Green Fun in the Summer Sun!

Staycations

Years ago, our traveling companions referred to our family as the Griswolds on Vacation. We “packed to the nines”, meaning that although there were only five of us, we packed as though we were nine, replete with a 5-bike trailer, an inflated raft and two vehicles to haul everything but the kitchen sink across British Columbia and Alberta Canada. We were exhausted by the time we were packed and ready to roll; continually in a state of “tired” packing and unpacking that “Rubic’s Cube” of an overstuffed, compacted station wagon day in... and day out. When we pulled into the driveway after traveling like this for two weeks, we collapsed in a heap in our welcoming beds, chanting the mantra “Never Again!”

Staycations is the buzzword for stay-at-home vacations. With the rising cost of gas and the decline of the US dollar, many of us are seeking creative solutions, green solutions, to reduce our travel footprint. With the much-increased expense of traveling abroad, a growing number of vacationers, like myself, are choosing to be hometown tourists, saving money and supporting local economy, while exploring all there is to see and do within a short distance from our own backyards.

As a B&B proprietor, it is our guests, out-of-towners, who are experiencing our finest attractions, activities and natural resources. We’ve decided that since we are on an extended staycation through the summer season, to set aside time for ourselves this year to have “daycations”. Whether a daycation or a staycation, traveling light and traveling local gives us the opportunity to explore our local culture and natural resources like never before, and get the much-needed rest most of us are woefully lacking by the end of a typical vacation scenario.

OsoTalk

This week on OsoTalk Show, I’m discussing Staycations with web developer Effie Siverts. After a leisurely, scenic drive along the back roads through farmland and wine country en route to Le Roost Lorane B&B, Effie is enjoying what she refers to as a “daycation” and shares her staycation tips with us.

To listen, all you have to do is click on the "play" icon... easy easy easy! Thanks TalkShoe for this great widget!

Related Eco Matter:

OsoNew

OsoEco, an Oregon Biz to Watch

In it's July issue, Oregon Business Magazine names OsoEco as the #9 company in Oregon to watch....

“Web 2.0” is the now-ubiquitous term for websites and applications that allow users to interact and collaborate. Long ago the term degenerated into an overused buzzword, but it’s still around. Why? Because people keep coming up with great ways to interact online. Take OsoEco, for example, which describes itself as a sustainable social shopping community. OsoEco is targeting a type of shopper called social researchers — consumers who spend a significant amount of time learning from other online shoppers before purchasing something.

Don't Miss It!

Featured Eco Matters ::

I'm on an extended staycation, but the sun is shining just as bright right here at home as it is in Mexico or Hawaii. I want to find natural ways to protect my fair skin from burning while I'm out doors.

Time to catch up on some long overdue reading! What's on your booklist? Are you looking for green solutions? How about reading e-books, listening to audio books, checking books out of the library, visiting used bookstores, and/or picking them up at yard sales?

Featured Finds ::

Parents, grandparents and even kids can create clubs quickly in any neighborhood, urban or suburban. This is an approach that can reduce fear and increase motivation. Think of how much easier it is to maintain regular gym visits if you've got an exercise buddy waiting for you every Wednesday. The same impetus can work for parents who want to give their children and themselves the gift of nature. If it seems daunting to do the planning and organizing yourself, try partnering with another family.

Janus Youth Programs - Urban Agriculture Services

Village Gardens, a 56,000 square foot urban agriculture program, uses sustainable organic gardening and farming to increase access to healthy food, improve economic opportunities and build unity with low-income residents of North Portland. Based in the St. Johns Woods public housing development; New Columbia, the Housing Authority of Portland’s newly built Hope VI development; and on an acre of Metro land on Sauvie Island, the program includes individual and family garden plots, employment opportunities for adults and teens, after-school and summer activities for children, homework clubs, a mobile market shuttle and a youth-run entrepreneurial business growing and marketing specialty salad mixes at local farmers markets. Found at: www.janusyouth.org

Featured OsoEco-er :: David Frayne::

I am a puzzle solver, big picture analyser, innovator, inventor, someone who likes to stray from the beaten path.

Featured Movers & Shakers

Sustainable Travel International::

Conscientious consumers are now demanding best practices within the travel industry that protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. In response to this demand, Sustainable Travel International has developed the Sustainable Tourism Eco-Certification Program™ (STEP) and is working with NSF International to offer this voluntary initiative that's designed to assist travel and tourism providers in measuring and managing their impacts.

Featured Movin' & Shakin' Things Up! Video

Vacationing at Home: WISN.com News::

With the surge in fuel prices more families are canceling their summer roadtrips and planning vacationing at home. 12 News Shelby Croft talks to one family who's planning a staycation.

Take the Poll!

When was the last time you enjoyed a staycation?

Results from the Last Poll!

Last time we asked people who was the Mover & Shaker they saw as making the biggest impact in the past year.... Annie Leonard and her video, The Story of Stuff was the winner. Thanks everyone for participating!

Green Solutions from Real People :: Tipping Points

Build a Pizza Box Solar Oven with your kids! ::

The sun is hot enough to bake food. Here's how to make a simple solar oven that gets hot enough to warm up cookies and other treats, like s'mores. It won't get really hot, though, so you can't bake things in it and you won't burn yourself when playing with it. Be sure to have an adult help you with this!

Eeeks, Sputters, Gacks, Hairballs
and other things we think are fixed...

First, we want to thank everyone who let us know when the site was doing things that didn't seem quite right.

Well, the past couple weeks we've had several people reporting having trouble with images -- mainly uploading their own image to their personal profile.... sometimes folks would get our OsoEEEEEK page, and sometimes nothing would happen....

After some heavy duty investigating, the OsoEco Tech team is sure they've solved it. So, if anyone out there has any more problems with this, please let us know...

Thanks again for your patience with enduring these bugs -- we appreciate it!

LAST NOTE I SWEAR!

In putting together this enews theme, Fun in the Summer Sun, I came up with so much material that I couldn't fit it into just one blog entry -- so over the next week, I'll be posting additional entries under this theme.