Affordable summer luxuries: With travel costs steep, consider these tips to enjoy staying at home

NEW YORK -- When I've written about summer travel in years past, I've recommended spas and inexpensive vacations in French-speaking locales. Those are still good ideas, but this year, given the state of the economy and steep gas prices, it makes more sense to stay close to home.

Here are some fun new experiences you can get your family excited about, and invite a few friends to join in, too. They'll give you plenty to do this summer, and none will require a trip to a gas station, let alone an airport.

Extremely local agriculture

Back to basics, a smaller carbon footprint, healthier food, greater awareness and appreciation of where it all comes from -- all these trends are evident as food costs rise. So maybe it's time to turn your backyard (or someone else's, or some public space you have access to) into a little farm of your own.

I'm not talking about cows, pigs, and rows of corn.

Instead, let's talk about heirloom tomatoes, squash, and assorted herbs that will make your meals taste better. Really good things, and for the most part easy to grow. Homegrown tomatoes may be one way to avoid the current salmonella outbreak, as well.

I have a friend who grew a single squash plant that almost took over her front yard. She had squash whenever she wanted it. Makes for a nice potluck or party gift, too. And herbs? Try the hardy rosemary, oregano or sage. You won't need a tractor or nasty chemicals, and you don't even have to get your hands dirty very often.

Gourmet pizza night

I was surprised to find out how easy it is to make pizza. Just get a pizza stone, make the dough, put stuff on it, and voila.
A bread machine makes a handy dough-maker. You can buy most of the ingredients, such as mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, pizza sauce, and some toppings at your grocer. But what's really fun is to put on the pizza stuff you grow yourself - the tomatoes and herbs noted above -- or ingredients you buy at the local farmer's market.

At your party, experiment with different combinations of toppings, and have everyone dream up one of their own. Eat them as they come out of the oven, and while you're making the next one.

Create your own mixed drinks

Ever watch kids mix sodas to create a rare concoction of their own? Frankly, they taste awful. But the kid's smiling sense of accomplishment carries the day.
So here's the idea: Do your own grown-up mixed drink. It doesn't have to involve liquor. Just get some sodas, juices, orange and blue Curacao, grenadine, bitters, and a favorite toddy or two if you want. The fun part is naming it, maybe using a local theme. Is this how Long Island Iced Teas came to be?

If you're fresh out of ideas, check out the self-proclaimed "ultimate cocktail recipe resource" at Mixed-Drinks.info.

Get a burger

It's kind of hard to come up with a silver lining to today's food prices. But here's one: Restaurants, struggling with costs and tepid consumer demand, are taking the creative path. They're making more with less.

Of course, part of the allure of burgers is they cost less. Another part of the allure is finding the place with the most interesting burger -- you might find a new restaurant in the process. I was taken by the "Napa Wagyu Burger," with red onion jam, aged Gouda, black pepper mayo and rosemary fries, at the Napa & Co. restaurant in Stamford, Conn. Your search may turn you on to a new nearby restaurant, as well.

Or you can do this at home, too. New recipes are showing up daily, like Chef Paul Gayler's set of five recipes recently published on iVillage. See the article.

Whether or not you call it a "staycation," what you can do around the house for fun just might surprise you - and make for a memorable summer.

Peter Sander contributed to this article.