After a resent family vacation, I was reflecting on how our family vacations have evolved. I became a Mrs. twenty seven years ago and started making family vacation memories with my husband. Not counting our Honeymoon we took our first vacation a few months into our marriage. We wanted to go to Australia and being short on money and cheep decided to go Air Force Space "A" or HOP. With just the two of us who needed a plan. Getting to Hawaii was easy and late every afternoon Glenn would call all the different bases to find an empty room for the night. It was big on adventure on short on plans. After several attempts to get a flight to Australia we gave up and just took the next plane we could (Japan). This is still one of my favorite vacations. It was a huge leap out of my comfort zone. We road trains and subways having to come up with creative ways to find our stop since the signs were all Japanese writing not letters we could read. We ordered food from pictures and prayed it was cooked not raw. One time we ended up with enough food for 6 people. What a great start to filling pages in our Family Vacation memory book.
When our first son was about 3 months old I found a special at a Marriott in Charleston SC. Yes, we needed a romantic weekend get away. LOL I didn't realize that an infant and romantic don't mix. Our little bundle of joy started crying as we arrived at a nice seafood restaurant. Our dinner was a success due to a grandmother who asked if she could walk the baby while we ate. Thank God she was good at catching and not a kidnapper since I launched our little son at her. Later at the Marriott there was a lot of screaming (hold on this is rated "G") it was our baby. Finally around 5am we gave up and packed up our romantic weekend and went home. :(
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| Beach in Hawaii |
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| Chincoteague wild ponies |
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Our next attempt was a few months later, now our child is a toddler. I spent all day getting ready so we could leave as soon as Glenn got off work. We head back to Charleston but camping this time. We finally arrive at our campsite around 9 pm all is quiet except us and our excited toddler. Once again after no sleep and a very awake little boy we pack up and go home. I would have loved to here what the campers next to us had to say. They probably thought it was a nightmare since they never saw us come or go.
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| Durango Colo |
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| Not to happy Indians |
Our family became 5 and since there were more of them than us we finally got smart and took a more kid friendly approach. State parks, Disneyland, amusement parks, zoos, lakes, beaches and family visits became our vacation spots. Thanks to Nintendo (Game Boy) one for each, our car ride was more pleasant. I would wrap small games, toys, puzzles and snacks to open when boredom set in. We usually camped so they could expel energy running around and yelling without disturbing anyone else. We made some great Family Vacation memories.
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| Yellowstone |
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| Lake of The Ozarks |
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Now our sons are married so I have daughters on vacation. It's nice not being the only one who needs more than 2 pairs of shoes. We can do girl things like paint nails and change our clothes several times a day. We don't have to do everything as a group but can do our own thing also. It is definitely easier to relax now.
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| Nail drying dance |
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| Bethany Beach |
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I look forward to the next chapter in Family Vacations with little ones back in the picture. But this time I get to have all the fun with them and my kids get to do all the work. Life is Good!
