Vacation Memories

 Share Our Lives 2025 is a monthly link-up to share aspects of our daily lives with each other. This month we've been asked to share about our best vacation memory. I hope it's okay if I share more than one, because I have a really hard time choosing just one favorite in any category, and sometimes struggle to narrow down to top three or top five. I also don't have a lot of time, and since I did a WQ post about Memorable Vacations a few months back, I'm going to borrow from that post for the memories to share here.

Another reason it's hard to pick just one memorable vacation is that we have four kids and something we did to make high school graduation special for each of them was to allow the grad to choose a vacation destination. Each kid got to choose a family vacation destination for the summer following their graduation. There were definitely some budget and other restrictions! It was fun to see where their dreams and interests took us! Harrison took us all to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Cedar Point. Spencer wanted to visit my family in Alberta and we took the opportunity to add a few days at Glacier National Park. (That was technically an autumn vacation, but memorable nonetheless!) Landon wanted to go back to Cedar Point, and also attend baseball games, so we saw games in Columbus, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Toronto. Kennady requested visits to conservatories so we went to Franklin Conservatory in Columbus, the Phipps in Pittsburgh, and made day trips to Longwood Gardns, the Botanical Gardens in DC and the conservatory in Baltimore. (See the posts The Summer of Landon and Homeschool Highlights - The Week With Conservatories over on Homeschool Coffee Break for more about those last two trips)

 

Not that long ago we happened to discuss vacation memories with our kids, all grown now, and some of their favorite memories from family vacations. Although we've taken them to Disney World several times, and they have great memories of those trips, Disney was not the first and favorite memory for them. That did surprise me a little. I think they all mentioned a vacation to Florida that didn't include Disney, but did include St Augustine, Daytona Beach, Miami, the Everglades, and the Keys. Once again, technically an autumn trip, and the days we were in the Daytona Beach area were definitely out of season! The hotel pool was closed and it was pretty brisk out on the beach, but on the plus side, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. Some of their favorite vacation memories were from that trip. 

Another set of fun memories is from the Florida vacation we did with Kennady in September, as she starting her senior year. It was off season for Disney, so it was less crowded and expensive, but still very summery! And bonus - it was just late enough to be pre-season for the NHL so we got to see a game in Tampa. 

I've often wished we could have gone on cruises or taken our kids to Europe or the Caribbean. I wish I could have gone on cruises or visited Europe! When our family was young, we didn't have the budget or the time to go on the big ticket trips we dreamed about, and now that we are empty nesters, we don't have time and money to go on jetsetting vacations as well as visit family . . . and we tend to choose family. Our family vacations may not have been to exotic locations, or even off the continent, but I think we did a pretty good job of making good vacation memories. And maybe someday soon I'll get to go on one of the cruises on my wishlist and make more vacation memories.

Build traditions of family vacations and trips and outings. These memories will never be forgotten by your children. ~Ezra Taft Benson

This post is adapted from an earlier article, WQ - Memorable Vacations, which first appeared on A Fresh Cup of Coffee in May 2025

This post will be linked up with the Share Our Lives 2025 Link-up hosted by Adrienne, Dara, Jen, Joanne, and Sarah.

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