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[Art_Teacher]

What is the most memorable vacation you have ever taken...as a child?  as an adult?

When I was about 11 or 12, my parents took us to Hershey, PA and then on to Gettysburg.  We camped in campgrounds and toured the Hershey's Chocolate World.  I thought I was in Heaven, it smelled so good!  The battle fields were very interesting, too.  DH and I went back about 10 years ago and really enjoyed the town of Gettysburg.

As an adult, DH and I went with another couple to Europe in 1995 and it was amazing!  Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and England, all in 12 days.  Whew!  Then, DH and I went back just to Germany and Austria in 2012 and loved every minute of it.  I wish I could afford to travel to Europe every year...so many things to see!

[DolphinSoul]

As a child it was when I was less than 7 years old and we would come down to FL for vacation to see my grandparents with my parents. My grandfather always made everything memorable. I remember going to Disney and having him sit me atop a trashcan so I could see the parade just as Cinderella waved at me. Still to this day every time I hear the music of the Electrical Light Parade..I cry thinking of the memories of him. Along with those trips, we'd always go on their pontoon boat and around the lakes. One time we found a beautiful area with racoons, birds, and gators. I wanted to touch the gators...so my grandpa held me over the edge of the boat..let me shake my hair in the water and yell 'hear gator gator'...then would bring me up as soon as he saw them move! I guess that's why I'm not afraid of animals! The craziest thing is we now live near those lakes he used to take us too!

As an Adult..there are so many! I would first say when my parents took me to Discovery Cove when I was 18 for my graduation present and I actually got to swim with the dolphins for the first time! There is nothing that can take that moment away from me and now I am actually working there!!!! Currently my latest vacation in 2012 on the Disney Dream was by far the monumental memory b/c I felt like royalty and never thought I'd experience going on a cruise esp doing it all with just Bill! Along with adding swimming Underwater with dolphins too at Atlantis. I mean everything has gone full circle and to think my happiest memories were visiting these places as a child from Indiana..and now I live in them in Central FL!!!

[christinec68]

Most memorable vacation ever was a family trip to Ireland.  My parents were going for their 25th wedding anniversary but they decided to include my sister and I when my father won a super bowl pool.  We were on a coach tour for the first week and spent the second week in Dublin where my mother's cousins live. It was so much fun and there are so many amazing memories.  We got to meet cousins who were our age and their friends.  It was interesting just being in another country.  It was pretty much the only big vacation we went on that did not involve staying with family for any part of it and was our last opportunity since my father died a little over a year later...it makes the trip and the memories more precious.

As a kid, I'd say going to Disney World when I was about 10 or 11.  My sister & I used to spend the summers in south FL with my grandparents and my parents would tag team coming down.  During my father's stay, the 3 of us went to Disney World for a couple of days.  We stayed at a hotel that had a hot tub.  My father taught us about ordering in a restaurant, being friendly with the waitress, tipping and good service.  Oddly, I don't remember much about being in the Magic Kingdom except the super long line for Space Mountain but I remember the other stuff.  

[blbabe1234]

When I was 10, my uncles took me and my brother to a Texas Rangers Baseball Game.

Just last year, I went on my first cruise with another cherry, Laurie (letumom). Would love to do that again!

[ernstem]

As a child: We didn't vacation much but when I was 14 or so we drove out to South Dakota. We saw Mt. Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Corn Palace, etc. I rode with my brothers and a friend in he back of a pick-up truck with a topper. It was 15+ hours one way.

As an adult: Our honeymoon was a Disney Cruise on the Disney Magic-it was awesome!!!  We were in a wedding in Orlando a few years ago and did the Disney stuff with the kids, so that's always memorable.  

[MTCanuk]

I have been so fortunate to have many memorable vacations.  I think my favorite was when I quit work for 6 months and traveled throughout Europe.  It was wonderful.  From the Arctic Circle of Norway.  To the castles of the British Isles.  Skied the mountains of Austria.  Drank beer at Octoberfest in Germany.  Beached in Greece. An experience one never forgets. 

[emarie803]

I think one of my most memorable vacations was when I flew out to Ohio to meet a former Cherry for the first time! We went to Pittsburgh to a hockey game and spent New Year's together. I have to say I met one of my best friend's that day after having known her on the MB for a few years

[beachlover]

As a child, I used to spend summers in MI with my grandparents and loved it!
As an adult, I have taken 2 cruises in my life (so far - hope there will be more)
and both were awesome!  My son was with me the first time, family vacation 
but the second one was a scrap cruise - that I want to do again!

