I think some of our most memorable inexpensive vacations involved camping, being outside or just really going off the beaten path. An island off Iceland ( called Westman had the best restaurant and was cheaper than the rest of Europe), an RV trip to see the Solar Eclipse ( driving like maniacs to get there in time) , a really tough hike in Acadia when the kids were tiny and had to pull themselves up the beehive ( or whatever that path is called). Those are the ones we remember. The fancy trips were fun but not as memorable. Anyone can stay anytime in a five star hotel.
We have a family thing. Always dip in the ocean. Iceland was cold!!, so is Maine, and even the warm dips in Greece were all so different. Our thing is to take a dip at midnight on the night before we leave. We run in, laugh and run out. We have loads of photos of the midnight dip.
One of my favorite memories was camping at Dry Tortugas NP in FL (off the keys - need to take a ferry to get there). My youngest son was either 9 or 11 (I forgot the year of that trip). He and I woke up early one day and walked on the moat around the fort, then we stayed there watching the stars get erased from the sky together. It was awesome.
Equally as awesome was later on in their college days when he and his brother did a Mother’s Day video for me. One of their questions was “favorite memories with mom.” That experience topped his list too. Until then I had no idea it was a shared favorite memory.
We’ve been a lot of places in the US and world, but there’s something about nature and being “alone together” sharing an experience. Camping there is only a few bucks per night, though one has to bring everything in with you because there’s no water or concessions, etc. Nonetheless, things like that are among our favorite things, way beating Disney and similar places - even though we enjoyed the other places too. There’s not much in travel we don’t like. They’re just on a different scale.
Our daughters told us at Christmas that they would pay for 2 nights for H and I for a present near Joshua Tree. Here is what we booked for the end of April:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/53630352?source_impression_id=p3_1646753745_SDF6MMi5TCWk%2FEXj
I’d try that for a night! What are the bathroom options??
They have flush toilets and showers. We like to camp and as long as I can shower off after hiking I will be good. I don’t need to wash my hair for the two days we will be there so this works for us.
We will be staying a Friday and Saturday night. Our plan is to hike in Joshua Tree on Saturday and see some other nearby sights on Sunday. We don’t plan to cook and will go out to eat. We will bring drinks and snacks with us. We plan to spend the evenings enjoying the stars with a glass of wine.