Holly IN Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Hello, Well it looks like we may have to do stayvacation. Not something we want to do as we know we will not be able to go anywhere next year due to oldest graduating from homeschool high school. So I have looked at several places to visit in our state of Indiana. We live northwest of Indianapolis in middle of nowhere called "the boonies". So I am thinking visiting golf courses (putt putt) and odd things. I know there are sseveral museums outside of Indianapolis. How do you deal with stayvacation to make sure it feels like a vacation? Making the most of staying home? (without doing chores and stuff screamiing at you to get done while you are home) If you visited Indiana what was your favorite place to visit? We do hope that we will be able to go somewhere out of state but for now it looks like stayvacation. Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Clean the house hard the week before. Make some fun, special foods for breakfast. Eat out--picnics and such for lunch and supper. Eat on paper plates so you don't have to wash dishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Can you spend the night somewhere? It's probably too long of a drive for a day trip but Holiday World in Santa Clause is a really great amusement park. My husband and I loved going to the Amish area of Northern Indiana but I don't think that would be particularly kid friendly. There is that hotel in Indy that has an indoor waterpark but if I recall it's pricey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Camp out in the living room? Make yummy breakfasts and plan picnic lunches for all the great sight seeing trips? Come up with a project for the days at home... Make videos/movies of each other doing silly things, write a play & film it. Art day? (If anyone is into art... DH always arranges art day for us, and he's had some great ideas.) Theme nights or days might be fun. We've done our share of staycations, too. Sometimes they've been great, and memorable. It took some planning though. Hopefully you'll get some great ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 What about driving up to the beach on Lake Michigan? that could be a day trip. Or you could camp nearby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 We are staycation experts. But we just happen to live on the coast, so we can go to the beach. We sleep in, eat at a few new places, and at our favorites, cook special meals, play games, and catch up on movie watching. We also take day trips to sight see or visit friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaelAldrich Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 If you are Boilermaker fans (Boiler Up!), tour the WL campus. Have you done all the museums in Indy yet? Do you mind driving to Chicago (only 2 hours to Museum Row from WL) and going to a museum or two? If you get a membership to the IN State Museum ($40-50 the last time I bought a family membership), you can go to 3-4 museums in Chicago (everything big except the Aquarium). Have a good staycation! Yael (PU faculty wife -- boiler up!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 We are staycation experts. But we just happen to live on the coast, so we can go to the beach. We sleep in, eat at a few new places, and at our favorites, cook special meals, play games, and catch up on movie watching. We also take day trips to sight see or visit friends. Lucky you!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 We'll be visiting friends near Bloomington, IN and plan to camp at Brown County State Park: http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2988.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 If you are Boilermaker fans (Boiler Up!), tour the WL campus. Have you done all the museums in Indy yet? Do you mind driving to Chicago (only 2 hours to Museum Row from WL) and going to a museum or two? If you get a membership to the IN State Museum ($40-50 the last time I bought a family membership), you can go to 3-4 museums in Chicago (everything big except the Aquarium). Have a good staycation! Yael (PU faculty wife -- boiler up!) The kids and I are big museum fans...however hubby is not. That is def. an option to consider. :) We have been to the Children's Museum, State Museum and the little one whose name escapes me. The boys went to the state museum with the oldest son's girlfriend's parents. They took my other son with them. Not my daughter though. We have been to the zoo but we do have membership there and will be making trip as soon as weather is nice. We have been to the Ernie Pyle museum which is fascinating!!! We are not camper family but we are cyclers though. :) Trip to Chicago is an option as we have friends that live northern Chicago (Harthorn woods)... Not really boiler fans but I know the boys would love to visit there though. LOL... We are not loyal to any sport team except at superbowl which we go for the underdog. I know we can stay away a night or two somewhere. Thanks! Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 We'll be visiting friends near Bloomington, IN and plan to camp at Brown County State Park: http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2988.htm I am looking into browncounty stay but not sure my kids would enjoy it. BTW forgot to mention kids ages: 17 yr old boy 14 yr old boy 12 yr old girl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 The Abe Martin Lodge in the Brown County State Park now has an indoor waterpark. We stayed there for a few days last month and the kids had fun. Other than events in the actual park, there's lots of nearby hiking in the Hoosier National Forest or you might also try Yellowwood Forest. From Brown County you could also explore Bloomington on one day. You could also go to Lake Monroe. Would renting a boat for the day be in the budget? In the opposite direction from Nashville there's Columbus. There's tons of interesting architecture in Columbus. From Columbus it's just 10-15 minutes up I-65 to the Edinburgh outlet malls if that's your thing. Can you tell I live in the area, LOL? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Okay, a question: What kind of things are you and your family interested in doing? You don't think they'll like Brown County, you don't camp, your dh isn't into museums. Tell me what you actually do like to do and that might help me think of other nearby things. FWIW, there's lots of cycling in Bloomington. Big thing around here with the Little 500, Hilly Hundred and all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 A few years ago we drove up to IN just to go to the Wolf Park. It was a treat for our dd who looooooves animals. Not a ton of activities, but you get to learn about the wolves close up--ish. And they howled for us. You also get to see and learn a bit about bison as you walk around the park. The only other thing I remember about the area was the mini golf course we went to--it had real water hazards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 We'll be visiting friends near Bloomington, IN and plan to camp at Brown County State Park: http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2988.htm :iagree: That was my first thought too!! :) I haven't been there in... um... er... 23 years, but it sure would be nice to go back some day! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 So I'm in the boonies of NE IN. Do you like zoos? Ft. Wayne has a nice one. They also have a really nice, new baseball stadium if you like sports and an indoor ice rink. Sechler's pickle factory is in St. Joe if you want something oddball. Pokagon State Park has a nice lodge with cycling options. Our " big" vacation is Holiday World" so I may think too small. We have stayed home, slept late, eaten easy convenience food (it's my vacation too), gone swimming and picnicing at local places. It's low stress and actually very enjoyable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 there are a couple of indoor water parks in Indiana, are they close enough for a day trip? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 http://bargainbriana.com/staycation-fun-in-indianapolis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmvaughan4 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 We love Turkey Run State Park. Last fall, we rode the Amtrack from Crawfordsville to Chicago. We spent the day roaming the city and came home on the train late the same night. The canal downtown has paddle boats, surreys, and Segways to rent. Fair Oaks Farms is nice, as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 (edited) Hello, Well it looks like we may have to do stayvacation. Not something we want to do as we know we will not be able to go anywhere next year due to oldest graduating from homeschool high school. So I have looked at several places to visit in our state of Indiana. We live northwest of Indianapolis in middle of nowhere called "the boonies". So I am thinking visiting golf courses (putt putt) and odd things. I know there are sseveral museums outside of Indianapolis. How do you deal with stayvacation to make sure it feels like a vacation? Making the most of staying home? (without doing chores and stuff screamiing at you to get done while you are home) If you visited Indiana what was your favorite place to visit? We do hope that we will be able to go somewhere out of state but for now it looks like stayvacation. Holly We do staycations all the time. For several years when the kids were younger, it was their favorite kind of vacation. How old are your kids? When mine were younger, we always planned a week of "summer vacation," when my husband took time off from work. We would do some kind of fun activity or day trip each day. Things like mini-golf were good, as were water parks or a trip to the beach. We'd hit fun museums, go to the movies, etc. Back home each night, they loved pitching a tent and camping out in the living room. We made simple, snack-ish meals and/or picked up take-out food. They could stay up late, eating popcorn and watching videos. When we could afford to do so, we'd try to plan one or two nights at a local hotel with a good pool as the grand finale. I've never been to Indiana and can't help you with specifics, but I'll bet you'll be able to find lots of good stuff to do without travelling far. If I were you, I might start by perusing the website of your state's tourism bureau. That might be a great place to get ideas for things to do. http://www.in.gov/visitindiana/ For example, this sounds nice: http://www.zionsvillechamber.org/ Edited February 13, 2012 by Jenny in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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