Vacations have got to be of the most wonderful things on the planet. My parents are travelers, and lucky for me and my siblings, sometimes we got to go with.

A few vacation highlights for me would be the cross-country drive we took when I was 9-years-old all the way out to Southern California from North Dakota, picking up more relatives along the way in my Grandpa’s RV. Unfortunately, the RV didn’t make it all the way there and he ended up having to buy a van somewhere in Kansas.

We stopped at the Four Corners, saw the Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Park. I have two cousins pretty close to the same age as me, and this was one of the trips that we really had a lot of time together to bond.

I also have fond memories of driving to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming with just my immediate family when I was even younger. The mountain pass was scary during the wintertime for a little tyke, but I remember seeing all sorts of wildlife looking out the windows and hoping to see a moose.

Ironically enough, moose have moved into the area near our farm and I now see them on a regular basis. But when I went to Yellowstone I had never saw one before, and I did not on that trip, so my parents bought a little toy moose for us instead.

My 2-year-old nephew, Derek, still plays with that toy moose (now with a broken antler) in the basement at the farm. And although my mom probably doesn’t know it, seeing that moose reminds me of the first family trip that I have a lot of vivid memories of, and those are all good memories.

I’ve also had a few of those classic and wonderful beach vacations. I have been taken on a cruise leaving from Los Angeles heading down the coast of Mexico. Cruise ships have amazing food, by the way. I have also, on two separate occasions, been lucky enough to spend a week at all-inclusive resorts in Cancun, Mexico (one of which I was above the legal drinking age for Mexico and got to wear an adult colored wrist band!). Heaven.

Some of my favorite vacation stories are from more nontraditional types of vacations. Things that some people may not consider vacations, but I do. After all, it’s more about the mindset than the destination or reason for being there.

For example, the band from the University of Jamestown went on tour in Europe for a few weeks just after graduation last spring. I have a friend who is not in band, but went with anyway. His sister is in the band, his parents were going as chaperons and his brother is married to the band director. So he had several “ins,” you could say. But nonetheless, he tagged along with no responsibilities besides he was supposed to be there whenever the band performed. And he had a blast being a tourist in Scotland, Ireland, and wherever else they went.

Also, at the end of last summer, a group of us drove out to Missoula, Montana for a wedding. It wasn’t a very long trip, we left Thursday and came home on Monday. But it was a group of friends spending a bunch of time together, and that was great. So maybe it wasn’t exactly a “vacation” by some people’s definitions. But to us, it sure as heck was a vacation.

But, as you know, traveling cost a little bit of money. And you’re a college student. Old enough where your parents probably aren’t taking you anywhere awesome anymore. And even if, part of you would rather take a trip with your friends who are your own age. But you spend too much money going out for supper and drinks or online shopping (or just don’t have the money to begin with. I know me too). You would love to take a week-long trip somewhere with a bunch of your friends, but it’s just not in the budget. And even if you could muster enough cash for a mini weekend trip somewhere not too far away you just really do not want to spend any money right now.

I’ve felt like that. Part of my problem is that I am about as cheap as your 80-year-old grandpa who’s driven the same old Buick Century since long before you were born. Regardless of the reason, I have wanted a big vacation to somewhere tropical very badly but been unable to take one. Sadly, I had to skip spring break last year, and it haunts me. However, I did find a way to have my own “staycation.” College freshmen, here is my advice to you. Plan out your college career so you can take the minimum (or even less) number of credits in your final semester. That way what you really did is enroll in a few credits of vacation. My math is a little rusty since I’m taking only 11 credits but by my logic here is my schedule this semester

Normal student: 18 credits

Me: 11 credits + 7 credits vacation = 18 credits

I think you can now see why my math is a little rusty. I am a college senior in my final semester who is taking just 11 credits, none higher than 200 level. In hindsight I would say that is by far the best decision that I have made in my four years of college.

I wore a Hawaiian shirt to class on first day of class and do you know why? Because vacation, that’s why! I have enough free time to say yes to basically every social opportunity. It is still going to cost me a little, but probably not as much as a big trip to the beach or even a road trip somewhere. Plus, instead of going with a handful of friends, I get to be around all of the friends I have made in college, and that’s pretty neat.

I can spend Monday with my roommates. Tuesday night with some other friends. Wednesday night with another friend. Thursday with a bunch of people at a local barfor college night. Friday, I can go out with whoever else wants to go out. Saturday night with my football roommates and everybody else on campus. And on Sunday, I rest.

Let’s be real, it’s college. If you try hard enough, you can find one friend to go out with you on a Monday. Or, in my case for this semester, if they want to go out on a Monday, they know who to call. The point is I get to have an extended staycation in which I get to spend time with a ton of my friends and maybe even meet some new ones. And until the day it ends I’m going to have as much fun as I possibly can with ALL of my friends. So it might not be a sandy, sun soaked beach, but for the next few months it’s my beach. And you can bet my toes are in the imaginary water and there might just be a real Corona and lime in my hand, even on a Tuesday.

To see what my #UJvacay2k16 was like on #team11credits, go check out my tweets from earlier this fall @AHaugen86 on Twitter. And don’t forget, any time is a good time to #HaugenFarms