by Shannon Boone

Created on: September 02, 2010

With the hustle and bustle of trying to maintain daily life, for most people, even dreaming about going on vacation may seem like a daunting and impossible task. But, occasionally everyone has a chance to get away, if only for a weekend, but one must be proactive in making the vacation happen. 

Planning a last minute weekend trip can be very stressful for all parties involved if the person in charge of planning the vacation leaves a lot of loose ends in regards to the planning. But, with good organization, that weekend trip can end up being one of the most memorable vacation experiences that a person may ever have. 

The first step of course is to decide where to go and how to get there. Because the weekend is only made up of 2 days with a possible Friday or Monday thrown in, it is best to plan to go somewhere that does not take a lot of time to travel to. If flying, a nonstop flight from coast to coast is roughly 6 hours, so deciding where to go can ultimately be endless if money is not a factor. When driving, it is best to stick to somewhere that is only a few hours away from home because with such a whirlwind vacation, the drive there may be exciting, but it is guaranteed that one will not want to be driving hours and hours to just to end up back at home. 

After the decision of the destination has been made, it is important to then look for accommodations that are suitable to your needs. If you you are really setting your sights on lounging in the hotel pool, it would really be disappointing if your hotel of choice didn't have one. Also, whatever hotel that you choose, make sure that it is in a good location near all of the places of interest that you want to see and experience while on vacation. 

After the where and how are taken care of, then comes the hard part, packing. You may be thinking packing... it isn't hard. But it is not necessarily the action of packing that is difficult, but more or less that thought that everyone has looming over their head when planning a vacation, that they forgot to pack something. It is advised that each persons suitcase has a checklist that is checked and rechecked several times to make sure that all necessities make it into the luggage. Usually, most major vacation destinations will have whatever item that you need to purchase for sale, but at an extremely marked up price. Who wants to spend $12.00 for suntan lotion? 

Lastly, before embarking on your trip, make sure that all affairs are taken care of at home. If you have pets, ask a friend to stop by to make sure that they are fed and comfortable. Or if you decide to leave the kids at home, make sure the babysitter has every emergency number that you can think of. You may also want inform a trustworthy neighbor to keep an eye out for your house just in case there may be any suspicious activity going on around the vicinity of your home. 

The experience of a quick weekend getaway can leave you rejuvenated and invigorated, and that ball of stress that you have been walking around with can be taken away. So, if you have the means to do it, why not take a weekend trip to get out of the normal weekend routine doing something that has the potential to leave many wonderful memories.

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