Are you leaving town this weekend? Going on a road trip with the family?

I keep hearing news reports about the holiday weekend travelers "sucking it up" and dealing with the high cost of fuel as they head out for their family road trips this holiday weekend.

I am not. I'm staying put! With a 5.3 liter V8 in my Yukon XL, it just doesn't make sense to me to take a long road trip, considering today's fuel costs.

Instead, we're going on vacation this weekend...in our own hometown!

My wife and I have agreed to be tourists in our own hometown of Greenville, SC this weekend. We're going downtown for a nice dinner tonight and we're going to the baseball game tomorrow night and we've got various things planned for the day tomorrow.

The key is to force yourself to go out and explore and do something you have not yet done in your own hometown. If you were a tourist in your town, what would you more than likely do? Visit a museum? A park? A theater? A popular restaurant downtown? Take in a sports event? Give yourself permission to be one of those "corny" tourists in your own hometown.

If you do this, here is what will probably happen:

• You'll enjoy yourself locally, while saving money on gas.
• You'll discover and enjoy new things that you've never done before.
• You'll meet some new people (real estate leads?)
• You'll experience new things and places that you really should be able to speak about, with first hand experience, to clients who are moving to your town for the first time.
• You'll be supporting your local merchants and the local economy (more real estate leads?)
• You'll have a refreshed appreciation for the wonderful quality of life that your hometown offers!

Give yourself permission to be a tourist in your hometown this holiday weekend, and save some money on gas while you're at it!

Enjoy!