A vacation centered around peace, quiet, and relaxation is often the very best kind of getaway. It can give you a break from everyday stresses, time for introspection and disconnecting from constant stimulation, and make space for rest and rejuvenation.

The goal here is the kind of vacation you don’t feel you need to recover from when you get back. Ultimately, prioritizing relaxation on your vacation is an investment in your overall health and provides a much-needed opportunity to recharge and find balance.

Here are a few of my favorite destinations where you can do just that.

Jekyll Island

Jekyll Island, just off the coast of Georgia, is known for some beautiful white sand beaches, charming marshes, and magical maritime forests. The island has preserved much of its natural environment, providing opportunities for peaceful walks, bike rides, and wildlife spotting.

The island has a range of outdoor activities including golf, tennis, and kayaking. You can rent bikes to explore the extensive network of trails or take a guided eco-tour to learn more about the local ecosystem.

Don’t miss Driftwood Beach if you do go, one of the most popular attractions on Jekyll Island. It has a unique landscape dotted with weathered trees and driftwood that creates a stunning and tranquil setting for a leisurely stroll or a picnic.

The island is also a nesting site for loggerhead sea turtles, and the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on the island plays a vital role in their conservation. You can visit the center to learn about these magnificent creatures and their ongoing conservation efforts.

August and September are the best months to go if you want to see the baby sea turtles hatching, but the island is not a quiet and peaceful place during those months. Otherwise, the fall is the best time to visit, as the weather is reliably decent well into October.

The island has a quieter and more laid-back atmosphere compared to some other coastal destinations. It’s truly an ideal place to unwind, enjoy the natural surroundings, and soak up the tranquility of the island.

Inexpensive things to do on Jekyll Island:

• Visit Driftwood Beach,
• Spend an afternoon at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center,
• Rent a bike and explore the Jekyll Island trail system.

Fort Bragg, CA

Located on the rugged Mendocino Coast, Fort Bragg is renowned for its breathtaking coastline, rocky cliffs, and pristine beaches. You can also explore a variety of coastal trails, go kayaking or canoeing on the ocean or the nearby Noyo River, or enjoy fishing and crabbing. The historic Skunk Train takes you on a scenic journey through the redwood forests and along the Noyo River as well.

In addition, Fort Bragg is located in the heart of California’s Mendocino wine region and is known for its boutique wineries. You can visit nearby wineries and vineyards to taste local wines and enjoy the beautiful vineyard scenery.

Lastly, Fort Bragg’s downtown area is full of quaint shops, art galleries, and delightful eateries. You can stroll through the streets, browse unique boutiques, and savor the local cuisine.

Inexpensive things to do at Fort Bragg, CA:

• Spend the day at MacKerricher State Park,
• Bike along the Fort Bragg coastal trail,
• Hunt for sea glass at Glass Beach,
• Spend a delightful day at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens,
• Choose a great book and enjoy your peaceful retreat from the world.

Friday Harbor, WA

Located in the San Juan Islands of Washington state, Friday Harbor is well-known for its stunning natural beauty. You can explore scenic hiking trails, enjoy kayaking or boating in the surrounding waters, and spot wildlife such as orcas, seals, and eagles.

Friday Harbor also has a charming downtown area with unique shops, art galleries, and restaurants. You can stroll through the streets and soak up the small-town ambiance. The city has a relaxed and laid-back atmosphere, making it an ideal place to unwind and escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. You can enjoy the slower pace, breathe in the fresh sea air, and embrace the tranquility of island life.

Inexpensive things to do at Friday Harbor:

• Visit Lyme Kiln Point State Park, known as “whale watch park,” and look for whales while enjoying a picnic lunch,
• Enjoy the music and atmosphere of the San Juan Farmer’s Market on Saturdays,
• Visit the delightfully charming Whale Museum.

Finger Lakes, NY

The Finger Lakes region is a beautiful area known for its stunning lakes, rolling hills, vineyards, and charming small towns. The area is named after its 11 long and narrow lakes, which offer stunning vistas, opportunities for boating, swimming, and fishing, and picturesque landscapes.

It’s also known for its wine production, particularly its world-class Rieslings. There are numerous wineries and vineyards nearby, offering wine tastings, vineyard tours, and the chance to enjoy beautiful views while sampling local vintages.

