Take a Staycation

This concept is not a new one, but it was just a couple of days ago that I heard "taking a vacation close to home" referred to as a staycation. Googled it, and seems I am out of the loop. The Urban Dictionary states "...With the price of gas soaring, a staycation is what most Americans will experience during the summer of 2008." Yes indeed, the price of gas is one reason to stay near home but so is the environmental impact of travel. We happen to live in Banff, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so it may be easy for me to say that it is entirely possible to have a great vacation in your own neighborhood. I think with a little imagination that you can have fun anywhere, or at least I can... However, I am going to be the first to admit, that this summer, because all of our family lives in the Northern US and Eastern Canada, that we are going to be flying in a plane for our vacation. I am looking into the Carbon Offset Program by Zero Footprint. I can see where at some point in the future we will stick closer to home but with friends and family far flung, and the travel bug being something under our skin, this will be one of the hardest habits to break. At least the concept of a staycation gets people thinking about hanging out, spending money, and exploring their own backyards.