Travel photography

Today at work a coworker shared beautiful photos of his recent trip to Europe with me and then I came across this list, and it's like the universe is sending me a message. I need a good camera. But not a really great, crazy expensive camera that takes up a ton of packing space and makes me look like a pickpocket target wherever I go. Can someone please recommend a high-quality, affordable, easily transportable camera that can help me take shots like the one below on my next trip?

Copyright Rus Margolin of Travel2Unlimited

Mini Vacations

I couldn't agree more, fortune.

I’m a big proponent of the mini break. Sure, I’d love to spend my time jet-setting around the globe on epic trips, but for some stupid reason my bank account and work schedule refuse to let me follow my heart in this regard. To the rescue … weekend getaways! The much more affordable and practical sister of my yearly overseas adventure, a mini vacation is easy enough to do at least once a year, if not more. Personally, I try following a schedule (without schedules, I’d end up sitting on my couch in all of my spare time) to make sure I take a minimum of out-of-town trips every year. For me, that means at least one weekend away in spring, summer, and fall, plus a few days off around the winter holidays.

My friends Christina and Matt (they’re married and I’m their permanent third wheel) and I have a loose agreement to go camping once in the spring and once in the fall, and to hit the beach once a summer. As for the winter time off, for the past decade at least, my sister or I have lived out of town, so the holidays are usually spent being a tourist in our hometown, checking out new bars and restaurants and revisiting old favorite spots. (Staycations are an entirely different beast that I’ll probably address here soon.)

The Great Outdoors

Camping is such an affordable and rewarding break for those who don’t mind sleeping in a tent and wearing flip-flops in the shower. And as a central Texas resident, I have access to so many beautiful state parks just a few hours’ drive away that it seems silly not to go camping when I need to get out of town and recharge a little. And luckily for me, Matt and Christina share this outlook. We always invite other friends to join us, sometimes with success, other times not, but either way the trips are affordable enough. Rates for a campsite are usually $15–$30 a night (and you can cram a bunch of people in one site), and then you just need to factor in gas, food, beer, ice, wood for the campfire, and any other miscellaneous stuff you want to drag out with you. It’s no stretch to plan a weekend away for less than $100 a person.

For me, camping means setting up my tent, throwing on sunscreen, hiking, swimming, cooking over a fire pit, stargazing, playing cards, talking nonsense, and making s’mores. So many s’mores! And so many stars! As a city dweller, I love getting away from light pollution and simply looking up—I can easily pass an entire night at a campsite marveling at how vast the sky is. On every single camping trip we take, Christina and I are guaranteed to look up at least two or three times and say idiotically, “Just look at all the stars! I mean, just look! It’s A-MAAAA-ZING!” No shame. It’s a great, giddy, childlike feeling. And for less than $100, how could I not indulge in that joy at least two weekends a year?

The Beach

The trouble with camping in Texas is that you’re pretty much screwed from May to September. It’s just too damn hot to be outside for that long. For me, at least. I’m sure there are people who love it, but I’d rather not share a car home with them after two days of sweat-lodging (no lodge needed) in the 100+ degree weather. Which is why I prefer to go to the beach in the summer and splurge on an air-conditioned condo with indoor plumbing to wash away all of my saltwater, sun-drenched stink.

So, yes, this mini break is more expensive than camping, because condos will always be more expensive than campsites. But you can still do an affordable beach trip, and the more people you involve, the cheaper it gets. Win win! We usually end up spending about $50/night for lodging per person (assuming three or four people) and, like camping, you just need to budget money for food, drinks, sunscreen, and gas. It’s easier to go out and spend money at bars and restaurants on a beach trip as well, but I’ve always found that with a lively enough crowd, everyone is content to cook and hangout at the condo or on the beach at night.

I’m heading to the Port Aransas this weekend, and I plan on sticking to a $200 budget, including the condo cost. (This is actually my most expensive beach trip, too, because there aren’t many people going and we’re paying a little more for a dog-friendly cabin.) And I completely recognize that $200 is no small amount in our lives of underpaid, underemployed, overcharged, and overburdened stress, but for me the relaxing respite of sitting on the sand, swimming in the sea, sleeping late, reading a book in the sun (under a giant hat), and enjoying the company of friends is worth the money.

So here’s to mini breaks and the sanity they restore! I’ll cheers to you all and your various ways of stretching budgets to get away while I watch the tide roll in this weekend.