The area is a haven for outdoor enthusiasts. You can explore numerous state parks, including Watkins Glen State Park with its stunning waterfalls and hiking trails, and enjoy activities such as hiking, biking, kayaking, and paddle boarding.

Inexpensive things to do in Finger Lakes:

• Visit the beautiful Watkins Glen State Park,
• Take in the incredible waterfall at Taughannock Falls State Park,
• Spend a day at Corning Museum of Glass.

Bar Harbor, ME

Located near Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor provides a peaceful coastal escape with picturesque scenery and a relaxing, laid-back atmosphere. Bar Harbor is on Mount Desert Island, Maine, an island known for its diverse ecosystems, including forests, lakes, and wetlands.

In addition to Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor and its surrounding areas offer plenty of outdoor activities. You can go hiking, biking, birdwatching, fishing, or take a leisurely boat cruise to explore the islands and enjoy the coastal scenery.

Inexpensive things to do at Bar Harbor, ME

• Explore Acadia National Park by car, tour or bike,
• Explore the charming downtown area,
• Savor the deliciously fresh lobster rolls, clam chowder and other local seafood in town.

Port Townsend, WA

Port Townsend is a charming Victorian seaport town that provides a peaceful coastal retreat with stunning views and a vibrant arts community. The city is known for its well-preserved Victorian architecture, which gives the town a distinct character. You can take a leisurely stroll through the historic downtown area and admire the beautifully restored buildings, charming boutiques, art galleries, and antique shops.

The natural beauty of the Port Townsend area offers many opportunities for a huge range of outdoor activities. Hiking, biking, or kayaking are all easily accessible, or you can simply enjoy the scenic views along the waterfront. The nearby Olympic National Park also provides ample opportunities for outdoor exploration and meeting people with similar interests.

Inexpensive things to do in Port Townsend:

• Visit Chetzemoka Park and walk the beach,
• Tour the Northwest Maritime Center,
• Visit Fort Worden Historical State Park.

Sitka, Alaska

If you’re seeking a quiet and peaceful vacation in Alaska, one of the best cities to consider is Sitka. Situated on Baranof Island in the southeastern part of the state, Sitka offers a serene and idyllic setting, rich cultural heritage, and abundant natural beauty.

Sitka is surrounded by the majestic Tongass National Forest and the Pacific Ocean. The combination of lush forests, pristine waterways, and rugged coastlines creates a tranquil and picturesque atmosphere that’s perfect for relaxation and solitude.

The town is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. You can enjoy a variety of activities such as walking or hiking through verdant forests, kayaking along serene waterways, and exploring the many scenic trails in the area. The town is also renowned for its excellent fishing opportunities.

Sitka also has a fascinating cultural history as the former capital of Russian America. You can visit historical sites like the Russian Bishop’s House, St. Michael’s Cathedral, and the Sitka National Historical Park, which preserves the site of a Tlingit fort and totem poles.

Inexpensive things to do in Sitka, AK:

• Visit Sitka National Historic Park,
• Explore the Sitka Sound Science Center,
• Spend some time at the Sitka Raptor Center.

Why Take a Quiet Weekend?

Traveling focused on peace, quiet, and relaxation can have numerous benefits for your overall well-being and quality of life.

1. Vacations focused on peace and relaxation provide a much-needed break from the stresses and demands of everyday life.
2. Peaceful vacations allow for introspection, solitude, and a chance to disconnect from constant stimulation. This can promote mental and emotional well-being and provide a space for reflection, clarity, and rejuvenation.
3. Our bodies and minds need rest to function optimally. A vacation focused on relaxation allows you to prioritize rest, sleep, and self-care, which can contribute to improved energy levels, enhanced focus, and increased productivity when you return to your regular routine.
4. Many peaceful vacation destinations offer opportunities to immerse yourself in natural surroundings. Spending time in nature has been shown to have a positive impact on mental health, reducing anxiety, improving mood, and promoting a sense of calm and well-being.
5. Quiet vacations provide an excellent opportunity to spend quality time with family, friends, or loved ones.
6. A peaceful vacation allows you to engage in activities that bring you joy, explore new interests, practice mindfulness, or simply indulge in activities that promote relaxation and self-reflection.

Ultimately, a vacation focused on peace, quiet, and relaxation is an investment in your well-being. It provides an opportunity to restore balance, nurture your mental and emotional health, and come back to your daily life with a greater sense of calm and clarity.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Which destination resonates most with you in terms of relaxation? What are some ideas you have for a restful vacation? Would you prefer family, friends or a solo trip if you’re looking for a peaceful holiday?

