As we get into the heart of summer I’m starting to see lots
of pictures on Facebook of family vacations. Photos from tops of mountains and
beaches, The Grand Canyon and many more places. I enjoy the pictures. It lets
me travel vicariously a little. Of course, I’m also jealous because I’d love to
go, especially to The Grand Canyon.
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| Me (right) & photo bombers at Disney |
It also made me think of the family vacations I took as a
child. My parents, my older brother and me. We usually took the same vacation
every year. I guess my parents were homing pigeons because we never went
anywhere new. We’d packed into the family station wagon (who else had one???)
and drive the two days from Reston, Virginia to Florida. We’d see my
grandparents, my aunt/uncle and cousins. The trip always included a stop at Disney
World, and then a week in Daytona Beach. We always stayed at the same hotel on
the beach, too. I remember it had a statue of a horse out front. At night we’d
go to Wendy’s and get a Frosty. (I know it’s silly, but I still can’t eat a
Frosty without thinking about Daytona Beach.)
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| Daytona Beach, circa 1977 |
Those vacations are some of my best memories. Precious times
that seem so long ago, but also just yesterday. One of those cousins we used to
go visit every summer was down in Florida with her children this past week from
Atlanta. The kids are teenagers now or close to it. I wanted to tell the older
ones especially to treasure the time. In a couple years they’ll start going off
to college, and they will never experience anything like the old family
vacation again.
So where did your family go on vacation? What are your favorite memories?
Kristin Wallace writes inspirational romance and women’s fiction filled with “love, laughter and a leap of faith”. She is the author of the Covington Falls Chronicles, romances set in a quirky Southern town with a character all its own. The third installment, IMAGINE THAT, released on July 1. You can visit her at Kristin Wallace Author
We never did big holidays as such growing up but my own best holiday ever was 1998 at RWA Anaheim. My first and only time in the USA. Am hopeful of New York next year... you never know....
ReplyDeleteOur family summer vacations always consisted of a two-day drive from Arizona to Oklahoma to visit family. Wonderful memories of playing with my cousins and chasing fireflies (which we don't have in Arizona). We stayed for a couple of weeks and came home to anticipate next year's trip.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, we often went to Rapid City, SD, where we visited my grandparents. Mt. Rushmore was always on the list of things to see.
ReplyDeleteWe never made the family trips since the family always came to us. I have fond memories of my relatives from the north coming to visit. Each summer, like clockwork, they'd come. A great-uncle would come by train. We lived near the tracks so we'd watch the trains to see if we could see him. We never could. :) My mom's baby sister, my aunt, and her family were the constants. They'd come for two weeks each summer. After my aunt died, her daughter took up the mantle. She, her husband and their daughter would come down every summer and she would stay with me the same way her mom used to stay with my mom. Now my cousin has moved south and she makes yearly treks to visit those northern relatives. Life phases are something. It's been a while since I've thought about those times. Thanks, Kristin, for bringing the memories to surface.
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