Nothing like a good day trip.

Road trips are fun, even short ones. Sometimes, going to the next big city is enough to satisfy the travel bug. Sometimes, what lies over the next hill or around the next bend is interesting.

Huge epic trips are the thing that many of us dream of, but you have to have the time and the money to do that. Small adventures add up. They can add variety to life and serve as a great way to build skills and prepare for those epic travels. I have to admit that I have been bored at home. If you are in a rut at home, the solution might not be an epic trip, just a change of scenery. Think about this, if you are in a rut at home, you might just be in a rut while traveling. Nothing is as bad as doing the same thing and feeling the same way as being at home while you are paying money to go somewhere.

So it’s the little adventures that really add up—even the adventures right out of your door. I’m a fan of short getaways. Given how much things cost and how little time we all seem to have, short trips are an easy answer. Like I said, get out of your rut first before you commit to a big adventure.

Even if you are making a day out of it, short trips to the next city can also be great ways to practice good traveling for longer trips. One day at a time. Leave your house like you are going on a day trip. Pack what you need, and dress for the weather. Have a plan of where you want to go. Spend the day away from the house. Act like your home is a hotel, and avoid coming back until late in the day. Keep options open. Have a list of places to see and places to eat. But just like traveling, don’t expect to get it all done or have too rigid of a schedule. This is an adventure, not a competition.

There are a few things you can learn from this that will prepare you to spend a day trip in a faraway locale. First is planning, and second is packing. It gets you used to being away from the house, which is most people’s comfort zone. And let’s be honest, most of us are homebodies.

So give it a try. Plan a day trip from your house and see where it takes you.