Water is one of the elements that draws me. Not only is a dip in a cool, refreshing pool a soothing treat, but sometimes just the beauty of some pools is a treat for the eyes. I am fortunate to live in a community that boasts an exceptionally beautiful pool. It is an oasis featuring swaying palm trees, a mid pool island with a fragrant rose garden and an area at one end that mirrors a beach with a zero depth walk in area.

If one is not lucky enough to have a such a pool to beckon them, maybe you can visit one of the drop dead gorgeous pools that I found on BudgetTravel.com. I can’t resist posting them for you to enjoy. So here they are the TOP TEN (and a half*) most gorgeous pools. Be sure to click on the slide show.

Oh ya…here is the “and a half”*

I couldn’t resist this one. It takes me back to when I was just a little girl. In the summer Mom would let us luxuriate in her galvanized wash tub in our back yard on a hot summer’s day with a little pan to pour the cold water over us. Ahhhhhhhhhh we thought that was just it!!!

Picture courtesy of pingu1963

 There seems to be a lot of talk lately about how we are not able to take vacations due to the economy. A lot of us are concerned with how to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table and have decided to forgo vacations at least for the foreseeable future. Yet, people are a resilient lot and have come up with some doable options to still feed the soul with adventure. While travel in general seems to be on a decline this year, there are still some ways to downsize and still have a little fun.

 All of the marketing gurus in the travel industry are finding ways to provide reasonable compromises. New terms like “stay-cations” or “day-cations” are on the radio and TV all the time to advertise special deals. Deep discounts on hotels, airfares, cruises abound if you can be somewhat flexible.

For those, like me, who work and have limited scheduled vacation time that lack flexibility, the idea of a day trip in my local area seems to be a good fit for me and one that, in the short term, will satisfy that craving to see and try new things. A day well planned can almost seem like a little, mini vacation.

 My daughter, Jenn (aka The Leftover Queen) and I for years took an annual vacation and one year, while living in the DC area decided we would spend our whole week just around town. We actually stayed in a little efficiency, but could have as easily traveled daily from home. The thing here is to not let yourself get mired in TV, phone calls and other distractions that would make it less like a vacation. One of the best things about a vacation is to just get away and escape the every day routine.

 Anyway, we had a blast. We went to different places everyday. Saw all of the Smithsonian Museums, all of the monuments, spent a whole day at the fabulous DC zoo and ate different ethnic cuisine every day. It was wonderful and we didn’t have to spend more than one round trip metro fare for travel! (Maybe one day, I will tell you more about the places to see and the special little seasonal things to do in our nation’s capital.) That is the beauty of traveling local. Up to that point, I knew more about faraway places than I did about the abundance of what there was to see in my own backyard. I will venture to guess that this is pretty typical.

 I have been in the Ocala, Florida area now for over two years and I have to admit there are lots of places for little mini day or overnight visits to be made and I have decided that this is the best time to do just that. In the upcoming weeks and over the summer, I will be planning a series of little day or weekend trips and as I circle around town. I hope that these will inspire some of you to do the same thing where you live. And, I would invite you to share with me what you find. Happy traveling.