Well, I can't hope to be as witty or fun as Ginger, but she graciously gave me the opportunity to blog on her spot while she vacations. Ah, the glory of vacationing and spending time with family and friends.
I love getting ready for a big trip. The planning, the packing, the anticipation. But - once you arrive, there's this immediate sense of let down. I've learned over the years not to get my hopes up too high. Even with visiting family, there's always this initial awkwardness of what to discuss and how to act. Any relationship requires time to feel comfortable. Even one with close relatives.
And then there are those BIG trips, the ones you pay lots of moolah for. Once there, you feel as if you have to do and see EVERYTHING just to get your money's worth. I got to go to Paris this summer for about 7 days. Way too much fun, but now that I've been home a month or more, it feels as if it were all a dream. It happened so fast and we did so much, I never really "absorbed" being there. Bummer that. I have pictures to prove I was there, but my memories are already hazy.
Well, enough rambling. I'm hoping Ginger is having a marvelous time. What are your feelings on vacations and trips spent with family. Fun or torture?
Dishin' It Out: Weblog of Connie Vines, who resides deep within the suburbs of SoCal.
I love vacations with family and some friends. We have to be really compatible, though. I went to a conference once with a casual friend and she did not want to do any of the sightseeing that I wanted to. That was a bummer. But I love traveling with family. Did a road trip with my daughter and her family last summer that spanned three week and it was wonderful. Not a grump or groan from anyone. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Ciara. Yeah, I'm supposed to be guest blogging, too. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI love going on trips. I did a ten day trip of London, and Normandy area of France, plus Paris. That was a whirlwind, too. But it was fun. I went with my eldest daughter and people from her school.
In 2006, during the Atlanta conference, I went on a 3 week vacation on my own. I drove to Atlanta, did the confernce, then drove to WV and stayed a week with a good friend there. We'd lived in Charleston for 6 years, so did some catching up on the area. Then I drove back to Houston via Cincinnati, Oh. I was gone nearly 3weeks and put on 3,500 miles on my rental car. It was great.
~Anna Kathryn Lanier
I've had 2 memorable vacations with my family in the past four years. The first, I was pg with my last child, and my dad drove us to White Rock, BC Canada, to meet my new nephew. Enjoyed 5 days of sight-seeing and bonding with the little guy:) On the way home, we spent 3 days in Yellowstone; 1 day in Cody, WY, and of course, we HAD to spend a day at the Cabella's store in Sydney, Nebraska.
ReplyDeleteThe second occured a year later. We took the kids to Disney World, and I literally looked at my parents after the 3rd day and said, "Okay, who are you and what have you done with my parents?" These strange people, who dragged my sis and I all over the park in 100+ temps, and insisted we stay all day, let my whiny teens go back to the hotel after going on only 2 rides at MGM 'because we're hot and want to go to the pool!' I feel bad; we did not get our money's worth from that vacation. And when I told my sis about it, we decided that when our youngest ones are old enough, we will leave Mom, Dad, and the teenagers behind and show the young ones how to properly do Disney:)
I love travelling too, but DH travels for his job so his idea of Vacation is staying at home. Whaaa. I'll travel with you Maryann. LOL.
ReplyDeleteAnna Kathryn, you and I will have to compare notes and pictures. We ventured into Normandy a little but not as much as I would have liked and yes, we did it all much too quickly. Hard to "soak in" the Paris experience when you're trying to cram in so much.
Molly, I loved Disney. We've been twice but you need to go during off times so you don't wait in line. I hate lines. I'm sorry you didn't get to experience it fully, but yes, do go back and leave the whiny ones at home. *grin*