 |
Me in the center, and my classmate Ginger who also went, on the
far right, just before driving to Susquehanna University to depart
on our big trip.
|
In 1995 my cousin Jane called to ask if I'd like to travel with her to England. She said she was tired of traveling alone and I said I definitely wanted to go. We did a group 'walk' in central England for a week and since then I've tried to go on a trip every year if possible. Even when I don't have any money, I still have a 'trip' planned.
Thanks to my parents I have been a traveler since I was very little. When I was born we lived in St. Louis, a long drive away from my Dad's home town in Massachusetts and my Mother's on Eastern Long Island. We made the big move to Maryland when I was five months old, but still, a nine and six hour drive respectfully to my parents' home towns. When I was just two we traveled to the World's Fair in Montreal, Canada. My parents invited my cousin Jane along too! Our first trip together.
Before she married my Dad, my Mom was a flight attendant for Ozark Airlines. She used to say she couldn't imagine not ever going somewhere. My Dad had been on the military travel plan, having been stationed in Germany while in the Army.
When I was three years old my Dad got an opportunity to work in England. He and my Mom jumped at the chance to live overseas. My sister was born in February that year and in June we were on our way. We spent three months living in Chester, right on the river Dee followed by another
three months living in Edinburgh, Scotland. While we were there we also managed to take a trip over to Germany for a week.
All of our trips are not big overseas trips either. My Dad was the sole bread winner at our house and my Mom worked in the home. It's expensive trying to take a family of five on a big trip. We took regular day and long weekend trips though and my parents made sure we spent a week at the beach each summer.
My Mom was very good at combining some historical and educational visits with trips to amusement parks. A trip to Jefferson's house or the home of James Madison might be coupled with a day at Busch Gardens or Kings Dominion. Those were some of our most fun trips. We were touring James Madison's house when my then four year old brother loudly broke in with "When is our vacation starting?!" My sister and I shared his sentiments but were old enough to just keep our mouths shut.
When I was twelve my Dad was spending a lot of time traveling to Seattle for work. He and my Mom decided to take advantage of this situation and we all flew to Seattle for three weeks on one of his trips. My Dad worked for two of those weeks and then the last week was our vacation and we drove all over the place. We had been going places on the weekends too and my Mom would take us to downtown Seattle during the week too. My sister and I loved hanging out in the hotel pool as well. I was old enough to babysit my younger brother so on a few evenings my parents took themselves out to dinner. Living with your three kids for three weeks in a one bedroom studio apartment/hotel room can make it so you probably want to get away from your children for dinner a lot.
On our drives around the state of Washington we loved playing the alphabet game because there were signs for places like Sequim and Q's are very hard to find on the East Coast! We drove to the Pacific Ocean, we played in a water fall and tried to swim in a lake that based on the temperature of the water had been ice until just before we arrived.
Growing up my family has spent a lot of time in Washington, DC and Baltimore. We're always signing up to go and do and see something. From tickets to the White House at Christmas time to the National Aquarium, we are very good at taking advantage of what's offered right in our own backyard. I look forward to these day trips as much as the longer trips when I have to get on an airplane.
I'm an Aunt with two nephews I'm very close to. I knew when they were little I wanted to be able to take each of them on a trip with me somewhere when they got old enough. I didn't know what I'd be able to afford, but I knew I wanted to do something with them. They're very lucky, they have parents who love to travel as well. As they were growing up though, rather than buy them a thing for birthdays and Christmas, my presents were always something for us to do. When my oldest nephew was four I took him skiing for a day as his Christmas present. He lived in Jacksonville, Florida at the time so this was kind of a big deal. He spent the night at my house the day after the holiday and then we drove to one of the local resorts in Pennsylvania. We had a great day together.
I asked my oldest nephew what he wanted for his birthday one year and he said he wanted the two of us to spend the day in Washington DC. We took the metro downtown and visited the spy museum and then had lunch. We walked around afterwards and checked out China Town which was something he'd been hoping to check out too.
