An Artful Staycation

Oregon has more than its fair share of natural beauty, but part of me has longed to venture a bit further from home!

Then I came up with a crazy, playful, creative way to fulfill all my travel fantasies without stressing the budget or other limitations.

My husband was immediately in love with the idea. He's such a great sport!

A couple days before leaving home we would prepare our senses with:

travel documentaries,

movies filmed on location 

authentic music 

cook an authentic meal including

a beverage from that country

Then we would spend a day or a weekend in a destination carefully chosen for an event or location that could evoke some of the things we might experience in the chosen country, while remaining open to beauty that is unique to our lovely Oregon.

We would hope to find:

A place to walk

A fine restaurant or two in the chosen cuisine

An event to attend in the theme of our travels

A souvenir

We soon realized that because our trips were going to rely on our imaginations, we did not need to be limited by geography. We could choose to travel to the past or the future, or even to literary destinations! We could go to the moon if we wanted. Wherever our spirit of adventure calls, we can go.

And of course, we will

Take Pictures. Look for opportunities to photograph elements of our day that remind us of things we have seen in the movies we watched. These will help us remember what a great time we had on our creative staycation.