[sherelm]

As a child, we went to the Pocono mountains.  It was wonderful, swimming in the cool streams as they flowed off the mountains, watching the sailboats on Lake Wallenpaupak.  Then as a family of five, we'd eat a picnic lunch out under the trees. It was great then, but now impossible with us everywhere.
My first trip to Los Angeles  was the most wonderful trip, since I had a three year old in tow, and left the disaster of finalizing my divorce behind, and really was able to.  We went everywhere, and packed in a month vacation in 7 days.  I look back, and we were so happy to visit a place so far away from PA.

[PezKat]

Well, we never did anything 'big' when I was a child but did travel around the US a lot & went camping (fishing, hiking) here in Indiana different places.  So I have general travel memories with my folks but nothing stand out as exceptional.

As an adult I'd have to say it's a tie - we did go to Malaysia 2 years ago and that was exciting - highlight was probably seeing orangs in a rain forest in Borneo!  

But - we are getting ready to leave early Wed. morning for GenCon for which I'm terribly excited as this is our big annual vacation.  I have a spreadsheet with our gaming schedules (packed too full, lol) & will spend time tomorrow cooking stuff for the cooler like chicken salad & pasta salad w/sausage, since I have to eat every 3 hrs & convention center food is not great.  There are food trucks now tho which does help.  There will be close to 60,000 people and sooooo much to do.  It's only about a 45 minute drive each way for us but to gain the extra time it's so worth it to stay downtown in a hotel, within walking distance.  Anyway it's like being a kid all week just playing different board & card games.  (they have some crafting stuff too, a couple years I took a Steampunk Scrapbooking class!)

[Christi S.]

This is hard for me since I have been fortunate enough to travel a LOT!  Over 35 countries and 48 states.  My favorite places are New Zealand (we lived there a year), Austria (been to Europe 5 times) and South Africa.  I would totally love to go back to any and all of them again.

In 1973 (when I was 4) my family literally traveled around the world.  We started in PA, and drove to NYC, flew to Chicago, LA then Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa, American Samoa, then New Zealand.  On the way home, we went to Australia, Madagascar, and several places in east and west Africa before flying back to NYC and then PA.  What an adventure!  A family of 6 travels around the world without credit cards and the internet!  I asked my dad how he even knew of Samoa back then and he said he read about it in a book.  WOW.  lol

Christi S

 

[average_kim]

We never vacationed when I was a kid.  The only highlight trips were when my mom, twin brother and I would spend a couple nights with my mom's aunt in ValleyView, TX, only about an hour and a half away, lol.

Now, we don't vacation much, either.  DH has his own (very small) business, and can't be away for long.  One of our most recent day trips was to Mount Scott and the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.  We didn't see much wildlife--just some longhorn cattle, and we have two longhorn cows of our own, lol.  But we loved walking around there and driving to the top of the mountain.  We also enjoyed eating at the Meers Store--famous for their longhorn burgers, lol.

[butterfly843]

This is a tough one because I've been lucky to travel a lot since I was a kid. My most memorable trip growing up was when we rented an rv and all drove down to Florida, probably my most memorable because the rv  ac broke in the summer heat when we were stuck and not moving on the highway due to an accident, took a few hours till we were able to get off the highway and get it fixed. As an adult I'd say the 2 week trip we took around all of Italy.

[scrapy1967]

We never vacationed as a child but I have made up for it in my adult life. I have been to at least 30 states and 8 different countries. I just booked a 8 day Italy,Spain cruise for September of 2016My most memorable would be my 12  day Italy,Spain,Croatia cruise I went on in 2012.

[christinec68]

This is hard for me since I have been fortunate enough to travel a LOT!  Over 35 countries and 48 states.  My favorite places are New Zealand (we lived there a year), Austria (been to Europe 5 times) and South Africa.  I would totally love to go back to any and all of them again.

In 1973 (when I was 4) my family literally traveled around the world.  We started in PA, and drove to NYC, flew to Chicago, LA then Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa, American Samoa, then New Zealand.  On the way home, we went to Australia, Madagascar, and several places in east and west Africa before flying back to NYC and then PA.  What an adventure!  A family of 6 travels around the world without credit cards and the internet!  I asked my dad how he even knew of Samoa back then and he said he read about it in a book.  WOW.  lol

Christi S


 

Christi, that round-the-world trip sounds amazing!!