My Mom and I also took my oldest nephew on a genealogy trip to Eastern Long Island where he met cousins he'd never met before and was a good sport walking around grave yards for me. We made sure to swim in the bay and the sound and even the ocean on that trip. Staying at a relative's house for a night he even got to use their pool. I think he had a pretty good time.
My sister and her family live in New Jersey and so more than once I've taken my two nephews on the bus to spend the day in New York City. We've spent time at the Lego store and Ripley's and the big Toys R Us as well as Central Park and other hot spots in the city. One year both my sister and I took her boys to New York City to do all of our Christmas shopping but it was mostly a sightseeing trip for all of us. We did manage to buy a gift or two.
For his 13th birthday and his Christmas present as well that year, my older nephew and I went on a road trip in California over his spring break. We had a fantastic time driving from San Francisco down to San Diego and doing something different every day. Two years later it was his younger brother Oliver's turn and he and I went on a Caribbean cruise. 13 was the perfect age to take each of them on a trip. They were old enough to really appreciate where we were and wanted to do all the fun stuff and still young enough to hang out with their Aunt Karin for a week. I feel lucky to have been able to take them on such great trips. I hope when they get older they travel just as much as they have growing up and take their families places.
There have been years when I don't have the money to take a big trip. I can afford to go on the family beach vacation, but I'm not hopping on a plane to far off locales. In those times, I take myself someplace locally or even to my own backyard. I might make plans with friends to meet up in Annapolis for the day, or Baltimore. My Mom and Dad volunteer at the Aquarium and I can always spend an afternoon there and then roaming around Baltimore. There's also stuff within walking distance or even biking distance. Blandair hasn't been developed on my side of the city yet and I look forward to hiking on the trails in there with my dog. It's quiet and when I'm in there I rarely see another soul. It's a lot like hiking in England and every season brings new sights and sounds.
I can also hop in my car and visit my sister and swim in the lakes behind her house. My sister and her family have done me the great favor of living next to an ocean, a ski resort and mountain lake and finally lakes so that every visit with them is not just a family get together but a great vacation spot as well. We walk and ride bikes and in warm weather these days we swim. Southern New Jersey is not the same as Northern Idaho, but I have enjoyed them both.
The point of all this is while staying at home has its merits, no one should miss the opportunity of walking out their door and going some place. How many people took a 'vacation' at Merriweather Post Pavilion this weekend to enjoy Jazz Fest? Facebook is populated with a lot of check-ins from my friends who are there and they're having a lot of fun. I love planning to go somewhere and then going there and then coming home and recalling how much fun I had going wherever I went. While I've been writing this post I've been searching for pictures to share that show some of the places I've been. Here I am telling you to travel while I relive many of the trips I've taken and remember how much fun I had on each one. It's been hard deciding which pictures to use because there are a lot of them.
If you do one thing this year make sure you go someplace even if it's just a walk in a different neighborhood.
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| My cousin Jane, Mom and Me at the 1967 World's Fair |
Before she married my Dad, my Mom was a flight attendant for Ozark Airlines. She used to say she couldn't imagine not ever going somewhere. My Dad had been on the military travel plan, having been stationed in Germany while in the Army.
When I was three years old my Dad got an opportunity to work in England. He and my Mom jumped at the chance to live overseas. My sister was born in February that year and in June we were on our way. We spent three months living in Chester, right on the river Dee followed by another
 |
| Mom, Me and Diane in the stroller at the castle in Edinburgh, Scotland |
All of our trips are not big overseas trips either. My Dad was the sole bread winner at our house and my Mom worked in the home. It's expensive trying to take a family of five on a big trip. We took regular day and long weekend trips though and my parents made sure we spent a week at the beach each summer.
