Finding great spots to explore and enjoy close to home helps me fill the gaps until I can pack a suitcase again.

Short on time? Have responsibilities you need to be close to home for? One of my favorite things is to find hidden gems within a couple of hours from home. It can feel like a true getaway, yet you can sleep in your own bed if you want to. Let me know if I can brainstorm with you!

What are the hidden gems around you? In your own hometown, check out the parks and trails and locally owned restaurants. Or look for local historical spots, museums, unique sculptures. Make a day of it!

I love kayaking our local lakes, geocaching in the woods, walking our college campus, and hitting the local international cuisine restaurants. Try checking out TripAdvisor for the hotspots that visitors enjoy in your area!

Grab a friend or partner and make a day of exploring your own area. Need ideas?

  • Daring Dinner- Grab dinner using number randomizer and use TripAdvisor to decide; wait staff has to choose what you order

  • Target Treasure Hunters- each find something to buy the other for ten dollars, wrap and present

  • Campus Crawl- Go for a walk and hit some hot spots on your local campus

  • Surname Sign Search- find a good photo opportunity by every letter of your last name

  • Statue Scavenger Hunt- find all the local statues and take photos of your group creating your own version of each

  • Moving Muncher-: choose a different location for each: Appetizer--Entree--Dessert

  • Free Throw Competition at the Y

  • Geocaching- try the free app

  • Romantic Readers: Go to your local book store and split up; each partner chooses the following and you get back together to discuss

    • A children’s book that is meaningful and why

    • A travel book of somewhere you’d like to visit

    • A book of poetry- choose one poem to share

    • Book title that describes your friend/partner

  • Triathalon- Head to a nearby spot and get in touch with your inner competitor. Battle against each other in any of these three competition combos:

    • Sit ups---Singing alphabet backwards---M&M Eating

    • Bowling---Fry Eating---Connect Four

    • Billiards---Pacman---Pizza Eating

    • Free Throws---Chess---Chugging a pop

    • Make up your own triathlon activities! Three competitions in a row and the winner gets to pick the prize.

So go for it! You don’t have to travel far to explore! There are also great spots close to home.