What to Do with Your Summer if You're Not Going on Vacation

There's nothing worse than sitting at home in your pj's thinking about how all your friends are going on vacation and basking in the sun in their sun dresses. Especially in the age of social media, no vacation goes without a post making your feed flooded with people making memories, not working, and having fun. However, in order to have fun and enjoy the sun (ew, rhyming) you don't have to travel far away to some tropical paradise.


For the past few summers, I was one of the lucky few that got to take a week long vacation to Florida where I could visit the ocean and come home significantly tanner than when I left. This year, however, I'm going without the vacation and am being forced to think outside the box with how to spend my summer days. Besides working (because I need money to go thrifting...and I guess money to buy a car and college. Yikes! Adulthood!), I've decide to take a bunch of mini vacations without damaging my bank account too much.

You may be wondering how taking a lot of mini vacations is even possible, but what I mean is collect some of your friends that are most likely feeling just as bored as you are, and take them on a day trip somewhere not to far from where you live. I tend to stick to the rule that it can't be more than 3 hours away, that way you can go somewhere new but not have to pay for an expensive hotel or take time off work.

Luckily, I happen to be surrounded by The Great Lakes, offering lots of beach opportunities. The first day trip I took was with my sister and we ventured to Grand Haven for a day to soak up the sun and eat as much ice cream as we could before it all melted. Located on the West side of Michigan, right on the shore of Lake Michigan, this town was perfect for spending hours at the beach and exploring the cutest small town. We walked along the shore, ate coffee flavored ice cream, and drooled over the gorgeous beach houses overlooking the lake. It was ridiculously hot, but wearing a romper seemed to do me well.

 

The next day trip I took was with my boyfriend and we decided to go more suburban this time. Right outside of Detroit and directly next to the Detroit Zoo is Royal Oak, a suburban city with plenty of bars, ice cream, and thrift stores. We visited the cutest, most hipster café called Atomic Coffee then window shopped and later got some ice cream (again, coffee flavored) to cool off.

 

 

My most recent day trip was with my boyfriend again and this time we went full on city. We decided to spend the evening in Detroit, finishing off the night with an amazing concert at Comerica Park to see Def Leppard and Journey. Before the concert, we went sight seeing even though this wasn't our first time visiting the city. But, walking around not only allowed us to kill time but we also had plenty of fun and meaningful conversations. Surprisingly, no coffee was involved in this trip but we did get some Detroit Water Ice (the coolest slushie you'll ever have), and coney dogs at one of the original Coney Island restaurants in Detroit called Lafayette Coney Island.

 

 

 

With plenty of more summer ahead, I'm sure more day trips will be planned. Another good idea would be to search if any street fairs are going on near you and go check them out! They even be some sidewalk sales and who doesn't love a good sidewalk sale?

 

Thank you for reading and let me know in the comments how you've been spending your summer!

 

Sarahxoxo

Get the Look

Forever 21 floral romper

Target tan flat bed sandals

lavender button up tank was thrifted but I found a look-alike here

UO baseball cap

high waisted mom shorts were thrifted but I found a similar pair here (seriously just go to your local Salvation Army store and find a pair for cheaper though)

black craft store t-shirt with cut off sleeves

overall shorts were thrifted but I found a look-alike here

woven purse info. here