On the Road
May 14th 2010 02:12
Every once in a while, the wanderlust hits me pretty hard. Especially these days, when I'm cooped up at home quite a bit. When I was a kid, we took vacations every summer. I wrote a little bit about this in my post about how great DVD players in the car are. We went to most of the states in the U.S., through quite a bit of Canada on these trips.
I don't know how my parents did it. I have two brothers, and we fought all the time. Especially when we were cooped up in the camper for hours on end. Still, every summer we saddled up and headed out to various national parks and tourist attractions. Vacation for us was the best time of year-we kids usually asked to sleep in the camper the night before we were supposed to leave so we could get going as early as possible. Even just crossing state lines was cool.
It was probably rough on our parents when we got bored, but we went anyway. We had fun, we complained, we took every road that wasn't on the map in a time before GPS. And we turned my dad off Disney World forever. Seriously. He frequently swears that he would never, ever take kids back there again.
I can not WAIT to take my kids on vacation. I'm sure when we're actually on vacation there will be times that I wish we hadn't gone. And I'm sure that some of the places we go will bore the socks off of my kids. But I'm also sure that they'll become some of my kids' most treasured childhood memories.
If you want to show your kids some of our beautiful country, here's some places we went as kids that I remember as being pretty awesome:
Mammoth Cave National Park
This was our first big family vacation. It's a really cool place. Kind of scary at the same time!
Yellowstone National Park
This one has to be on any vacation list. It's our country's first national park, and one of the most beautiful. Still, expect a big backup on the roads whenever anyone spots and kind of animal. Really. Anything. Marmots even. And a little tip-DO NOT GET NEAR THE ANIMALS! There's a video they show all over the park of a guy getting tossed up in a tree by an angry bison, and yet parents constantly put their kids next to bison and moose to take pictures of them. They're called wild animals for a reason, folks.
Denali National Park
If you're willing to go all the way to Alaska, this one is a can't-miss. We saw more bears there in a few days than on most of our other vacations combined.
Jackson Hole/Grand Tetons
Jackson Hole is pretty touristy now, but the country around it and the Tetons are gorgeous.
Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park
Another combination of a tourist town and an awesome park.
Grand Canyon National Park
Awesome. Need I say more? Don't just stand on the rim-go down in the canyon. Hike all the way across if you can. Takes about three days if you keep up a moderate pace. It's hot, but it's spectacular.
Disney World
Yes, my dad swore off it. But I must admit, I (and kids everywhere) love this place!
And finally, the tourist trap of all tourist traps-Wall Drug. They have the best advertising strategy in the world...anyone who has driven down Interstate 90 in South Dakota knows what I'm talking about. Wall Drug has billboards every few miles throughout about a bajillion miles of highway. By the time you get to the town of Wall, it is impossible not to turn off and stop. It's the tourist equivalent of a black hole.
These are only a few suggestions out of hundreds. Another day, I'll write some more. For now, happy trails!
I don't know how my parents did it. I have two brothers, and we fought all the time. Especially when we were cooped up in the camper for hours on end. Still, every summer we saddled up and headed out to various national parks and tourist attractions. Vacation for us was the best time of year-we kids usually asked to sleep in the camper the night before we were supposed to leave so we could get going as early as possible. Even just crossing state lines was cool.
It was probably rough on our parents when we got bored, but we went anyway. We had fun, we complained, we took every road that wasn't on the map in a time before GPS. And we turned my dad off Disney World forever. Seriously. He frequently swears that he would never, ever take kids back there again.
I can not WAIT to take my kids on vacation. I'm sure when we're actually on vacation there will be times that I wish we hadn't gone. And I'm sure that some of the places we go will bore the socks off of my kids. But I'm also sure that they'll become some of my kids' most treasured childhood memories.
If you want to show your kids some of our beautiful country, here's some places we went as kids that I remember as being pretty awesome:
Mammoth Cave National Park
This was our first big family vacation. It's a really cool place. Kind of scary at the same time!
Yellowstone National Park
This one has to be on any vacation list. It's our country's first national park, and one of the most beautiful. Still, expect a big backup on the roads whenever anyone spots and kind of animal. Really. Anything. Marmots even. And a little tip-DO NOT GET NEAR THE ANIMALS! There's a video they show all over the park of a guy getting tossed up in a tree by an angry bison, and yet parents constantly put their kids next to bison and moose to take pictures of them. They're called wild animals for a reason, folks.
Denali National Park
If you're willing to go all the way to Alaska, this one is a can't-miss. We saw more bears there in a few days than on most of our other vacations combined.
Jackson Hole/Grand Tetons
Jackson Hole is pretty touristy now, but the country around it and the Tetons are gorgeous.
Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park
Another combination of a tourist town and an awesome park.
Grand Canyon National Park
Awesome. Need I say more? Don't just stand on the rim-go down in the canyon. Hike all the way across if you can. Takes about three days if you keep up a moderate pace. It's hot, but it's spectacular.
Disney World
Yes, my dad swore off it. But I must admit, I (and kids everywhere) love this place!
And finally, the tourist trap of all tourist traps-Wall Drug. They have the best advertising strategy in the world...anyone who has driven down Interstate 90 in South Dakota knows what I'm talking about. Wall Drug has billboards every few miles throughout about a bajillion miles of highway. By the time you get to the town of Wall, it is impossible not to turn off and stop. It's the tourist equivalent of a black hole.
These are only a few suggestions out of hundreds. Another day, I'll write some more. For now, happy trails!
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