February 8, 2010

People are just itching to get out of town.

Some are finding they can with some last-minute travel plans, and others are getting a taste of summer right here in Virginia.

Many in Charlottesville are thinking, "If the snow doesn't go, then I'm going to go."

"People are really getting a chance to think, 'Hey we're getting tired of this, this is not normal Charlottesville weather, so let's just get out of town and go on a trip,'" travel consultant Stephen McIninch said.

McIninch works for Globe Travel in Charlottesville. He said he's had clients book a cruise last week, and they're leaving next week.

"There's deals that don't normally happen because there's that last-minute availability that is available," he said.

Here are some deals. A four-day trip to a resort in Cancun runs $365. Or, take a Western Caribbean cruise for five nights at $347.

If you don't have the vacation time, Massanutten Indoor Water Park is just over the mountain. It's always 84 degrees in the water park, and it could be just what you need to get away from the cold weather.

You don't have to be a member to use Crow Indoor Pool in Charlottesville.

"Right now, we have a bunch of teenagers in here doing a workout on their own," aquatics manager Bob Manners said. "We have seniors who come in and do workouts on their own."

It's $4 if you live in the city limits and $8 if you don't. Manners said people use it as an alternative to exercising outside.

"It seems like with the economy the way it is, people just love to come swimming," he said. "And it's a cheap way of entertaining themselves."

It's a way to escape the cold weather a little closer than the Caribbean.