know that my job and travel perks make this easier for us than most people, but I bet that there’s a simple trip that can be done on a budget a lot of folks can fit in on short notice.
BONUS: My Napping Tips
And I’m sure this is what everyone came for. My family knows that I’m a napper. I’m not an intentional napper, but I do it and embrace this skill. So, here’s how YOU TOO can hone your napability:
Get up earlier than you want to - if you wake up at 4:30 am and didn’t intend on getting up until 7:00, get up anyways and get some stuff done. You won’t regret an early start, and if you’re a parent, it’s one of the only times you can function without other people nibbling at your alone time. And you’ll give yourself the grace to take a rest later because of being productive early.
Have a non-bed area that’s also comfy and quiet - You don’t have to create a nap room or something, but if you have an outdoor couch that’s in the shade where people don’t think to look for you, you can easily slink away to it. There’s no shame in taking a moment to relax outside… and you’ll find that it’s easy to fall asleep.
Clean your kid’s room - No, don’t make this the norm, but I can tell you that when I set aside time to help the kids get their rooms organized, I inevitably end up laying on one of their beds to provide instruction as they sort and clean… and then I end up falling asleep. It sounds strange, but this is the ideal napping situation because the kids don’t want to keep cleaning, so they fully leave you alone.
Arrive to the ferry terminal early - this is specific to coasties, but it’s totally effective. I have had more ferry attendants bang on my windshield to wake me up than times I’ve NOT fallen asleep waiting for the ferry. It’s winning at the commuter life.
So that’s it for today. I feel like next week’s newsletter may have something really interesting in it that other people can join us for, but you’ll just have to wait and see.
Until then, happy traveling and thank you for following along on our journeys and supporting us over the years. Stay safe and hydrated!