Who said you need to spend a lot of money and travel far away on vacation? Sometimes it might be just as nice to stay at home and explore your surroundings. Everyday life is often too hectic to accommodate for home town sightseeing or other adventures. And isn’t it true that the traveling thing is something we grow ups need more than our children? Their universe is small, and (depending on the age of course) sometimes just a trip to the store to buy ice cream can be an adventure in itself.
My husband and I decided to spend the last weeks of the summer at home. Yes, we are very privileged to live in a house with a garden close to the beach. But we are also privileged to live in Oslo (still my favorite city) which is both close to the sea, the forest and the mountains (2-3 hours, everything is relative). For a while we had been talking about camping on an island in the Oslo fjord, but never had the time to do so until now. We picked a large island (Håøya) where the ferry runs daily. Just an hour away from the city centre you already feel like in a different world. The kids were blown away by the boat ride, and arriving on the island we found a perfect spot for our tent by the water. In short, the rest of the day (and the following) was spent throwing rocks in the water(the kids’ favorite past time activity) and occasionally swimming, catching crabs, eating and just hanging out. I think this was the best part. Just hanging out. The four of us together. No outside stress. And being outdoors the whole day was soothing for the soul too of course.
It was just that one night, but it still felt like we had been gone for a long time. Although holiday at home is nice, we all need a change of scenery once in a while. Just remember that the next adventure can be outside your doorstep, and not necessarily a plane ride away.
Ice cream on the front porch after a trip to the local store
Building sand castles is on top of the list!
Dinner at our local beach restaurant
I don’t care if it’s a bit cold!
Lunch on the beach, happy family
A garden and some water and the kids are in heaven
Our nice camping spot at Håøya
More rasberry jam!
Hanging out and having fun
Throwing rocks with dad, does it get better than this???
The sun is rising, and who said the tent needs to be tidy?
Coffee and oat meal for breakfast, perfect morning
Heading down to the water to throw some rocks after breakfast
Hanging out
Anniken Binz 
Thanks for this cool reminder! 😀 Spain is such a beautiful and diverse country too, so many different places to visit: from impressive mountains to sandy never-ending beaches and everything in between, and yet, we kind of always feel that unless we cross the borders it is not a “real” holiday.
Oh! and your kids are simply gorgeous!! Such a beautiful family!! 🙂
Hi, Spain is for sure a place full of many possibilities:-) Your imagination sets the limits:-)
Wow….really nice pictures and so do tell a nice time ! Your family is very beautiful, always happy to see good happy families ! Thanks so much for sharing. Nice post.
Thank you:-)