July 12, 2007 8:37 PM
Anyone going on vacation this summer?
Dear Barbara,Thank you for your writing. About a year and a half ago you wrote about a family vacation at the beach. I loved the idea so my husband and I rented a beach house on Balboa Island (California) during the week of July 4th, 2006. We had such a great time that we planned and did it again this year. We are undecided if we will go back to the beach next year or if we will go somewhere else but we have begun a list of possible vacation spots. Our kids have been talking about the beach and our vacation all year. Now they have started to think about other places to have fun and explore. Our youngest will be 4 next summer which will make a different vacation possible. This year it was nice to be able to give her CHEERIOS AND MILK for dinner. I will try so send pictures when I get the pictures downloaded from the camera.
Please encourage other families to take a vacation together and make family memories.
Jane Duquette
I am truly amazed somehow at the ways in which my words have impacted readers and their families. Here is something I never would have imagined! Thanks, Jane, for letting me know this. Maybe there are other families who need to think about vacations.
Vacations are a wonderful time of resting, refueling, and refreshing relationships. Tripp and I have been married now for almost 25 years and hearing our kids talk of the memories they have of family vacations is priceless.
Not that we took them every year. There were some years when we flat out did not have the money. Especially when Tripp was building his business, sometimes we just couldn't get away.
But let me tell you in hindsight, one of our regrets is not making vacation a must-have every year. It is just that important.
On the years we didn't have the money or couldn't get away, Tripp would take extra time off from work to do a few days of special things close to home - trips to the beach, sightseeing, etc.
Renting the house at the beach in 2005 was definitely the best. We take our kids out of school and go in September when the prices are lower but the weather is nice - actually I think better than summer because I don't like hot that much and the beach is not crowded.
Don't the kids look happy and stress-free? I was too.
Unfortunately, we didn't go last year (couldn't afford it and Sophia couldn't miss school). Big mistake. Our kids still talk about it like it was one of the biggest highlights of their lives. This year we've reserved a house (different one, but just as close to the beach) and we are going for sure.
When we lived in California, some summers we we went for week we've also gone for weeks at Mt. Hermon, which is a Christian family camp. In the mornings they have speakers for the adults while the kids go to kid activities (which they loved!). Then in the afternoon, fun together, maybe a few structured family activities (trip to the beach, train ride, crafts if you wanted to sign up for them), or just free time for hiking, swimming, hanging out. After dinner another adult get together and then family stuff. The wonderful thing was the freedom the kids had to just roam around a safe environment. We would stay in a little cabin and the dining hall served all the meals family style - great food brought to your table and when you're finished eating, you get up and leave. What a blessing not to have that responsibility for a week.
If I sound like an ad for Mt. Hermon, it's because it truly is a wonderful, wonderful family experience and I recommend it to anyone who lives close enough to get there without airfare. I know the kids really wish we could go back. I think there are other Christian family camps like Mt. Hermon out there, so you all - especially with little kids - might think about that for a good relaxing vacation. It was so perfect for taking the pressure off the parents- no worries about cooking or finding the next meal, some scheduled time for the two of us - so we could all enjoy ourselves.
Oh, and Mt. Hermon has a special homeschool week in August.
We have also done things like rented a house in Yosemite National Park. Before Tripp started having so much trouble with his knees, he took the boys every summer for at least four days at the Yuba River to camp.
Anyway, I never would have thought to give a pep talk on vacations, but since Jane brought it up. . . .
How about you? What's your vacation history like? If you haven't been making a practice of it, can you feel the wheels turning? If you are planning vacation this summer, where are you going?
Comments
This year vacation is out for us, because we are saving for the adoption, but I would SO love to rent a cottage by the beach. That is my idea of the ideal vacation. The kids playing in the sand, mom and dad reading books or swimming....ahhhh...sounds delightful!
