Staycation

Do you know what brunch is? First of all, it’s a late morning meal eaten instead of breakfast and lunch. Second, it’s a blend of the words "breakfast" and "lunch", and a combination of their meanings. Third, this type of word is known as a portmanteau, which is a new word formed by joining two others and combining their meanings.

There are many examples of  portmanteaus in English. Chocoholics ("chocolate" + "alcoholic"), workaholics ("work" + "alcoholic"), and shopaholics ("shopping" + "alcoholic")  are people who, respectively, have mild dependencies on chocolate, work, and shopping instead of alcohol. These are not real dependencies but rather strong tendencies. 

Now that it’s summer, some people take staycations (a portmanteau of "stay" and “vacation”), which is a vacation when one does not travel away from home. I like taking staycations sometimes because I can enjoy places in my city and state that I normally don’t have time to visit during my workdays, such as museums, amusement parks, nature parks, other nearby cities, concerts, or festivals. They’re a great way to save money (no lodging costs and minimal travel expenses), plus there’s no packing, stress, or long airport lines. 

There is no doubt that leisure travel is exciting and educational, but there are some strong arguments for taking a staycation every now and then. 

Have you ever taken a staycation?

Ghost towns

What is your city like when most people are away on vacation? Sometimes places feel like temporary ghost towns during the month of August, especially in Europe. 

A ghost town is a town abandoned by its inhabitants, typically due to economic decline or natural or human-caused disasters, such as earthquakes or wars.

Several ghost towns in the world have become tourist attractions. Many in the US were mining towns that sprang up (grew) during the gold rush in the 19th century. (The one pictured on this page is the ghost town of Goldfield, Arizona.) Miners searching for gold, silver, copper, and diamonds simply moved on to new opportunities in other towns, which is more understandable abandonment than the fates of countless villages and towns in other parts of the world, vacated because of natural disasters (Craco, Italy) or wars (Oradour-sur-Glane, France). 

So if your personal habitat feels a ghost town due to the holidays, enjoy the temporary peace, quiet, and romance of simpler times.