A Pessimist’s Advice for Bad Weather Vacation Ideas: New Smyrna Beach Vlog
No matter what you might think, things can always get worse. Especially when mother nature deals you a bad weather vacation.
For example…
During your Florida vacation that is plagued by rainy and freezing cold weather, you can develop the flu and at the same time have a bad allergic reaction to a sand fly bite that makes you think your foot is going to fall off and you have to go to the ER immediately.
I’m not making this stuff up. I showed the bite to family 2 days later and they were terrified. I still have my foot, by the way.
Before we left for our trip, I set my mind to focus on the positive because the forecast for our “warm” vacation was looking pretty depressing. I even said to my husband the night before we left, “No matter what, let’s try and be super positive about this trip.” That mantra was tested to the max the entire time we were on vacation.
No matter the time of year, mother nature could decide to throw a wrench in your plans. Especially if they’re heavily revolving around the outdoors. This pessimist is here to share how our family got through 5 days of rain and cold during our Florida beach vacation without losing our minds (or killing each other).
If we were able to stay positive and entertained, you can too!
6 Ideas for Surviving Bad Weather Vacations without Going Insane
Go antiquing/thrifting
We’ve been to Florida many times and every time I’ve wanted to go thrifting but haven’t. The weather was just too nice to spend cooped up indoors. I got my wish (10x over) during our last trip.
No matter the size of the town you’re in, I guarantee there’s at least an antique shop within a 10 mile radius. Bonus points if there’s a thrift store! Thrifting (or antiquing) in a location unlike your hometown is fascinating. Each area of the country (or world, for that matter) has finds that you would never see back home. Take home a few incredibly unique souvenirs you would never find in a souvenir shop 🙂
Yelp (or Google) unique restaurant spots
This is something we normally would do anyways, but knowing that we could still get out and about for dinners despite the downpour and crazy winds helped cure the “beach house fever”. Is that even a thing? Well, it was when we were on vacation! 😉
If you don’t know what Yelp is, color me surprised. Yelp is a great way to discover local favorites and hole-in-the-wall spots that you might otherwise overlook. Although reviewers have gotten a bit “snooty” over the years (in my opinion), it’s still a great resource. Plus, we always compare Google reviews to double check.
Research local indoor attractions and museums
We didn’t plan on driving to Orlando while we were in Florida, but since it wasn’t too far we welcomed the opportunity to check out some of their indoor attractions that we normally wouldn’t when the weather is nice.
You might not have a “touristy” city near you like Orlando on your vacation, but plenty of smaller cities have unique museums and attractions that you normally wouldn’t check out if the weather was nicer. Embrace the opportunity to learn about your vacation spot in a way that nice weather might not encourage.
Buy a puzzle/board games
Luckily our beach house had a supply of puzzles and games for us to stay entertained while being cooped up. I rarely take the time to sit down and play a board game or do a puzzle, so when weather forced all of us into entertaining ourselves indoors it wasn’t so bad.
If your accommodations don’t have games or puzzles to rent, pick some up during your thrift store visit!
Go geocaching
You might have heard me gush about how awesome geocaching is in previous posts. Take a quick look at the forecast in your area to make sure it’s not going to downpour while you’re out.
We enjoyed checking out some incredibly unique spots on a windy and overcast Florida day. We even found a grave site in the middle of the road. You’ll have to see it in my video below, it’s truly surprising.
Take a covered excursion
We knew from the get-go that we were going to take a dolphin river cruise during our vacation. What we didn’t know was that it would end up being on a 50 degree night with only fellow crazy Minnesotans (and New Yorkers) aboard lol Luckily the boat was covered!
Do some research and check if there are any excursions in your vacation spot that could be enjoyed rain or shine. If you can’t spend your time on the beach, you might as well be exploring other areas, right?
Well there you have it, 6 tips from a pessimist on overcoming crappy weather on a vacation. Don’t just take my word for it, check out the fun (and crazy weather!) in parts 2 & 3 of our New Smyrna Beach Vlog!
New Smyrna Beach Vlog Part 2:
…and if you missed it, check out the first post and vlog from our New Smyrna Beach vacation.
