You Don't Have To Go On Vacation To Have Fun

My vase from the class. Looks like fire doesn't it?!

Haven't been on vacation in a while? You are certainly not alone. Vacations can cost a ton of money. And with the economy being - well - on vacation for the better part of six years who can blame you? 

Now, there are ways you can go on vacay for virtually free - like taking advantage of credit card rewards (which can be extremely lucrative) - but that's another post for another time. Lets talk about having fun in your own backyard. A quick search on you search engine of choice - and you can find dozens of things to do within a tank of gas from home. 

This past weekend my girlfriend, Crystal, and I went to a glass blowing class 10 minutes from my home in Dallas. We walked away with a rare experience that we'll remember for a long time to come. It was a birthday present from Crystal - that we finally got a chance to redeem. 

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Once we got there - we walked in and started sweating profusely. That reminds me - don't do this during the summer! It was maybe 60 degrees outside - and roughly (I'm guessing here) 100 degrees inside. But it was still well worth it.  They let you do as much as you could - and I really didn't feel like they were gonna let me (or anyone else there) put themselves in danger. The price?  I don't know it was a birthday present! I kid...I kid! With a Groupon - it was right around $40. A great deal if you ask me.

My lovely flower painting :)

Something else we did earlier this year was a painting "class" (I guess you can call it that) where you brought your own wine and painted a picture step by step with a real painter leading the class. For me - the longer it went on the more fun it got - thanks to the wine. And - for never painting a fricking thing in my life - I wound up with something respectable. The best part? This wasn't that much either.  It was the cost of a nice dinner.  

Both of these are examples of things you can do within driving distance of your house if you can't afford - or don't have time for a vacation at this point in your life. But like vacations - they're experiences you won't soon forget.

Have you ever done something like this on a weekend? What was it? 

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