My Wonderful Childhood Vacations

Vacationing every year during my childhood was something I took for granted and didn’t fully appreciated until my adult years. Let me say Thank You to my parents for making this possible and giving me some wonderful memories I will cherish forever.

Every year we had a special group of friends that we would vacation with. Our parents met our traveling buddies through a Social Club associated with the school we attended and another were a mix of friends that lived in our neighborhood.

One of our favorite outings was the beach and the boardwalk. Enjoying the beach with my family and other close friends was a real treat for my brother and me. When we were younger being with close friends that had kids our age was a blast. We all would stay at the same hotel, go to the boardwalk to play games and eat all day long. Swimming in the ocean with my brother and mom was so fun.  We would body surf, wait for that big wave and just go with it. Although, my Dad was not much for water, he still enjoyed himself too.

Another favorite vacation was a camp located in the US forest about two hours from my home. Each family had a rustic cabin with no running water and barely any electricity, this was called roughing it by our parents. We had three square meals a day that was serviced in the dining hall, we went on hikes, horseback riding, played softball and volleyball with our parents and just enjoyed nature.

Later, when my brother and I were older, our vacations were more involved and included just a few special friends. We hiked the Half Dome in Yosemite, drove to the Oregon Redwoods,  went to Disneyland and the biggest trip of all…..was British Columbia.  We drove to Seattle, caught the ferry boat to Victoria then Vancouver and all the sites in between. It was an adventure for all of us and something I will remember forever. Thanks, Mom & Dad…

When I became a parent, I also wanted to vacation with my two kids yearly but it just didn’t happen. Being a single parent, working to provide, doesn’t leave much money for a vacation.  But I don’t feel my kids were impoverished by any stretch of the imagination, we just did more things in our neck of the woods and my children also had playmates and best friends that went along with us.

Most of our excursions were one day ventures but we still explored and had fun.  What we did more of was camping. Something I didn’t experience with my folks. But the kids and I loved it and we still to this day tell our stories  of bears, deer and possums.  

Although, I loved my vacations with my parents growing up, I also had a fun time with my kids. Now that they are older adults, they are traveling the world and making their own experiences.