Photo: @kylerichards18

Originally posted at: Kyle Richard’s Tropical Print Cardigan Sweater

Dorothy the Organizer is America’s most innovative professional organizer. She’s known to millions as the peerless, yet endearing problem solver on the Emmy-nominated TV show Hoarders.

She is also the best-selling author of several books, a highly sought-after national speaker, and much more. Dorothy is a dear friend who talks about the topic of how to organize your life around your values.

Take a Break

Guilt can be so strong for caregivers
that they can’t even fathom the idea of a vacation or taking a painting class.
How do you tell a loved one you need a time out, especially if they are
completely house-bound?

For Dorothy, that question was highly
personal. She moved her mom from Texas to about six blocks away from her home
while at the same time caregiving for her sister who since passed. Do the
following sound familiar?

• She gave up on her body. Suddenly, she gained 20 pounds.
• She was overloaded and over committed.
• She was deeply sad and cried a lot.
• She almost gave up on her career.
• And she gave up on her quest for joy, watching too much TV and isolating herself.

But Dorothy recognized a pattern from when she was 15. At that time, she was caring for her dad before he passed away and was behaving the same way toward her body, mind, and emotions. Dorothy broke the mold by first convincing herself that she deserved to have a time out.

You have to do that before you can diplomatically
and lovingly tell your loved ones.

Re-find/Refine Your Dreams

Dorothy says that we all deserve a joyous life. When we have that, we bring our positive energy to the people for whom we are caring.

When Dorothy was struggling, she
looked at her unfulfilled areas and turned all the negatives into questions
which required action. Then she could work toward finding the missing answers.

First she wanted to formulate the question that she needed to ask herself concerning her weight gain. What could she do to reverse it? It might be 10 push-ups or just a walk to the mailbox and back.

She then considered the next thing
that wasn’t working. She was overloaded and overwhelmed. She asked herself, “What
would I rather be doing right now?” When you ask that question in that moment,
it usually triggers something.

Maybe you saw something on TV, like a
vacation spot, or something inspired you, like watching a child painting. These
kinds of moments help you think through what it is you want to do. Maybe you do
need a vacation or maybe you should take that painting class.

Organizing life around her values helped Dorothy think about how she organized people’s stuff all the time. She says it’s what’s underneath the clutter not the clutter that matters.

She also stresses how important it is
to pile what’s out of whack on one side and put things you want to do on the
other. Then organize those values for a better life.

A 5-Point Value System

When you’re organizing your life
amongst mounds of stuff and you can’t quite whittle it down, keep the fives,
Dorothy says. She’d had a client whose husband had passed, and even after some
time the woman still had all of his suits in a closet.

Dorothy had told the widow to pick
the one suit that, in her opinion, was a five, the best. The woman had pointed
to one her husband had worn on their very first anniversary which had looked so
great on him.

You can only have one five, but you
can have a four as well. It has to be a four or better to keep.

Therapy Is Not Shameful

Dorothy was very forthcoming in admitting that in her quest to organize her values she set up a couple of sessions with a therapist she had seen a long time ago.

She also attended a co-dependents anonymous group. That’s a 12-step group just like Alcoholics Anonymous but for people who might be co-dependent with a family member and for those who are caregivers.

Find Common Things to Do with the One for Whom You Are Caring

Dorothy and her mom started going places and doing things that they both enjoyed. Scrabble, music, dance, afternoon coffee, sketching, writing poetry.

All of these activities with her mom
gave Dorothy an expressive creative outlet. She was enjoying herself. She
started sharing more of her personal goals with her mom so that her mom could
participate.

Build in those activities when you’re
both in a good mood to do it. This will help make the caregiving a lot
easier.

Follow the Progression

One of Dorothy’s clients was
overweight. She wanted to lose those pounds but didn’t know how. What she did
know was that she had a dream to ride horses but couldn’t see how to make it
happen. So, they started simply.

As a first step, Dorothy had her
client put a sticky note on her bathroom mirror that said, “I want to ride
horses.”

Next, the woman shared that dream with
her sister. While her sister was on vacation, she saw some notecards with
printed horses, so she sent a little note back to Dorothy’s client and said, “Good
luck with riding horses. I’m all in it for you.” 

