Monday, August 17, 2009

Vacation Memories

I was thinking back on what made me have a passion for travel. I think it all began when I was very young. Every year my mom and dad would let us help plan our summer family vacations. It was the highlight of every summer for us. Back then we had to use a map and send for information on where we wanted to go before we could even begin planning. We would sit around the kitchen table with travel brochures, magazines etc.. It was almost an unspoken law in our family, that no matter where we stayed the hotel had to have a POOL!



As I sit here, I am flooded with memories of the places we went and the fun we had. One vacation that really stands out was the summer when my brother and I found out we were going to have a new addition to our family! We were in a hotel, my mom had been sick for most of our trip and one morning my dad took us to the pool so my mom could rest. It was then that he dropped the bomb!!! He asked us if in the spring what we would rather have.. a new four wheeler or a new baby brother or sister. (To this day, I still don't know what possessed him to ask that question.) Of course we said we wanted a four wheeler!!! Well as it turns out, we got a new baby brother.. and HE ended up with the new four wheeler!



I remember our trip to Niagara Falls. That was still when you could go to the Canada side with out any sort of i.d. showing that you were American. We were on a bus full of people and we were among just a small group of Americans. I was 16 and I remember how proud I felt to raise my hand when the border patrol asked who was from the United States.



On a trip to Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH I was serenaded by a performer in a show! I was sooo embarrassed!



One summer, we stayed in a cottage near the lake in Saugatuck, Michigan. It on that vacation that I think I ate the largest hamburger I had ever seen at a restaurant by the marina. Funny how little things like that invite the coolest memories!



But it was my first trip to the ocean had me in awe. It was then I realized how big this world really is and how many places I had yet to see. Building memories, seeing new places, experiencing exciting things and helping others do the same is what my passion has become.



I plan on using this blog to share travel tips, interesting destination information as well as new and happening deals. Feel free to check in often and share your travel stories as well!


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