Posted by: Janet | July 13, 2007 12:37 AM
I am an American, but have been living in the UK for the past 8 years. I'm always surprised at the cultural differences regarding vacations (or holidays as they are called over here). I know of very few people over here who would even consider going without a holiday each year, preferably a two week holiday abroad. We took our 15 month old dd to the northwest coast of Scotland for a week last November, and it was such a special time for our family. We now have two precious little girls and I'm so looking forward to the happy memories we will build going away for special events like that as a family. It can be tricky for us financially trying to visit my family back in the States and wanting some vacations just for us, but we are determined to make the effort. We plan to invest in a good tent so that we can get away without the expense of renting a house most years. :)
Posted by: Lauren | July 13, 2007 8:04 AM
Barbara,
As a child, we did not take family vacations. I knew none of this. We were shipped off to relatives for a week or so (this was NOT the highlight of my summer; imagine spending a week in a tarpaper shack with 4 cousins, 3 of whom wet the bed, the other a male, and having to share the bed with one of them; imagine being fed bread cereal (old crusty bread put into a bowl with milk and sugar) - NOT what a kid wants to do). But we did not, as a family, ever "go away" and visit places unknown.
My husband, however, had a much different experience. From the time he was about 3, his family took extended vacation. Long leisurely drives from point A to point B, with stops along the way, learning about history as they went. This was what he knew. His last "family" vacation was when he was 20. His father let him drive for a good part of the trip home from Florida (to Pittsburgh, PA). This was the first and only time he got to drive his father on vacation - his father was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after and died less than a year later.
My husband has been determined to continue this tradition with our family, and to me, it's been quite a blessing. It's a new thing for me, and I so enjoy the sharing of his knowledge AND his memories.
We rented a house at Marco Island, FL for a week. We were close to the beach, but also had a private pool. Everything but food was provided, and the price was cheaper than a week in a hotel room.
We spent several days on the Normandy coast in France, amazed at what took place so many years before. We stayed in a hotel at the foot of the Bavarian Alps, drove through the most beautiful of sceneries. We spent a long weekend in London; this trip still sticks in my daughter's mind and she reminds us constantly of it.
I have to agree with Jane. A family vacation is SO important. My husband's fondest memories of his father generally include these vacation. I'm blessed to have found a man who loves family time!
Posted by: Linda | July 13, 2007 9:27 AM
Add me to the endorsement for mt hermon. our family spent time there every year for 15 years through our former church's family camp. it is an amazing place. the kids (and husband) all attended science camp and i have gone the last two years for women's retreats as well.
great post about the importance of family vacations.
Posted by: laura | July 14, 2007 6:33 PM
funny you should have this post now. we just got home from a week at the beach with all of my dads family. All the aunts and uncles, children and their children go to Bethany Beach. we rent a few different houses but for beach time we all are together (my uncle goes and sets up all the stuff at 6 am!) and for dinner we all get together at the "big house". there are 40-50 of us, depending on the day you take count. it is wonderful and all but three of the spouses come and enjoy it. before anyone in the family gets married they come to the beach with us to check out what they are getting in to.
Posted by: janet | July 14, 2007 11:45 PM
HI BARBARA,
Today is day 1 of a week on the beach, our first family vacation in 8 years...i mean non--ministry attached vacationing. We have always taken a couple weeks in the summer when my husband would teach at some Bible camp and the kids would be part of a program, and I would plug in somewhere since I'm a background, support-type personality.
But today, I am typing overlooking beautiful white Florida sand and crashing waves. My kids will join their cousins at a waterpark nearby and my husband and I will have most of the day alone. I am a bit apprehensive at the thought of relaxing. Which tells me this should have been done long ago!
I also have 1 week under my belt of dieting. Using an appetite suppressant. Is that cheating? I'm desperate, and it is an amazing thing to look at food and not be interested in it, which is what the suppressant has accomplished. While traveling, this is my choice. I am planning to hit Fat Flush upon returning from vacation(the vitamins, concentrated cranberry juice, etc. are waiting for me at home).
Posted by: floorplan | July 29, 2007 10:29 AM
