Vacations

The last week of May was always a very favorite time of year.  School was out!   The weather was warming up, we planted the garden, and almost every year we prepared for a family vacation.   The family vacation varied from year to year, but almost without fail we would pack up the car with our suitcases and a box of easy to prepare food, and leave the farm in the capable hands of Grandpa and some cousin or local young man to help with the milking.   It would be several weeks before the hay would be ready to cut and haul, so we had time for some family recreation.

Most years our trips would be to visit various relatives who lived a day or two's car ride from our home.   It was a tight fit to get all eight of us in our four door sedan, and yes there was always a bit of bickering amongst the kids.   We would read books, sing songs, and play the typical car games such as seeing how many different states license plates we could spy, or the ABC game:  who could find a word beginning with every letter of the alphabet from road signs and billboards along the side of the road.  Sometimes we would rent a motel room or a cabin along the way, and we would almost always visit national parks and monuments or places of historical interest along the way.   One year we stayed at the lake several hours north of our home,  and one year we traveled to Yellowstone National Park.  One year we visited Zions and Bryce Canyons, another year we visited the World's Fair in Spokane, Washington, and another time we visited relatives in California and made the drive along the California coast.  Some years we stayed close to home, pitched our tent in the nearby mountains, and spent the days hiking.   No, we never visited Disneyland or went on a cruise, or traveled to Hawaii or Europe, but the family vacation was always a highlight of the summer, if not the entire year.

What are your favorite vacation memories?

1974 World's Fair, Spokane, Washington

Grand Coulee Dam

 Camping 1975

Camping 1973

Hiking 1973