Caroline Miller wanted a break. Nothing fancy or expensive—just a night away from her three young kids that she could spend with other moms drinking wine, gorging on junk food and relaxing in the pool at a local hotel.
So the Rockville mom and scientist created an online invitation for Mom’s Day Off—a Friday-night stay at a local hotel that would commence at 6 and end by noon Saturday—and emailed it to friends and co-workers. The staycation itinerary promised lots of time to relax and asked participants to bring snacks in assigned colors just for fun. Think Ruffles potato chips, Jolly Rancher Hard Candy and Rice Krispies Treats, all of which come in blue packaging, or items in purple such as BBQ-flavored Pringles and grape Nerds candy.
Three other women signed up, and the group headed off in mid-August to share a room at the Cambria Hotel Rockville. “I wanted something that had a pool, and it had to be affordable—and it was really affordable,” Miller says. The room was around $140, she says, so split four ways the bill came to about $30 each.
Feeling stressed and overwhelmed? Think about taking a staycation like Miller did—a quick getaway without actually going away to recharge from the demands of daily life. While men are just as capable of escaping to a local hotel suite and hanging up the “Do Not Disturb” sign, the concept seems to be a particular draw for women.
“It’s a wonderful idea for women to find time for themselves, whether it’s leaving the house or whether it is closing the door” to just be alone, says family and sibling therapist Karen Gail Lewis, who has an office in Silver Spring. That’s a message that women, especially mothers, need to hear, she says.
“It has to be the women feeling, It’s OK to say ‘I need time for myself.’ And so many women in our society have not received a societal message that they’re still a good mother if they say, ‘I need time for myself,’ ” Lewis says.
She notes that scheduling a staycation may not be an option for all because “not everyone can afford to head to a hotel or afford to find somebody to stay with the kids if they’re single parents or the husband is busy traveling.”
For those who can, the options are unlimited, with websites and blogs suggesting outings like spending a day at a local winery or going glamping for everyone from stay-at-home moms to busy entrepreneurs. Low- or no-cost ideas include hiking and picnicking in a local park or finding a quiet spot to unplug.
Miller, 33, says her group spent the evening swimming in the hotel pool, eating takeout and snacks, doing their nails, and watching TV before heading to bed. Conversation among the women—some of whom had just met—flowed from work to child care to the best products for nails. “It’s nice to just know everyone’s daily [routine], what they do every day,” Miller says. “Three of us are in science, so three of us were talking about science, and then one of us is not in science, so she was telling us about what she does in her job.”
The next morning, some slept in and others headed back to the pool. The group gathered for lunch before going home.
For Stacy Farrar, a night at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco Baltimore Inner Harbor proved to be just what she needed after coaching the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School girls track team at a meet north of the city on Memorial Day weekend
in 2019. Farrar didn’t want to drive home to Silver Spring after a long day and then drive back to the meet the next day.
After checking in, she ate dinner in the hotel restaurant and then walked around the Inner Harbor. “I just sort of felt the liveliness of the harbor, but I didn’t need to talk to anybody or teach anybody or entertain. It was just fun to be there,” says Farrar, who’s in her 50s and now teaches yoga at Springbrook High School in Silver Spring.
Up early the next morning, she borrowed a bike from the hotel, rode around the city and stopped at a local spot for breakfast before heading back to the meet. More than four years later, she still recalls how much she enjoyed the short break. “Instead of being in my car, being home exhausted and fixing myself something to eat, I had this great little adventure,” Farrar says.
Carol Lin, a Rockville mom with three young kids, says she was looking for some time alone when she used her hotel rewards to book an overnight stay at the Bethesda Marriott in the fall of 2022.
“When your children are very young, it is difficult for parents to take care of themselves and have alone time. In particular, it’s hard to get away to somewhere far away, and it’s hard to be away from your kids for a long time,” says Lin, 45, a medical officer with the Food and Drug Administration. “So that’s kind of why I like these staycation-type of things. You want to do something that’s, like, logistically easy for yourself and for your family.”
Before heading to the hotel, Lin got a massage and a pedicure at local spas and enjoyed a long, leisurely lunch while scrolling on her phone without interruption. After checking in, she spent 90 minutes in the hotel gym, using the treadmill and doing stretching exercises. “Then after that, I took a really long shower and slathered skin care products all over myself,” says Lin, whose husband later joined her for dinner at the hotel but did not stay the night.
“I did feel rejuvenated,” Lin says of her overnight stay. “It was a nice respite, even if it was just for one day. I was very happy.”
This story appears in the March/April issue of Bethesda Magazine.