Girl Scouts and Spring Break

By: Allison B.

            For most girls, Spring Break is finally a time for you to relax and visit fun places. A lot of us go to the beach, visit family, go hiking, swimming, or just tour a different state or country. This is a time of year when the weather is nice for just about everything, and we can almost smell summer. There’s a feeling of cheerfulness in the air. But what if you don’t have a trip planned? What do you do and where do you go?  So come along on an adventure to find out what you can do far away and close to home to celebrate Spring Break!

A lot of people think vacations away are the only fun way to spend a Spring Break. But what happens when you realize you have to stay home for the week? Stay-cations can be just as fun as va-cations. Spending time with your family right at home is a really good way to relax and bond with a game night, movie night, or a family cook-off.  But you don’t always have to stay inside even if you don’t have a lot of dough! You might find that you love doing as much where you live, than where you don’t.

            Stephanie Paupeck of the Georgia Department of Tourism knows that stay-cations, when you stay in your state or hometown, can sometimes be more fun and less expensive, than any faraway vacation. The Georgia Department of Tourism created a list of the top 100 inexpensive or free things to do in Georgia including:

• The scenic- touring Georgia’s many beaches, lakes, rivers, canyons, and mountains.
• The historical- visiting President Jimmy Carter’s hometown in Plains.
• The quirky- a photo-op with the world’s largest peanut in Ashburn.
• The cultural- taking in the latest art exhibits and musical performances at UGA in Athens.

Why sit around doing nothing when there’s so much to explore right outside your door?!  For even more ideas, visit the Georgia Department of Tourism website at http://www.exploregeorgia.org/.

Now that you know all about fun ideas for staying at home and going away, I bet you have a simple question in mind: how do other Girl Scouts like to spend their Spring Breaks? After a survey of local Girl Scouts, DING, DING, DING “Survey says!...: 50% of girls surveyed liked to go  to places that were in Florida for vacations. Also, 90% of girls surveyed enjoyed going to places all over Georgia for their stay-cations, whether it be Six Flags, the coast, World of Coke, and many others. And about 60% of girls enjoyed their favorite vacations ever outside of Georgia like Hawaii, Cayman Islands, and Mexico. With all these ideas, get your maps out and let your imagination be your tour-guide!