luvmaui71

LOVEITALY:
I grew up in Clearlake, Ca!!! I'am amazed to hear that someone has actually been there, let alone heard of it. I'm sure it has changed since you we're there, but it is a very small community. My brother still lives there. It sure is a small world!

Lori

LoveItaly

Hi Lori, yes it is a small world!! BTW, what was the name of the hotel that was painted white, sort of looked like a wedding cake? Do you remember?

I haven't been to ClearLake for about 20 years so no doubt it has changed. We use to go with a group of Italians when my daughter was in school. Always in August. Gads, 110 degrees. the fellows would go boating and fishing. We women would be stuck cooking for the big dinners every night. For some reason my "job" was to stir the polenta. Have you ever done that? Especially with the terrible heat. Too funny!!! But more beautiful memories. Sort of a "family vacation". About 15 families. But I was always so exhausted afterwards that we would go to Bodega Bay over Labor Day just so I could chill out and relax with the cool ocean breezes (and no cooking). Take good care.

luvmaui71

LoveItaly:
Was the hotel in a litle town called Lucerne, on I guess what would be the East side of the lake? Did it sit up on top of a hill?
Clearlake is a sleepy little retirement area now, and a lot of boaters in the summer. Also WINE is becoming a big industry there now... So if you ever owned land there, and sold it off years ago, like my parent's did,, your kicking yourself, NOW! : )
Thanks for the memories.
Lori

atlswan

LoveItaly, your mention of Bodega Bay immediately made me think of Hitchcock's "The Birds." I hope you never got hit by a seagull the way Tippi Hedren did in the movie! ;-)

LoveItaly

Hi Lori, no I never did own land in Clear Lake. Guess my father took us there after WWII because it was the close to the Bay Area, but not so far as to cause a problem with gasoline. After that we always went to LakeTahoe/Donner Lake every summer. Then years later went to ClearLake with our Italian friends, again rented cottages for a week.

Hi atlswan, Bodgega Bay, nope, never got attacked by the birds. LOL. There was a darling 2 bedroom cottage that we would rent for something like $200.00 for the week believe it or not. Just west of the pier. It was heaven. Now to stay there for one night cost over $200.00 per night. Not the same place of course, but oh the difference in prices. BTW, my favorite beach is Wrights Beach.

LoveItaly

Oooops, Lori, Lucerne, yes the hotel was on a slight hill. Believe we are thinking of the same place. Ah memories, they are beautiful.

Another memory After HS. Lots of us would go up to ClearLake. Guess the lake was polluted. Good heavens, the dead fish on the beaches. And the smell, yuck!!! Can still remember that, LOL.

GoAway

I have two, both from when I was very small:

- Staying at my grandparents' house in Florida and smelling the orchard in the lot next door.

- Arriving at the camp ground at Ocean City Maryland too late to pitch the tents, so I spent the night in the back seat of the car. This was my first visit to an ocean, and the surf kept me awake all night. It's still one of my favorite sounds.

My parents had two weeks of vacation each year. One of them was always a trip as a family, almost always tent camping because that way we could afford to go. The other week we three children got farmed out to various aunts and grandmothers, and my Mom and Dad went off on their own. It was a win-win-win situation, we spent time with our relatives, one aunt had no children and was always happy to have a 'child' for a week, one had only boys and was always happy to have a girl around for a week, and the grandparents were always happy to have the grandchildren around, and my parents had time for just the two of them.

Fodorite018

GoAway--Our kids go visit my parents each summer. They alternate years though...DD goes one year and DS goes the next. That way they get a lot of one on one time. Just this morning DS was telling me how much he likes those trips. It also gives us that one on one time with the child that stays behind.

gc

When we were little, our annual vacation was to go to Nova Scotia, so my mom could go home to the farm she grew up on to see her mother. On this farm there was no tractor, just the horse, Jerry, and no running water, just a well, a bucket, and a three-holer.

We always went in the middle of August, when it was time to bring in the second cutting of hay, with pitchforks and a wagon. My Dad was willing to give up his vacation to a hayfield so my Mom could go home. That is called love, my fellow travelers.

We would drive from Massachusetts to Bar Harbor, ME overnight so we could catch the Bluenose ferry to Yarmouth in the morning.

Of all the memories of those trips, my best is the anticipation of lunch on the Bluenose. I would have a hot turkey sandwich. It was on white bread, and they put a spoonful of canned peas on the top slice of bread, then gravy.

I looked forward to that sandwich every year and, even today, am reminded of the farm and the salt air whenever we have turkey.

seetheworld

Rarely traveled as a child -- too many of us therefore too expensive, lol. But one winter my father and mother packed all six of us kids into the family station wagon and we drove from New Jersey to Mt. Snow Vermont for a couple of days. We were in snow heaven

We stayed in this great little motel and we had a blast slipping coins into the juke box and dancing like fools. I remember using my allowance to buy this bright green ring that I wore for a good long time - it would make my finger turn green, but I didn't care because it made me feel very grown up.

As kids, we really felt like it was an adventure. It was a special time.

luvmaui71

Yes, LoveItaly, the lake did get very polluted, the fish had some kind of disease. If you caught them, and they had red sores on them, you we're suppose to throw them back!
Luckily it's not like that now.

my2cents

My earliest memories involve taking the Super Chief train from Los Angeles to Detroit to visit grandma. My mom used to be afraid to fly and we always took the train and slept in a sleeping compartment. I loved looking at the scenery and playing cards and board games in the lounge with other kids and letting the train rock me to sleep at night. It's still my favorite way to travel when I have the time.

