Guest Post: Five Ways to Make the Most of Your Vacation

I'm on vacation! Currently, I'm relaxing at some exotic undisclosed location (okay, it's the couch) but I'm working hard at avoiding work, or fixing things, or basically moving. I know. It's awesome! Today's guest post comes to us from Jules, who you can find at Michon Michon and also at Sprocket Ink (she's one of the co-founders of SI, after all!). You'll notice in this post there's a theme-- summer vacation-- which will carry on throughout the guest posts this week!  

Happy reading!

Let me begin by saying that I am a traveler. I love to go on vacations. I have excellent luck with plane flights (as in running to make them and boarding at the last possible moment, no lines at check in, hardly any flight delays, etc.) And yes, I am knocking on wood right now. I'd hate to jinx the flight luck. But I love to see what is out in this great big world of ours. I enjoy going to historical sites and if there is some place to go hiking, I will definitely be there. Hubby does not enjoy vacationing so much. To him, it seems like "same stuff, different city." To make vacations a little more fun, we have some rules that we've set for ourselves. 

1. If possible, stay at a historical inn, bed and breakfast, or any place other than a chain hotel. On the first two nights of our honeymoon out west, we stayed at a hostel. Granted, it wasn't the most romantic place, but we met some interesting travelers from different countries, we saw some amazing sunsets, and we were very close to the Grand Canyon for dirt cheap. We were out west for two weeks. We never stayed at a chain hotel. We got to know the area and people a lot better than if we had. And we went to places they recommended. Tubing down the Rio Grande outside of Taos? Absolutely!

2. Eat at locally owned restaurants. We do this most of the time even when we are home but it is a must when we are traveling. We generally ask the people at the front desk, other restaurants, and friends where we should eat. We've never been disappointed. And we've found some hidden gems. We once stayed at La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona. This is one of my favorite hotels ever. Gorgeous, historical and with an amazing staff, we really loved the time we spent there. We asked them where we should eat. They told us to go to the Winslow airport. The Winslow airport is a small airport. Inside, there is a restaurant that serves extremely good food. We'd never had known about this place if we stopped at the first place we recognized. 

3. Get to know the history of the place you are visiting. Many people go to places to just lie on the beach. That's a great way to relax. Hubby and I get bored after about an hour of doing that though. We've made it a mission to get to know the history of the places we're visiting. Yes, we are the people reading all of the signs in the museum. One of the most special places I've ever been to is in New Mexico. I fell in love with Santa Fe instantly. We were told that we had to take the drive from Santa Fe to Taos, where we were staying, using the back roads. I'm definitely glad that we did. Along the way is a little town called Chimayo. In this town is a church known as El Santuario de Chimayo. Not only is it a gorgeous place, but people come from all over to get the Holy Dirt that is found there. On the side of the church is a little sanctuary. People leave pictures and items of their loved ones in need of healing. Then they get a baggie of the Healing Dirt to take with them. We still have ours upstairs in our bedroom. Across the way from the church is a little store and restaurant. It's called Leona's Restaurant de Chimayo. If you go there, you have to get the tamales! DELICIOUS!  

4. Do something you don't normally do. When we went to Mackinac Island in Michigan a few years ago, we rented bikes and spent the day biking all over the island. We exercise, but we don't usually bike. So this was a new and fun way for us to spend the day. When we went to San Antonio and Austin in 2010, we made sure we were on Congress Bridge for the bats. If you've never heard of this or seen this, it's quite a site. I'm not that fond of bats, but with the warm weather, beautiful colors in the sky, and excitement in the air, the emergence of the bats was definitely worth seeing.  

5. Don't cram every minute with things to do. When I was a kid, we took a vacation every year. The trips were always packed full with no downtime to breathe and enjoy each other's company. Hubby and I make sure that when we travel, we leave ourselves time to nap, sit outside with a cup of coffee, or spend an evening with a bottle of wine and each other. Not only does this make the trip less stressful, but it gives us a time to reconnect. Wherever you are going this summer, I hope that your trip is fun, relaxing, and adventurous!

Thanks Jules, for guest posting! I love all of your recommendations for having a wonderful vacation.  Now, readers, tell us what makes a memorable vacation for you in the comments!