So, this post is long overdue, but forgive me...I have been traveling and working and living life.
We take an annual family trip with the kids but last year, our family financial situation was not looking super bright. We decided to investigate a vacation that we could enjoy with the family while not breaking the bank.
Last summer, the kids and I were at The Pacific Science Center at a special exhibit on "Speed." One of the displays was on sand boarding. We love to skateboard and snowboard, so this sport intrigued us. I went home and did a little walk through the inter webs to see what I could find on this.
My investigations led me to a sand board rental business in Florence, Oregon. Upon further research, I found a State Park, with sand dunes and all, right outside of Florence…the best part of this campground? YURTS!
Ahh! The frugal wheels never turned faster. Two tanks of gas, $28/night in the yurt, daily sand board rentals of $20 each...and POW! We have ourselves a 5 day vacation for four in Oregon for under $500, including meals.
The tricky part was securing the yurt. They are one of the most popular abodes to reside in at the state parks. And no wonder: ours had a bunk bed (double on the bottom), a futon that opened to a queen-sized bed, electricity, and (get this!) a heater. Now, I love to tent camp, but this was so easy and comfortable (and warm!) Anyhoo, in order to make a reservation on the yurt, I had to have my online forms filled out and ready to go by 7:58am nine months to the day that we wanted to go. As soon as the website was accepting reservations at 8:00am, I was ready with my cursor hovering over the "reserve" button, click-click-clicking away until I received a confirmation. Apparently, the yurts, cabins and tee-pees are all claimed by 8:02am on any given day, so you definitely have to be very ready and planned out in order to get one.
I know the suspense is killing you, so I'll cut to the chase: click through success! Yurt secured, we were ready to go forth with our summer plans. We invited another family with kids the same age as ours to come join us on our yurting adventure. They were able to reserve a campsite just around the corner from our yurt, so the fun was set in motion.
Flash forward nine months later: the trip was amazing and beautiful and everyone had a great time. We sand boarded two days, spent two afternoons at the amazing beach, only a short drive away, rented paddles boats on the lake in I could write a short story on the actual trip itself, but I really want to share the links with you so you can have an amazing Frugal Chic vacation.
Oregon State Parks: http://www.oregonstateparks.org/
We stayed at Jesse M. Honeyman, a lovely campground with two fresh water lakes, the aforementioned sand dunes, beautiful lodge and picnic shelters built by the CCC in the 1930’s, and free (!) hot showers.
Many states offer affordable yurts, cabins and tee pees for rentals, so if Oregon is too far away for your gas tank, do a search on your state or one nearby.
Sand board rentals: http://www.sandmasterpark.com/
Florence, Oregon information: www.florenceoregon.net
We take an annual family trip with the kids but last year, our family financial situation was not looking super bright. We decided to investigate a vacation that we could enjoy with the family while not breaking the bank.
Last summer, the kids and I were at The Pacific Science Center at a special exhibit on "Speed." One of the displays was on sand boarding. We love to skateboard and snowboard, so this sport intrigued us. I went home and did a little walk through the inter webs to see what I could find on this.
My investigations led me to a sand board rental business in Florence, Oregon. Upon further research, I found a State Park, with sand dunes and all, right outside of Florence…the best part of this campground? YURTS!
Ahh! The frugal wheels never turned faster. Two tanks of gas, $28/night in the yurt, daily sand board rentals of $20 each...and POW! We have ourselves a 5 day vacation for four in Oregon for under $500, including meals.
The tricky part was securing the yurt. They are one of the most popular abodes to reside in at the state parks. And no wonder: ours had a bunk bed (double on the bottom), a futon that opened to a queen-sized bed, electricity, and (get this!) a heater. Now, I love to tent camp, but this was so easy and comfortable (and warm!) Anyhoo, in order to make a reservation on the yurt, I had to have my online forms filled out and ready to go by 7:58am nine months to the day that we wanted to go. As soon as the website was accepting reservations at 8:00am, I was ready with my cursor hovering over the "reserve" button, click-click-clicking away until I received a confirmation. Apparently, the yurts, cabins and tee-pees are all claimed by 8:02am on any given day, so you definitely have to be very ready and planned out in order to get one.
I know the suspense is killing you, so I'll cut to the chase: click through success! Yurt secured, we were ready to go forth with our summer plans. We invited another family with kids the same age as ours to come join us on our yurting adventure. They were able to reserve a campsite just around the corner from our yurt, so the fun was set in motion.
Flash forward nine months later: the trip was amazing and beautiful and everyone had a great time. We sand boarded two days, spent two afternoons at the amazing beach, only a short drive away, rented paddles boats on the lake in I could write a short story on the actual trip itself, but I really want to share the links with you so you can have an amazing Frugal Chic vacation.
Oregon State Parks: http://www.oregonstateparks.org/
We stayed at Jesse M. Honeyman, a lovely campground with two fresh water lakes, the aforementioned sand dunes, beautiful lodge and picnic shelters built by the CCC in the 1930’s, and free (!) hot showers.
Many states offer affordable yurts, cabins and tee pees for rentals, so if Oregon is too far away for your gas tank, do a search on your state or one nearby.
Sand board rentals: http://www.sandmasterpark.com/
Florence, Oregon information: www.florenceoregon.net