 

[scrappinmom99]

As a child --- I used to fly alone to Buffalo (from NYC) to stay with my grandmother and aunt over the summer. There would always be a trip or two to Canada, either to see Niagara Falls or to go to a fish fry lol, or go swimming in Thunder Bay. Also as a child, we used to go on vacation to the New Hampshire resort that Steven Tyler's family owns.  One day, I was about 9 and playing on the tire swing when a big white limo pulled up and this scary dude dressed in a white bell-bottomed pants suit with purple scarves pulled me off the tire swing and jumped on it. I about died!!! He later felt bad and won me a bag of butterscotch at bingo. Where was my mother with the camera? My kids would have so many photos if a rock star pulled them off a swing and won them candy LOL!!! Oh! And I remember his mother had a windbreaker that said "Aerosmith's Mom" on it. The funny things you remember!

As an adult, pre-children - I went to Ireland in 1995 and met a slew of relatives. I also took a bus trip up the Boyne Valley by myself because I was not going to Ireland and not going to see Newgrange. It was the most wonderful and terrible 2 weeks of my life ROFL!!!

As an adult with children - taking the kids to Long Beach Island in 2012 when the kids were 12 and 6. It was the summer right before Hurricane Sandy.  DD had not remembered going to the beach before that (she had, as a baby, but didn't remember). We were at a hotel half a block from the beach. They loved the amusement park, the mini golf, the pool, the food...the beach, not so much ROFL!!! But it was the first family vacation we took with all 4 of us. When we saw footage of what Sandy had done to the island, we prayed it would bounce back!

[JulesinParadise]

I think my most memorable trip ever was our cruise to Australia and New Zealand two years ago.  We cruised for 12 days and then spent 8 with a scrapbook friend I met on line about 14 years ago who lived in Aukland, New Zealand.  When we were in Melbourne, Australia, another on line scrapbook friend drove 2.5 hours on her b'day to show us the city.  The cruise was amazing enough but the chance to meet Helen (Aus.) and then spend time with Clare (NZ) was the icing on the cake.

[stateless]

As a child, most of our vacations involved visiting family. Luckily much of that family was in Florida so we would also visit Disney often. I still make quite a few trips to Disney now and can't wait to take my son for the first time.

As an adult, I think the vacation that stands out the most was to Alaska in 2012. We flew into Anchorage, drove up to Denali National Park for a couple of days then down to Seward for a bit. We saw so many amazing things, especially wildlife. I am an animal nerd so that was definitely the highlight - bears, moose, whales, otters, seals, puffins and so much more!  I can't wait to go back.

[Niki]

When I was 21 I went to stay with my best friend in Finland for a month. (We met thorough a work exchange program she participated in.) So I went to Finland, Italy, St. Petersburg Russia, and Sweden. I have a lot of fond memories from this trip. I was in Finland during the summer solstice so it was light for 24 hours it was really cool to see this. In Italy I got to see the amazing sites there. And got the culture shock of my life in Russia. In Italy when went to stay with this other friend of mine's family for a week in Umbria. It was so beautiful then lived on a winery. Umbria is where my family came from so it was so amazing to go there.  I remember when we were getting off the plane come back to Finland from Italy and the flight attendant was saying good bye to everyone in either English, Italian or Finnish. And she said good by and have a nice day to me in Italian. (My family is Italian and I look the part) Any way I spoke back to her in my limited Finnish and she looked at me like no way you are Finnish, then my friend who is clearly Finnish spoke back in Italian when she spoke to her in Finnish. I remember we thought it was so funny. Another memorable part of this trip was when we went to Sweden. We took a party cruise. You board the ship at 6 pm and we had dinner and partied most of the night then got some sleep before arriving in Sweden sometime in the morning. (Can't remember what time) Then we spent the day in Sweden and had to board the ship again at 6pm and partied all night long arrived back in Finland the next morning. It was a quick trip but so fun. And the last thing that is really memorable from this is... when I was in Russia I got to see this girl that I was friends with in high school who was a foreign exchange student. A month before I went to Finland I found out that we were going to go to Russia as well so I sent this girl a letter in the mail telling her the dates that I would be there. She got the letter 5 weeks later just 3 days before I was to arrive in Russia. Fortunatly she gave a fax number where I could reach here so we were able to fax her and then met up with her one night and go clubbing. It was fun to see her and go clubbing in Russia, they had all the same music we did.
 

[Art_Teacher]

Since we are chatting, I'm bumping this back to the top!