Let’s face it: Americans don’t take enough vacations.  28 million workers in the United States are not given any paid vacation or holidays.  However, even the people who do receive paid time off are unlikely to use all of their PTO.  And even when Americans do take vacation days, less than half are used for travel - and often, this can lead to a great deal of dissatisfaction and eventually burnout and job loss.  It’s a ridiculous situation that often keeps workers from doing their best, least to see even the ability to properly recharge and enjoy a better quality of life situation.

When asked the question of why people do not end up utilizing all of their PTO, a few reasons workers will give include the costs of a proper vacation, lacking accommodation for pets during travel, and people generally find that the travel planning process is a stressful endeavor.  

There is hope to help get people back into balance. The opportunity of exploring the nation’s great outdoors - outdoor getaways solve all three of these stated problems by workers. The US has an extensive collection of national parks, state parks, as well as private RV parks and campsites.  Many of these convenient destinations are close enough to a traveler that there’s no need to book a flight or deal with the airport, and they contain enough space for pet parents to have satisfaction for the whole family.  

Part of the beauty of exploring the outdoors allows for one’s children and pets alike to easily have more flexible accommodation.  Given that the very nature of an outdoor getaway lends to open air experience, it allows the traveler to avoid crowds and contained areas with limited airflow, thus poses less likely to be an infection risk during the pandemic as variants may continue to rise and fall in terms of positivity rates.  

Depending on one’s level of comfort with nature and whether they want to “rough it” with nature, they can invest in lower cost options such as camping in a tent, to more extravagant excursions such as having an RV, cabin, or more glamorous “glamping” opportunities. Costs of such outings range from basic supplies to $30 on the cheapest options.  Camping comes with free activities available to the whole family, such as hiking, swimming, birdwatching, and singing around a campfire. Let’s take the time to explore the outdoors to prevent burnout - learn more about the adventures abound in the visual deep dive below: