My husband and I recently went on a vacation to explore our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. He had visited once before on a school trip, but it was my very first time traveling that far north. We had a jam-packed itinerary to make the most of our 4-day trip.

A vacation doesn’t always have to include a plane ride to a warm tropical destination. It also doesn’t have to be centered around a jam packed itinerary filled to the brim with exploring, sightseeing, and activities. Sometimes, simply staying home is just enough to recharge your batteries.

Unofficially, Kris and I are on a tour to see as many NCAA stadiums and college towns as we can. We love seeing different schools when Georgia is playing a game, within reason of course. If it’s something short notice, anything under two hours of travel is doable; however, if we plan in advance, realistically any distance is feasible. We consider ourselves part of the Road Dawg community and have traveled for soccer and football games so far.

Vacations are a great way to reset and clear your mind from the daily grind of work or your home life. Kris and I took a vacation last week and it was much needed. The last time I took time off and away from home was in March when we went to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Just like then, I was in dire need of a change of scenery.

We rarely vacation to simply relax. Sitting on a beach or at the pool for hours on end, just isn’t really our thing. At most, we spend maybe an hour out there before we’re ready to move on with our day. We want to experience all the city has to offer, or at least as much as we can given the time constraint. We’re big on taking boat tours if we’re in a city located along a river or the ocean. So far, I’d say we’ve done about five boat tours total and they’ve all been totally different from one another.

However, you can’t describe the feeling of being in a packed stadium with loud, obnoxious fans during a huge moment in a game. The feeling of being on the edge of your seat when you play an equally matched opponent. The pure joy of getting a stop on defense and then scoring on offense. The chants, the cheers, the band, the music all combine to make game day its very own special experience.

I used to be a leave everything in my suitcase and just rumble around for things I need girl, but I unpacked during this trip just to see how it was and I liked that method waaaaaay better. And it makes it incredibly easier to pack when leaving. I used the hour of free time we needed to burn to unpack all of our clothes and set up the bathroom with our hygiene stuff since I seriously didn’t want to do it when I was tired later that night.