Then the lady saw that a horse show
was coming to town. She told Dorothy, “Maybe I’ll start taking the stairs to
get some exercise so I can make it to the show.” It worked.

She made it to the show, and there she
saw a pair of gorgeous cowgirl boots which she bought. She started wearing the boots
and felt good about it.

For the next step, the lady started
parking further away when she went grocery shopping or to the library, and all those
activities helped her lose some weight.

Fast forward several months. The woman had signed up for an equestrian class where she met new people and socialized. She found out they were planning a trip to Costa Rica which included a singles horseback riding trip. Yep, she did that, too.

So, how is it that the woman’s goal turned
from a sticky note to signing up for a singles riding trip to Costa Rica?

Dorothy says that if you just take a
time out to ask yourself some of those key questions and take one small step
toward any of them, you will realize your dreams! You will organize your life
around your values!

Oh yeah, one more thing. Her client
met a certain someone on the riding trip, something that was not even on her
goal list!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What’s on your goal list? Do you live
your life around your values? What questions do you need to ask yourself so you
can get back on track? Please join the conversation below.

Ever noticed how one negative thought about something leads to another and another and another? Like not hearing your alarm and oversleeping. Right away, it starts. “Oh darn, I’m going to be late!” Then the onslaught begins: “I won’t have time for breakfast, much less any exercise, so there goes my fitness plan. I’ll miss the bus, or there will be so much traffic I’ll be even later yet. Did I put gas in the car? I bet I forgot. Oh, now I can’t get to the bank before work, and I’ll have no cash on me!” and the beat goes on.

Now this could be a meaningless rant, which you’ll get over as your day unfolds, but here’s the thing. Your brain takes you very seriously. When you allow yourself to indulge in negative thoughts on a repeated basis, your brain responds with something no one wants: cognitive decline – often with an increase in the kinds of proteins that lead to Alzheimer’s. No joy there.

Get Picky About What You Think

We are endlessly picky about the food we choose to eat, the clothes we wear and the movies we watch. And these are but a few of the aspects of our lives in which we are picky, picky, picky. Yet when it comes to our thoughts, which frankly regulate our physical, mental and emotional well-being, we are lackadaisical.

There’s hardly any choosing going on. We allow whatever random thought occurs to blossom in our minds, rather than recognize how very important it is to choose what we dwell on.

“But I can’t possibly monitor every thought that crosses my mind,” you say. Of course not. That would be impossible, if not to mention very annoying. Fortunately, it’s not the occasional thought that matters, it’s our repetitive thoughts. The thoughts we allow to grow and multiply when with just a little attention, we could easily shift our focus to a more constructive thought.

For example, you overslept. It’s not the end of the world. It is a reminder to maybe set your alarm farther away from you so you hear it a bit longer before turning it off. You may have to forego your usual breakfast and exercise routine in order not to be late to work, but you can probably grab a quick coffee and a snack on your way out the door.

The important thing is to switch your focus to what might work in this situation, rather than dwell on all the things that could possibly continue to go wrong.

Follow the Good Example

Take Louise Kobs, for example. She finally retired from her beloved job as a crossing guard at 91 years young. She’d helped generations of children cross the road safely for over 40 years, having joined New York’s Nassau County Police Department at 50. She had been a stay-at-home mom up until then.

Louise never missed a day of work. Now surely there were days when it rained, days when Louise felt achy, days when she might have preferred to stay home. But Louise didn’t let any of that dim her enthusiasm for her job. Day in, day out, for all those years, Louise found a way to dismiss any negative thoughts about what her day might be like to keep at it with such gusto for so long – and still be vital, healthy and happy at 91.

Let Louise be an inspiration to you. Don’t allow negative thoughts take over your thinking. This isn’t a suggestion to bury your head in the sand and pretend all is well if it isn’t. If there’s a problem to solve, solve it. If you need help with something, ask for it. But most importantly, move on from whatever the negative thought is as quickly as you can.

Just as I can imagine Louise saying to herself, “Raining? OK, that’s what a raincoat is for,” instead of “Raining? Oh, what a dreadful day this will be.” Having a hopeful and confident attitude is invariably better for your health, your brain and your overall happiness.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you have an example of how you didn’t let negative thoughts take over? When something negative happens to you, how do you typically react?

Photo: @LisaBarlow14

Originally posted at: Lisa Barlow’s Grey Flat Top Sunglasses and Bag