Dan and I realize that our vacations have pretty much been limited to visiting family over the past years. This isn't bad, but we're ready to branch out a little and try a new adventure. Actually PLAN something.
Vacations fall in several categories:
There are the educational vacations. You know the ones. Visiting Gettysburg, for instance, and reading plaques about dead people. My history buff friends get a big kick out of large swaths of turf and reading material. Good for you. Me? Not so much.
There are the vacations that make you long for home. I call these vacations "camping". (Put your two cents in ANYTIME, Marc.) These are the vacations that require more work than, say, planning to feed a third world country. The latter, I suggest, may even be more fun. That being said, however, I fully intend Morgan to try camping and I may even accompany her on one occasion. In the name of parenting.
There are the vacations that remind you of Eden, a really refreshing time. Any vacation that takes place at a resort or the beach falls in this category. Lake beaches are very nice, but ocean beaches are the best. Sorry, that's just the way it is.
Growing up with 5 kiddos, my folks often had us spend time at my Aunt Dot's beach condo or go camping. There were a few vacations where we spent time going to Plymouth Rock (educational) but for the most part, we didn't emphasize leaving home a lot. Perhaps because it was so much work. haha. My parents did a great job.
Here are my top ten vacation memories:
1. The beach, the beach, the beach.
-Love walking in the sand by the ocean. Love the salty air. Love seafood.
-Putting on a wet bathing suit with sand in the crotch after getting sunburn.
-Playing frisbee with Dad and my sibs on the sand during dusk, getting hot and then diving into the pool
- Diving for our light sticks at the bottom of the pool
2. I remember Mom and Dad taking Noel and I to Plymouth Rock and up the east coast. That was fun, but not for the reasons they think.
- I saw my first drunk person... cool
- We ate at a fancy restaurant. In shorts. We felt very grown up.
- We saw the Statue of Liberty from the road (bridge?) upon which we were driving.
- We had time with Mom and Dad by ourself.
- I got $5 from my great-grandmother to spend and it nearly burnt a hole in my pocket. I bought a stuffed animal.
3. Okay, okay... there were SOME cool camping moments:
- S'mores. Mmmmm.
- Riding our bikes to the recreational centers to see wildlife and the occasional Scooby Doo movie.
- Boating with my Dad. Catching fish. Catching crabs.
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I'd love to hear about your family vacations.
4 comments:
We didn't really ever do small/annual family vacations. My parents would save up and every 2-3 years do something big - Disney World was common, trips to DC (which I have to say I LOVED as a kid, but I was also a geek - still am), fall color tours along the East Coast, etc. I have some great memories of those trips and can't wait to start doing more of them with our kids!
Emmers,
I think I'm gonna post about our family vacation...'cause we did the same one every year - Ocean City, and I have such GREAT memories of it. I agree...the beach RULES, and it is the most relaxing!
Oh....Sanibel. I have never seen so many beer bottles on one table in all of my life.
We never took family vacations... in Cuba it was impossible because of the political unrest, and then as immigrants we couldn't afford them. So John made up for all that by showing us girls what family vacations are all about! Lake Placid of course has always been my favorite... we liked the hiking and the girls loved the shopping in the village of Lake Placid. The girls also LOVED the weekend road trips to Western Maryland, Shennandoah NP, and Catoctin Mts where we picnicked on huge rocks in the middle of the river. As a parent, it feels great to see the girls carry that on now and to hear them talk about their memories.
I was lucky enough to travel with my parents, being the only kid and all. I remember alternating exotic vacations with simple camping trips (That there is an RV, clark!) and vacations at home (take a look at Chicago through the eyes of a tourist). I remember snippets of every one of them, but overall I remember feeling lucky to have seen the world. My favorite was Paris with my grandparents (their first and only honeymoon at age 60!), but unfortunately, I remember the bathrooms! (A hole in the floor with two footprints!) I think we even took a photo of it. I am going to try to bring that experience to our child as well. I just hope he appreciates it as much as I do!
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