My Mom was very good at combining some historical and educational visits with trips to amusement parks. A trip to Jefferson's house or the home of James Madison might be coupled with a day at Busch Gardens or Kings Dominion. Those were some of our most fun trips. We were touring James Madison's house when my then four year old brother loudly broke in with "When is our vacation starting?!" My sister and I shared his sentiments but were old enough to just keep our mouths shut.
 |
| Dad holding my younger brother Pat on a visit to Mt. Rainier |
On our drives around the state of Washington we loved playing the alphabet game because there were signs for places like Sequim and Q's are very hard to find on the East Coast! We drove to the Pacific Ocean, we played in a water fall and tried to swim in a lake that based on the temperature of the water had been ice until just before we arrived.
Growing up my family has spent a lot of time in Washington, DC and Baltimore. We're always signing up to go and do and see something. From tickets to the White House at Christmas time to the National Aquarium, we are very good at taking advantage of what's offered right in our own backyard. I look forward to these day trips as much as the longer trips when I have to get on an airplane.
I'm an Aunt with two nephews I'm very close to. I knew when they were little I wanted to be able to take each of them on a trip with me somewhere when they got old enough. I didn't know what I'd be able to afford, but I knew I wanted to do something with them. They're very lucky, they have parents who love to travel as well. As they were growing up though, rather than buy them a thing for birthdays and Christmas, my presents were always something for us to do. When my oldest nephew was four I took him skiing for a day as his Christmas present. He lived in Jacksonville, Florida at the time so this was kind of a big deal. He spent the night at my house the day after the holiday and then we drove to one of the local resorts in Pennsylvania. We had a great day together.
I asked my oldest nephew what he wanted for his birthday one year and he said he wanted the two of us to spend the day in Washington DC. We took the metro downtown and visited the spy museum and then had lunch. We walked around afterwards and checked out China Town which was something he'd been hoping to check out too.
 |
| My nephew Austin with our cousin George and Mom at the Good Ground cemetery in Southampton |
My sister and her family live in New Jersey and so more than once I've taken my two nephews on the bus to spend the day in New York City. We've spent time at the Lego store and Ripley's and the big Toys R Us as well as Central Park and other hot spots in the city. One year both my sister and I took her boys to New York City to do all of our Christmas shopping but it was mostly a sightseeing trip for all of us. We did manage to buy a gift or two.
For his 13th birthday and his Christmas present as well that year, my older nephew and I went on a road trip in California over his spring break. We had a fantastic time driving from San Francisco down to San Diego and doing something different every day. Two years later it was his younger brother Oliver's turn and he and I went on a Caribbean cruise. 13 was the perfect age to take each of them on a trip. They were old enough to really appreciate where we were and wanted to do all the fun stuff and still young enough to hang out with their Aunt Karin for a week. I feel lucky to have been able to take them on such great trips. I hope when they get older they travel just as much as they have growing up and take their families places.
There have been years when I don't have the money to take a big trip. I can afford to go on the family beach vacation, but I'm not hopping on a plane to far off locales. In those times, I take myself someplace locally or even to my own backyard. I might make plans with friends to meet up in Annapolis for the day, or Baltimore. My Mom and Dad volunteer at the Aquarium and I can always spend an afternoon there and then roaming around Baltimore. There's also stuff within walking distance or even biking distance. Blandair hasn't been developed on my side of the city yet and I look forward to hiking on the trails in there with my dog. It's quiet and when I'm in there I rarely see another soul. It's a lot like hiking in England and every season brings new sights and sounds.
 |
| Skiing with my younger nephew Oliver at Schweitzer in Idaho |
The point of all this is while staying at home has its merits, no one should miss the opportunity of walking out their door and going some place. How many people took a 'vacation' at Merriweather Post Pavilion this weekend to enjoy Jazz Fest? Facebook is populated with a lot of check-ins from my friends who are there and they're having a lot of fun. I love planning to go somewhere and then going there and then coming home and recalling how much fun I had going wherever I went. While I've been writing this post I've been searching for pictures to share that show some of the places I've been. Here I am telling you to travel while I relive many of the trips I've taken and remember how much fun I had on each one. It's been hard deciding which pictures to use because there are a lot of them.
If you do one thing this year make sure you go someplace even if it's just a walk in a different neighborhood.
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