My other favorite travel memory was spending the summer (in 1971) with my grandma at age 13. She sort of took me on an around-the-world tour. She had alot of business-related travel, conventions etc. to attend that summer and took me with her to New York, Edinburgh, London, Yugoslavia and then Italy (where we visited some relatives). She always traveled first class and stayed in the best hotels back then and I had an absolute blast! I also got to meet my English penpal and grandma and I spent one day with her and her family -- her parents took my very dignified, upper-crust grandma to the neighborhood pub and she had a great time, and my penpal took me around and introduced me to all her friends I had been reading about in her letters. Wish we had kept in touch longer (we lost track once we were in our 20's and got "terribly busy" with our lives). That summer my grandma also introduced me to a love of theater, as well as taking me to my first production of Fiddler on the Roof -- now my sentimental all-time favorite play! We saw Fiddler on the Roof in both Detroit and New York (she put her foot down on going to the London production though...); 1776 in New York; Move Over Mrs. Markham and No Sex Please, We're British in London; and an outdoor production of Aida in Milan, Italy (with a bunch of live horses onstage at one point).

PamSF

The summer vacations to the Jersey Shore!

MikeCT

The summer of 69. Driving with my parents to Florida and keeping our eyes out for all the "Pedro says" signs as we headed towards South of the Border

KE1TH

In 1968, when I was 5, mom and dad plunked me and my younger sister into the back of the Volkswagon Beatle (no seat-belts) and we headed down the "Florida Short Route" Highway towards the lands of alligators and flamingoes. We stopped at Silver Springs, Cypress Gardens, Suwanee River, Busch Gardens (when it was more gardens and less amusement park) and several lesser known "attractions". There was no Disney yet in central Florida. Just miles of orange trees and palm trees and spanish moss. I remember the fort at St. Augustine being so huge back then. I remember camping at some campground in central Florida and a big storm blowing up and several tents getting blown down (luckily not ours). Visited some family in the Tampa area where I met my great uncle with the wooden leg for the first time. Pulled the tail off my first lizard on this trip too. In Silver Springs, I was picked out of the audience and had a big snake put around my neck. I still have the picture. I loved it then, I'd have a heart attack today. I remember the glass bottom boats like it were yesterday. At Busch Gardens, there is a picture of me surrounded by pink flamingoes with the brewery in the background. And some more pictures of me walking along a path where I was no bigger than some of the "elves and munchkins" on display. And yet another picture of me with a beautiful peacock in the background (I'm sure my parents "posed" me in front of all these things). Oh, and the talking birds. And there is also a picture of me with a big bridge in the background. I assume it's the original Sunshine Skyway across Tampa Bay, but could be somewhere else. All my friends back home were more interested in my Great Uncle's wooden leg than anything else....

Keith

annahead

Camping at the boundary waters in Minnesota with my dad and brother.

In August my dad would drive us up to Eli to an outfitter where we would get our gear for the week. Then we would head out to the boundary waters for a week of camping and fishing.

Our first year we rented a canoe, big mistake. I don't know how we made it to the island, my dad pretty much had to paddle on his own since my brother and I were too young to really help. That year it rained the whole time, but I didn't care. The fish were biting and we had a great time despite the weather. We especially enjoyed watching all the chipmunks scurry about camp. One of them was tame enough that it let us feed it. They were so cute. And watching my dad suspend our food from a tree over the water is a sight I will never forget!

Our second year we rented a fishing boat with a motor. It was sunny and warm that whole week, so the fishing wasn't very good. But that year we were treated to an amazing show. We saw the northern lights and meteor showers. It was incredible. We motored out to the middle of the water and watched the lights illuminate our island. It was a once in-a-lifetime experience.

ronkala

In the late 30s when I was 6-7 years old, the family would take the LIRR from Freeport to Amagansett to my grand father's summer home, a former stage coach stop. From there we could walk to the bay to clam, swim, and climb the cliffs at Louse Point. Gramps would also take us to see the Montauk Point Lighthouse.

After he died we started going to an Uncle's house in Centereach. Horseback riding, rides in the goat cart, and trips to Lake Ronkonkama were the norm for all the cousins.

LoveItaly

What a great thread! Thanks dixiegirl.
BTW, does anyone remember the Burma Shave signs?

OneWanderingJew

I think my most favorite travel memory from my childhood would be a week-long trip to Lake George, NY with my grandparents. I think I was about 6 and my brother was 4 (we left my parents home)...My grandparents picked Lake George because they had taken my mom and uncle there at that same age....I remember an amusement park (Storybook Land??) and feeling sick on the cups and saucer ride. I remember a restaurant named Scotty's that my brother insisted upon visiting b/c that's his first name. And I remember thinking how much more fun my grandparents were because we got to stay up late.

My grandparents planned adventures for many summers after that but Lake George is the one that makes me smile most.

Somewhere during the trip, my grandfather told us that we would get to see a lot more of the world if I was a good girl. I'm doing my best to prove him right!

Seamus

Pam - Family trek to Jersey Shore 4 sure! The annual packing all 10 of us (mom, dad, grandma & 7 kids. Yes, 7. Really - this was before BCP's or cable TV.) in the station wagon and heading to Atlantic City (until it got to gritty) then later to Long Beach Island.
My fondest memory, though remains my very first flight at age 11, to Detroit on Allegheney Airlines (aka Agony Airlines, now known as USAir) with my grandmother to visit a favorite uncle. Under protest, I wore a brand spanking new blue and white seersucker suit; the stewardess (the term then in use) sloshed hot cocoa on it when we hit a bump and I decided to save the pat of butter from the dinner tray as a souvenir, though putting it in my trouser pocket was not such a good idea. Didn't have to worry much about wearing that suit anymore...