"Staycation"

It's been no secret, I've been working like a dog recently. Between pulling significant time at my day job and working at Massive Report, I've been pulling a lot of hours.

That's why this Independence Day weekend I decided to make a change. I took some vacation in addition to the long weekend.

Typically, I make a trip to some destination that preferably has a beach but many of my friends have families or have taken vacations this year. Thus, I opted to take the path less traveled.

The "Staycation."

Unfamiliar with the term? Well a stay-cation is defined as spending time at home and taking day trips to local attractions.

Not really so much that, but I spent a lot of time doing things that I REALLY needed to do. Let me take you on a journey of my stay-cation.

Friday

This was a day that I used purely as a relaxation day. I accomplished absolutely nothing. I woke up late and had some coffee and wasn't really in much of a rush to accomplish anything.

Confession: I became a bit bored.

However, I did make a trip to my parents to spend some much needed family time and I took my Dad out to dinner.

This has been something that has been lacking for sometime given my busy schedule.

Saturday

Much like Friday; Saturday began without much fanfare either. If I must make another confession, I got up at 8am watched Netflix and then went back to bed.

God Bless America.

Then it came time to head to MAPFRE Stadium. I executed all of my pre-game duties and went down to field level to get some footage of the team before being joined by my boss.

He was giving me a run down of the proper procedure on how to do a few things and coaching me up a bit. Sometimes journalists need a pregame pep-talk before a big game.

Things unfortunately didn't go Crew SC's way on Saturday night, but you have that in professional sports. They would learn and grow from the loss.

Sunday

I promised my Dad that I would come over and spend time with him since my mother is out of town. The FIFA Confederations Cup Final was to take place that day between Germany and Chile.

As a family of German heritage it just made sense to watch the game.

An interesting story about my father, prior to me becoming a writer, he didn't have much love for the sport of soccer. Somewhere along the line he had a metamorphosis and he found it palatable.

My dad has always been super supportive. If I like something he usually takes a great interest in it, and allows me to explain the intricacies of what is going on.

Following the visit with my Dad I made my way to Columbus Eagles training. The Eagles made a big trip to St.Louis so only a few players attended the practice. Thus, I was thrust into the practice and into 3v3s.

If there is one thing that team is good at doing, it's kicking my ass. Practice ended with a thrilling PK shootout. One team won and one team lost.

I just can't remember who.

Monday

This was a day that I had long been excited about. I would be taking on the sport of FootGolf. I joined my friend Chris who I hadn't seen in quite sometime. We were looking to try the first FootGolf course in our area but it was closed!

So we made our way North to the par 3 course that also holds golf simultaneously.

The whole experience was quite unique. Imagine any golf course that you have ever set foot on.

OK?

Now, imagine golfers and soccer players interacting on the same playing surface and that's FootGolf. It was quite an odd sensation when my friend and I played through to pass a group of six golfers. A very unique sports moment.

Tuesday

Like most Americans the Fourth of July was a special one to me. I got to spend it with the ones I love. What more can anyone ask for?

Now we will skip on because frankly nothing interesting happened.

Saturday

This was the day where the meat and potatoes would of my vacation would occur.

Once I woke up, I made sure to get a quick workout in and then I began to work for a couple of hours on a few articles I was writing for Massive Report.

I got in a zone and continued writing for about three hours. This wasn't a good thing. I had to leave for Cincinnati soon to cover a Columbus Eagles game!

I hustled to get ready and I made my way south to Cincinnati, Ohio. Once I arrived at the venue, I was greeted by the players and coaches of the team who were very hospitable as always.

One player expressed appreciation of me making the trip. I love that team and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for them.

The Eagles tied in the dying moments of the game so it was satisfying and building some momentum going into the match on Sunday.

Sunday

Another day of travel was upon me but this time I brought a co-pilot. I picked up my mother and she joined me in Cleveland as I once again would cover the Eagles on back-to-back days.

She packed snacks and refreshments for the trip and at the risk of sounding like a total "momma's boy" it was really awesome to have her along.

We got the opportunity to visit some family as well. It was lovely to see them and catch up a bit. Honestly, I wish we could see them a lot more because I really enjoy their company.

Then it was game time.

The Eagles once again put together a great effort but came up a bit short.

Weirdly, that's okay though. The game didn't have an implications on their playoff hopes and didn't effect their record.

Many players were able to gain valuable reps as they prepare for their season finale.

Conclusion

I had a wonderful vacation and it was great to take some time away from everything. Albeit, I still worked but it was nice to have a lighter workload.

Have you ever taken a "staycation?"

What did you do for fun?

Let me know! I would love to talk about it with you!