The Bob Ross painting that I call my hillside is slowly but surely coming to a head and you know what that means! Yes, summertime! “Free at last, free at last; thank God almighty I am [will be] free at last!” Now, I understand that in order to do anything one must have money, which usually (in most legal situations) requires a job. However, if you are anything like me you have a burning desire for adventure and have consequently spent the winter month’s hoarding and planning for the upcoming three months of glorious vacation time! Even if you aren’t like me and just simply want to get out for a weekend, week, month, or whatever, then here are some helpful hints!
First off, if you’re a normal non-millionaire like the rest of us, then you probably want the most for your money, which can also translate into “I have a very limited amount of cash and want to get the most and/or the farthest with what I got!” Well, then, my suggestion to you is to go buy a tent.
This great piece of equipment provides shelter from the elements, as well as privacy, and, for all you folks (boys and girls alike) that don’t dig the “creepy crawlies,” it will provide a nighttime barrier against our insectual friends.
You might be asking yourself, “What good is a tent if I don’t have anywhere to put it?” This is true if you’re running around downtown Chicago with a tent, ranting and raving about a good place to stake it down, but there are other ways of going about proper placement of the article at hand.
If you look at the roadmap, which I am assuming is what you will use to reach your destination, then you will notice the green blotches that sporadically appear amidst the winding multicolored lines of roads. These green zones are most likely going to be national parks, forests, or Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, which are wonderful places to pitch your new/old tent!
This way you are outside, away from home, and at peace with the workings of the natural world! Especially since there is a good chance that down the road there is probably going to be a Starbucks built on the very spot you had once pitched your tent.
I realize that the whole “tent thing” isn’t so applicable if you happen to be a “club hoppin’, bee-boppin’, city goer,” or even an individual taking pleasure in the hub-bub of city life, but hey, if you’re going to be doing that type of activity then you probably have cash flow to spend, so you might as well just get a hotel room or you could save some cash and find a hostel nearby.
That’s right; hostels aren’t just a European thing. They are in most major cities around the country, and if you can’t find one where you are, then you probably have the ability to pitch your tent nearby because hostels are usually where travelers are! They aren’t that hard to find either. Just look them up in the phone book or get on the net before you go and check out the hostel scene your destination has to offer.
Happy planning!