Getaway ideas for caregivers
Scheduling weekend breaks from your caregiving responsibilities isn’t being selfish. Your loved one needs you to be at your best so you can consistently provide high-quality care along with generous amounts of TLC. That requires taking the time to re-charge your physical, emotional, and spiritual batteries - on a regular basis.
Looking for a different kind of get-away? Consider these options:
Travel off season to save money and avoid crowds
Otherwise pricey weekend packages can become amazingly affordable with careful planning. For example, Aspen, Colo., is a bargain once the snow and the skiers are gone. During the summer months, festivals abound, the air is cool, and the vistas breathtaking. You’ll find that, once the jet set has cleared out, Aspen retains the charm of the small silver boomtown it originally was.
If you have a little more money to spend, the Bahamas, a quick two-hour flight from much of the East coast, boast great rates and warm weather in September and October.
Quaint Galena in northwest Illinois, home to antique shops and beautiful brick Victorians, is jammed during the summer months. Stay at a bed-and-breakfast there during the winter or early spring and you’ll enjoy the same enchanting scenery and shopping without the crowds or in-season prices.
San Francisco is delightful in the fall when the weather is comfortable, the fog has lifted, and most of the tour buses have departed. You’ll enjoy sensational views from any of the seven hills and exceptional dining throughout the city.
Plan ahead when traveling during peak seasons
Sometimes you want to follow the crowds - especially when the destination is spectacular. All you need to do is sit down with next year’s calendar, circle a weekend ten to twelve months from now, and pick up the phone. Then you’ll have plenty of time to make your arrangements for yourself and your care recipient too.
If you’d like to see the fall colors during October, you’d be smart to make your reservations well in advance, whether you’re heading to Wisconsin, Tennessee, or Virginia. Popular Christmas destinations like Cape May, N.J., or Williamsburg, Va., also require some forethought because the delightful period decorations are quite a draw for visitors.
In the Midwest, the charming inns and B&Bs in Wisconsin’s Door County fill up fast during July, early August, and October. And the hills surrounding Branson, Mo., are alive with country music and people during the summer months. So don’t wait until the last minute if one of these are your destination of your choice.
Learning Vacations
Have you ever wanted to go on an archaeological dig? Watch whales arc above the ocean waves? Tour famous Colonial gardens? Learn how to prepare French cuisine or piece a quilt?
Across the country you can find learning programs that allow you to both get away from it all anddabble in a skill or occupation you’ve always dreamed about. You can spend as little as a day or as long as three weeks at the adventure of your choice; it’s up to you.
Fodor’s Great American Learning Vacations is a guide that will open your mind up to hundreds of exciting ideas that will change the way you think about vacations forever.
Spas and Fitness Centers
If you relish the chance to learn more about healthier lifestyles and indulge in a little pampering along the way, spas and fitness centers are a particularly worthwhile alternative for the weary caregiver.
Contrary to popular belief, spas are designed for “ordinary folks.” The following programs play down the glamour while emphasizing comfort, good nutrition, and exercise:
- The Heartland, Gilman IL: down-home comforts and upbeat fitness programs; 90 minutes from Chicago. 800-545-4853.
- Sans Souci Health Resort, Bellbrook, OH: quiet Dayton-area estate on 80 acres bordered by a 600-acre wildlife preserve; 513-848-4851.
- Northern Pines Health Resort, Raymond, ME: safe place for first-time spa visitors; lots of personal attention. 207-655-3321.
- Living Springs Lifestyle Center, Putnam Valley, NY: homelike, budget-priced retreat within easy reach of NYC; 800-729-9355.
- Green Mountain at Fox Run; Ludlow, VT: the country’s oldest program designed to help women develop diet and exercise plans they can live with; 802-228-8885.
- Coolfont Resort and Spectrum Spa, Berkeley Spring, WV: an informal, camplike 1,300 acre resort in a town famed for its restorative warm springs; 800-888-8768.
- Duke Diet and Fitness Center, Durham, NC: solid programs designed to be incorporated in your daily routine at home; you make your own housing arrangements and commute to the center daily. 800-362-8446.
- Tennessee Fitness Spa, Waynesboro, TN: one of the country’s most affordable spas, with a low-pressure approach to weight loss. 615-722-5589.
For more information, check out Fodor’s Healthy Escapes, which offers in-depth reviews of 240 spas, resorts, retreats, and cruises in the United States.
National and state parks
If you’re fortunate enough to live near a national park, you’ll find it the ideal destination in many ways. The combination of pristine beauty and a welcome change in your routine offers a breather that can be uniquely refreshing.
However, if you associate the national park system with pitching a tent and sleeping on the ground, think again! Most of the larger parks feature hotel, lodge, or cabin accommodations ranging from modest to luxurious. Yosemite in California and Yellowstone in Wyoming are two that feature deluxe hotel rooms and elegant dining in the midst of vast wilderness.
But even in the parks that only allow camping within their borders, neighboring towns offer plenty of comfortable, indoor accommodations to fit any budget. For example, The Great Smoky Mountains border Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tenn., where hotel chains in all price ranges can be found. The same goes for Rocky Mountain National Park, where near-by Estes Park is brimming with delightful shopping and art galleries - all within view of the magnificent mountain ranges.
On a somewhat smaller scale, state parks also provide a wonderful back-to-nature break. As with the national parks, most offer accommodations on the property or within a short drive.
Contact your state’s department of tourism for information about accommodations in or near parks in your area.
Staying home is a getaway that’s relaxing, affordable, and easy!
Make arrangements for your loved one to be cared for elsewhere and enjoy the peace and quiet of sleeping in, going to a local museum or mall - or doing nothing at all. Indulge in naps and reading on the couch. Putter in your garden or finish that craft project you keep setting aside because “there isn’t time.”
Because there’s a temptation to not take it easy at home, promise yourself you won’t do any chores you don’t enjoy. Simply revel in the luxury of having your home all to yourself and doing only what you want to do.
Similar Posts On SeniorCaregiver.info