I was fourteen...still very much a kid for my age and very- very- excited about my first trip to southern California where the palm trees waited to greet me. And better, still- I had always wanted to go to Disneyland! I was a teen now, but better late than never!
My dad had a grandson (from a previous marriage) who was then eleven. Since I was an only child, he had become like a brother to me and we actually got along exceptionally well. I was so excited that we were
taking him with us, since the ten-day adventure would be all that more fun with someone else coming along.Getting up at 5 am never felt so exilerating! (Probably not since then, either!)
An hour of driving brought us to his house in Eugene, and he eagerly hopped in with his stuff. ...And we were off!
We did the journey from Oregon to L.A. in two legs, stopping somewhere near Eurkea, CA. My nephew and I spent countless hours playing hangman with pencil and paper, making up songs, talking, and plucking plums and peaches from the ice chest my parents had packed. (Gotta have fresh fruits on those road trips to prevent those...digestive problems!)
I still remember waking up all together in our little motel room the first morning, after an evening of watching "Alice" the night before from my sleeping bag on the floor. (Does anyone remember that show?)
Then, we were off again! Sort of. Hmmm... what's that? Something's not quite right with the car, Dad?
The next thing we knew, we were spending a good part of one of our vacation days in the air conditioned car repair shop in lovely downtown Eureka. Fortuately, we didn't let it dampen our spirits too much, and finally, back on the road, we eagerly awaited the next adventure.
The whole memory of this trip is sprinkled with visiting relatives I didn't know I had...seeing new and exciting places...and spending some incredible times with my family.
We walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame...watched whales and dolphins frolic at Sea World....climbed The Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. My parents surprised me with wanting to stand in line not once- but twice- to splash down the waterfall ride at Knotts Berry Farm! My dad was not exactly a young and active kind of guy, you understand...he enjoyed reclining in his favorite easy-chair in the evenings. You can imagine how tickled I was to see him enjoying this kid-like adventure with as much zest as I did! Who knew?
When I look back at what made this trip so special, of course it was partly due to all the exciting places that we saw...and yes, even at age 14, Disneyland was just as charming as I had always dreamed it would be.
But it was more than that. So much more. It was the mutually shared experiences with my family. It was finding ways for my nephew and I to entertain ourselves for hours in the car as we saw the landscapes change before our very eyes.
It was writing in our journals and singing.
It was learning that when snags hit your plans, you don't let it ruin your whole trip.
It was seeing my parents in a brand new light as they let go of some of their responsibilites and found the fun in life again.
It was spending uninterrupted time enjoying each other as family.
My husband and I want to take our own children to Disneyland sometime in the next two years. And call us crazy, but we'll probably do a road trip. (My husband has never even been to Disneyland himself so I am almost as excited for him as for my children!)
And you know what? If we still don't have one of those pull-down TVs in the van by then to keep the kids quiet, that's perfectly fine with me.
What- am I saying TVs in the car are wrong? (This coming from the TV generation poster child?!) No...they do have thier place, especially with young children. Even my hubby would love to invest in it for long drives. But let's just say that I'm willing to risk it if we don't have one by then. I think their experiences, their memories will be even more fulfilling without it.
They might even have to resort to doing all the fun little things I did on the long car ride down...or simply, sleepily, gaze out the window at the moving scenery.
Perhaps they'll have their own memories to share when they grow up...of the time their family took a road trip to southern California. The time we all spent uninterrupted time enjoying new and exciting places...together.
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14 comments:
This post brought up many of my own memories. My sister and I loved road trips growing up. Most of them were to visit various grandparents. I also remember my first trip to California - and first time seeing the ocean. I, too, was fourteen, and very much still a child. I was 16 on my first trip to Disney World, but enjoyed it as a child would.
Thank you for a trip down your memory lane, and a reminder of my own.
That was one of the most fun trips we had. I immediately think of the picture of both of you on the Tea Cup ride. I think though, your dad & I enjoyed Knottsberry Farm the most & especailly that log ride. Your Dad's Aunt in Bakersfield was impressed by the good manners both of you exhibited when we stayed there, which made your dad & I proud of both of you.
ruth
I have to say that I don't think I want a built in TV/DVD in my car, because I'd always have to be saying no, but we've been lucky to be able to borrow them for long road trips, and it's great! But I have to say that my sister and I did lots of driving with my grandparents, and we did just fine with nothing like that.
Such a nice memory. I remember road trips,too, usually to see Grandma. With six kids crammed into the car, it was always fun. (By the way, that cute girl in pink at the top of your comments is my daughter, Mandy.)
I love this post - brought back so many of my own road trip memories. The photos you put up are so sweet!
How fun. That's awesome. I've never been to Disneyland, but would love to. Maybe when the kids are older we can do that all together!
We visited Disneyland in May. We wanted to contrinue the tradition my husband's parents began with their grandchildren. They went to one of the Disney parks when they were five (the girls are the same age and the boys are the same age) It was the first visit for everyone except my husband, and we loved it. We had to fly, but it was fun even so.
My daughter has the DVD in her van with dual screens. I have mixed feelings about it. They can't even travel the mile between our houses without it being on. I know I am an addict (as I confessed right here), but my son in law is worse, and I am afraid the grandchildren are gong to be even worse!
Thank you for stopping by my place today, Tammy, and thank you for your compliment about my daughter, Mandy. She really is a lovely young woman and a GREAT third grade teacher. And don't be fooled - she's 25 now and she'd still get REAL excited about going to Disneyland again!
This reminds me of the many road trips my family took when I was a kid. Two of those cross-country trips were to California, caravan style, with my grandparents and a few of my mom's siblings. From Arkansas, we drove to California to visit relatives, stopping at every state line to get pictures of us standing beside the "Welcome" signs. We took 3 vehicles and two pop-up campers and camped out along the way. Disneyland was never on our itinerary, but on one trip we did get to go to The Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. Back then there were no dvd players, but if there had been we'd have missed seeing the beauty of the countryside.
I remember "Alice"! I loved Flo--the huge red bun on her head was classic! And her chewing gum habit!
Disneyland is one of my favorites places to visit even though I grew up just down the street from it!
Yes, Poptart...I heard of that movie and think I saw part of it...and lol, Randi...it's all coming back to me, Flo and her chewing gum! She used to say "When pigs fly!" in her southern accent- or something close to that!
Glad to know that some other "kids" my age still remember these things...;)
thanks for stopping by my blog. i really appreciate it knowing that someone understands what i'm going through now while my husband is away.
God bless you, tammy. this post surely brought a lot of my childhood memories back. :)
vacations are so fun! I love them.
I came over here from 3forward2back and thoroughly enjoyed this memory with you. It's sounds like some of the types of memories we tried to create with our girls when they were young. And I love Disneyland and amusement parks and will gladly stand in line for an exciting ride. Thanks for sharing this with us.
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