Vacationing When You’re Broke

Like most young adults, we have student loan debt that is as high as a mortgage. So obviously we aren’t going to go on a vacation to Maui anytime soon. On the other hand, every so often it’s good to get away for a while. So where do you go when you’re in our shoes?

Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Vacation hotspot.

Okay, so I know it sounds silly, but seriously Sioux Falls is actually a nice place to spend a weekend when you just don’t want to be at home. For folks not native to the great state of South Dakota, Sioux Falls is the largest city in the state, located just south of the middle of the eastern border of the state. It has the added advantage of not being too expensive to visit, since we could get a nice hotel room for under $90 for the night. And for small town folks like us, it was fun to do things that we can’t really do in our hometown.

We got in Friday morning and spent the day poking around the stores in town. We stopped in at the mall and a smattering of sporting goods stores. The best stop was Gary’s Gun Shop on 41st Street, where we poked around looking at a new shotgun for Carolyn and were able to shoot a fully automatic Glock 18 (under the watch of a firearm range professional, of course).

The highlight of the night was the picnic we had at Falls Park, the namesake for the city. Carolyn had made a delightful supper the night before, an Italian meal with a pressed sandwich, vinaigrette macaroni salad, and a basil-based appetizer. You would have to ask her what all was in it, all I could tell you is that is was crazy delicious and I ate copious quantities of it.

And we took pictures, because hey, that’s what Carolyn does.

The next day, we stopped at Hagel’s Western Wear to look at getting new work boots, since ours are currently held together with manure flecks and duct tape. If you need a new pair of boots, I’d highly recommend this store–great service, good selection, and fair prices. They also sell tack, so if you need a new saddle I’d check them out as well.

The best part of the trip was our last stop, the whole reason why I was as giddy as a teenage girl with a Gap gift card to go to Sioux Falls. We went to Wild Water West, a waterpark just outside of town to the west. It has a bunch of water slides, a wave pool, and a lazy river with a freakin’ swim up bar! You can float down the river on a tube sipping on your favorite chilled beverage, listening to the tunes on the speaker. Now that’s life.

Of course, it was 78 F and windy, so not the greatest weather for a waterpark. Good thing South Dakotans have ice running through their veins.

I can’t say we’d move up there (because it’s hard to move to a town 100 times the size of Tyndall and we are NOT city folks), but it’s fun to visit Sioux Falls. It was the perfect spot for a low-stress vacation that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. And there’s a good chance we’ll head there next time!

-Jake

Photo credit: http://mix97-3.com/7-most-popular-places-to-take-a-first-date-in-sioux-falls/