The Cheapest Vacation

Let me be frank, I consider lounging in my cosy living room sofa undisturbed to be vacation enough. I like to travel, but vacations are not only about traveling, are they? There are so many things which go into making a vacation. The planning, the bookings and then the actual vacation itself. Needless to say that all this costs money. It just doesn't make sense to me.

However that summer was different. I somehow couldn't get the thought of taking a vacation out of my mind. When I think back, it must have been the sudden lull at work pushing me to let my hair down. The team had only last week delivered a high value project after months of work and everybody on the team felt that some time off was well deserved.

I chose the upcoming weekend for my vacation. There were still 2 days, so time enough for me to get my act together. First up, the destination - I spent some time researching online - looking up places which were scenic, and also not too far off. I was not too bothered about pre-booking accommodations and thought I will just check in wherever. Having short-listed a few destinations, I reached out to a few friends who had taken similar vacations not to long ago to some of my short-listed destinations. "This will surely be the cheapest vacation you will ever take.", said one of my friends and I couldn't stop smiling. Patting myself on the back for a job well begun, I called it a day. 

The next day was spent in getting supplies for the journey and packing essentials for the trip. It was going to be a 4 hour drive followed by a night's stay. Not much to bother about you'd say and I'd agree. I was so looking forward to this vacation, that I had to will myself to sleep the night before just to be sure that I wake up fresh and ready.

Finally the day arrived. Within no time, I was all but ready to start off. With a final flourish, I brewed myself a strong coffee for the road, made myself comfortable and ...

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Here's to books, the cheapest vacation you can buy! - Charlaine Harris