you could see what is around your city for free. One particularly tight year we set up the tent in the back yard turned off all the electricity in our house, left the phones off the hook and then spent a week visiting our own city. We discovered that most of the museums, the zoo and many other local attractions have a free day or free time to visit during the week. We also did a walking tour of our historic district. It was a lot of fun. We roasted wienies & mallows over the backyard grill, picniced by the river, made tie die t-shirts and spent long nights laughing and playing games. My grown chidlren say it was our best summer vacation ever.