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...with or without my girls.

I've been overstressed and am in need of a little escape, a little detox. Something refreshingly different. Any ideas?

Initial thoughts are finding a new mountain to hike, visiting the Big Apple, getting a ridiculously long massage, maybe all of the above

[This message edited by OnceInALifetime at 12:44 PM, June 13th (Thursday)]

Take a cooking class

Tour a winery and sample some wines

Volunteer somewhere

Take a byob painting class

Go to a trampoline place

Go to a water park/amusement park

How about a long weekend at the beach?

If you and your kids enjoy biking, try the Blackstone Bike Path just over the line in Rhode Island. Absolutely gorgeous, flat and scenic.

Cooking classes would be fun.

What about a paint your own pottery place? That would be a fun family activity.

Family movie night--haul out pillows and blankets for the floor, get into pjs and do a double feature.

Go on a whale watch (my kids loved this).

Visit the submarine museum in New London or Mystic Seaport in Mystic. Both excellent.

Cat

Make chocolate truffles together! It's really pretty easy (you can get directions on the internet), it's messy and fun and the candies do not have to be perfect, and you get to eat chocolate. You can get flavorings, or different sprnkles and such to roll them in. Did I mention, you get to eat chocolate? Mmmm, might have to do that with my son this weekend!

edited to ask:

How old are your girls?

[This message edited by StrongerOne at 1:48 PM, June 13th (Thursday)]

I took up canning and cooking more. It takes up time and is actually enjoyable. I love canning.

Go to the waterpark.

Play hide and seek in dark outside if you can. (I still love it) or flashlight tag.

Go to a spa.

Go get a head massgae while they shampoo your head feels great)

Take a trip to somewhere you have never went.

Go camping...

Google to find a retreat; secluded place to recharge and be nurtured.

Nature completely de-stresses me. How about exploring state parks that you've never visited before (and re-visiting some favorites)?

Check out the meetup.com groups in your area, too. I'm having a lot of fun with four of them.....playing euchre and spades (card games), plus one for board games and one centered around my age group (Social Boomers).

The previous suggestions are all really great, too.

Add acupuncture to the list. I have been pleasantly surprised with the results.

I second or third the suggestions about visiting state parks. Nothing like a wide open view!

I can recommend the circle tour around Lake Superior (driving around the lake). Absolutely stunning. If you do that, the sunset cruise at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore out of Munising, MI is awesome. Really, upper Michigan, northern Wisconsin and the north shore of Minnesota (not to mention Canada) are just beautiful areas to explore.

Go somewhere touristy and do some really cheesy tourist trap things. They can be so fun, especially with kids. I did a segway tour with my daughter and it was a hoot. Took an airboat ride in the Everglades with her and some of her girlfriends. A hummer tour in the Rockies in Colorado. All terrific fun.

Amusement parks - love the roller coasters!

Check out some ethnic festivals. Always fun and interesting food to try. I think they have a festival for just about everything somewhere in this country.

eta: And see the giant redwoods in California. That's on my list if my property ever sells (3+ years now).

[This message edited by kernel at 6:34 PM, June 13th (Thursday)]

Long massage idea sounds great. Touch is so important! Nature is a huge destressor too. Something outside.

Massage is a great idea! Also, a male pedicure (don't laugh -- they don't paint your toes, but it's great, or so I hear)

With your daughters, I second painting. I took a few classes where they walk you through how to recreate a famous painting, and then I bought a bunch of canvas and paints to do at home. Very stress-relieving and fun!

And nature is always stress-relieving, calming, and wonderful. I picked up birdwatching, which gives my hikes some focus and is tons of fun.

Sometimes I take a hot bath with candles, a book, beer, and cookies. It's wonderful!

Check out the metroparks in your area and see what they have to offer. In my area we can do a zip line over a pond, go horseback riding, climb a rock wall, do a tree top ropes course, tour nature centers, hiking and biking trails.

In order to bring my mind back to a peaceful place I garden. You could plant a fairy garden. I also have a volunteer job once a week that makes me appreciate my life very much!

Start a game night. Jenga, Monopoly, or a myriad of other choices!

My stepdaughter and I used to spend one day a week together during the day. We would go to a different ethnic restaurant for lunch each week. The rules were that we had to try something we had never tasted before. If we didn't like it we could always get burgers after! Then we would go somewhere to walk it off - a park if the weather was nice, or the mall if it was raining.

Get away from city lights and go star gazing. Research a sky map of your area for that night/time and see how many constellations you can find.

Bake cookies. Eat the ones that "break" right way while they are still warm.

Sign up for a yoga class. I LOVE my weekly class.

A massage is a great idea. It helps with stress, that need for human physical contact, and getting rid of toxins from your body.

Something fun and no cost to do... go to a mall and put together outfits, take a pic with your phone. Make it a contest.. the most outlandish outfit wins. The voting is done over ice cream... and the winner get to choose the movie later.

We did that on rainy days.

Hiking and biking are always a good choice.

Photography class.. or just taking pics while on a hike is always fun.

Star gazing...

Camp in your backyard...

Drive in movies if you can find a drive in.

The beach is my go to place for destressing.

Fishing, canoeing, kayaking, tubing...

What is your destressor? Your girls?

Hugs,

K