“Staycation”?

I’m sure you’ve heard this new buzz word. This new word was borne by marketing gurus at the very eve of our economic ‘challenges’.  So what is it? And is it really ‘new’?

Stay-cation is having a vacation in your own ‘backyard’– sort of rediscovering your city. And for the question if it’s really new… well, that’s debatable. Some really smart people have been doing this for a long time now;  finding joy in discovering their city’s finest gems– not just stumbling upon it but actually making an adventure out of seeking undiscovered places.

Example, D and B, who are good friends of ours, would write down a list of all the breakfast places they wanted to check out here in Madison. Every weekend, as a treat to themselves, they would venture out to mine the breakfast scene in Madison. They were the ones who introduced me to Sophia’s excellent pastries on Johnson St.

This past weekend, I discovered Bolz Conservatory in Olbrich Gardens. It was glorious. The smell and feel of humidity, the luscious greenery of tropical plants…it made me feel like I was back home in the islands. We spent a good two hours soaking in the experience. It really felt therapeutic!

[blurry picture from the steam]

After our time in the Conservatory, we checked out the art exhibit going on and was so excited to find another local artist that I really liked! Nina Bednarski is exhibiting her works at Olbrich Gardens until April 11th. I wanted to buy all of her works! I especially loved the window paintings. Better check it out as it is one of the last exhibits in the area for awhile.

Would you want to have a stay-cation? What would you do?