Life History Assignment: Family Vacations

Actually, the assignement was to write about your favorite vacation of your married life.  I can't think of one but I did think of two trips I took with my kids and family after the divorce.

In 1994, Susan planned a trip to the Grand Canyon which included her two boys, Jason and Kevin, along with Cassie, Jordan and me.  I helped pay for it, but she did all the work, shopping, making reservations, even driving.  We even drove from Cedar City to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon with those three big boys crammed in the back seat of her Chevy Lumina.  That was probably not our favortie part.  We stayed in a little cabin and prepared our meals in the cabin to save money.  Susan did a fantastic job in planning and packing the food for those meals.  It was such a good time and a great way to take my kids on a trip.  I had a bit of a problem because I get vertigo when looking down huge drop offs.  But I still enjoyed the beautiful scenery, the sunsets, the lecture in the inn, spending time with my sister and watching the kids all get along together.  Here's some pictures:

I think it was the next year on spring break that Myke and Cheya invited us to go with them to Disneyland as their treat.  Can I just say that I had been to Disneyland once and didn't really want to go again, but I knew my kids would love it.  What can I say?  I loved it too.  For three days, we raced around the park, standing in lines, riding the rides and visiting with Mickey Mouse, Tigger, Winnie the Pooh, the villain from Aladin, etc.  My feet were killing me.  One night, we took a trip to Newport Beach to eat at the Hardrock Cafe.  Great strawberry shake.  There was another day that we woke to pouring rain.  Still we walked from the motel to the park and bought bright yellow duckhead slickers.  It was a blast.  There weren't as many people and we didn't have to wait in lines.  Everywhere you looked, there were people dressed as yellow ducks walking around the park.  My favorite ride was Splash Mountain, even the great plunge at the end.  I would post that picture but can't get a decent copy scanned.  Here's one that Myke took.  Jordan is missing since he decided to sleep in and joined us much later.  I can't express enough how much I appreciated Myke and Cheya's generosity in taking us on this trip.  It was a great memory.

One of my biggest regrets while raising my kids was that we didn't go on enough trips together.  I was poor but I wish I had used my credit card and gone into debt for their sakes.  Thanks heavens I have two sisters who helped with these two wonderful vacations.  I really cherish the memories of these trips and the few we took to Salt Lake touring the city.