luvmaui71

Anybody remember the "Harolds Club or Bust sign's"?
Or "Stucky's" while traveling through the middle of no where??

Lori

justme22

i have two it's to choose and it is because they are the most vivid


we were driving to las vegas in the family country squire wagon (i was 4) we got out to take a picture in front of a cactus and then we had to get back in the car. because i was small (my two sisters were 9 and 10) i walked across the back seat to my place. my sisters got in and got catus stickers in their shorts! oops.

we were staying at old orchard beach in maine. i was about 6. we were beach people at the time so i would play in the breakers of the ocean for hours if my dad would let me.

He knew i was having a great time but if anyone has ever swam in maine you know how cold that water is, my dad stood with me until i was blue and shaking and he finally had to just pick me up and take me to the blanket, i just didn't want to give up a minute at the beach. i think he was as cold as me.

dixiegirl

Message to mpf,

I had to laugh when I read your post.

March 18, 2005 we (Me, my 21 yr old daughter, my sister in law, my two grandsons 7 & 8 and my two nephew 6 & 8) all went to McGayhesville, Va.

We went to visit a family member and see if we could find snow for my daughter. She has never seen snow.

We stayed in a resort up there that had skiing and snow tubing. Luckily we just happened to catch the snow tubing the last day before they had to shut it down because was getting too warm.
We had a blast.

We went adventuring on the Skyline drive and had the best time. We found snow up in them thar mountains! Snow ball fights and snow Angels for the first time in all of their lives except for me and S-I-L.

The last day we couldn't stand that daughter hadn't seen snow falling, so we asked 4 different locals. Do you think there is a chance of seeing snow falling anywhere. (It was raining, down out of the mountains.) One guy told us the radio said snow expected in the Allegheny mountains, so we headed across Rt 33 for West Virginia.

We didn't find any snow, had to head home, came back across Rt 33 and took what looked like a decent road to cut across to Interstate 81. It is called "613".

"613" will never be just any number ever again. That road that looked like it should only take 1/2 hour, took us hours.

What a great time we had. It sounded just like what you described from you trip. The road twisted and turned (basically a one lane road, but it was paved. It went through farm after farm, over streams. At every turn we expected the road to end. We saw goats, cows, sheep, old houses, big beautiful houses, a warning sign for horse drawn carts, what a great trip. I almost hated to see the Interstate, but we had to head home.

I hope it is a trip that the kids will remember. I always will.

stellaluna

when i was much much younger (this would have been in the early to mid sixties), our family used to spend a few weeks each summer in the Hamptons. at that time the Hamptons were definitley NOT what they are today. they were simply a string of low key beach towns with shingled homes, horse farms, and potato fields stretching to the horizon. it was heaven. we drove out from Westchester County (parents, two younger brothers and myself) and the excitement built from the moment we crossed the Throgs Neck or Whitestone bridge to the first glimpse of Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton. there was (and may still be) a restaurant in Bridgehampton called the Country Kitchen: my favorite place for ice cream. Bridgehampton had a little general store and not much else. East Hampton was a little grander with a pond dividing the main village in two and a Chinese Restaurant....to me the beaches were the best in the world. when vacation was over and we had to retrace the route home i cried.
i haven't been back since. people who go to the Hamptons now tell me not to. they say there is no way i'd recognize the paradise i still dream about. i don't doubt it, but part of me is curious: i wonder if some of the houses we rented are still standing....if there would be anything familiar to my now much older pretty cynical eyes......i can honestly say these are my best memories from any part of my life so far....

audra

Wow, great thread. Thanks for starting it dixiegirl.

Stellaluna, your post brought tears to my eyes. We did similar beach trips growing up also and I too cried when we left. Being on vacation back then really meant being away from it all, of course being a child made that much easier, but it also meant having my parents all to myself. And some of my best memories with my parents are from those weeks. Now that both have recently passed away, I treasure those memories even more.

This is a wonderful thread for this mothers day weekend!

starrsville

Camping in the North Georgia mountains. The smell of the mountain air - surrounded by the deep green of rhododendrens - splashing in the ice cold waters of mountain creeks or lakes. My teenage sister pouting the entire time and spending the whole week stretched out in the car, propped up by pillows, reading with the chihuahuas keeping her company.

Our "other family" never went anywhere - the dad didn't want to. So, one weekend, Daddy led the caravan as two moms and seven kids followed. He set up camp and then left us there for the work week, came to be with us on the weekend, and then another week with just "us".

Those memories are so strong I wanted to recreate them - with a bit of luxury. So, now I have my own place in the mountains with that wonderful air, surrounded by rhodies and a freezing cold creek to splash in.

With 4 kids pre-airconditioning Daddy refused to go to the beach. Our last "family" trip was our first family beach trip to Surfide Beach, SC.

halbo49

when I was a preteen we drove from the Mississippi coast to Norfork to visit my brother who was stationed in the navy.
When we got there his ship was gone and no one was talking.
My younger sister and I enjoyed staying in a old old hotel on the beach for 5 days and swimming as much as we wanted.
At the time we were too young to know the nightmare our parentes were enduring not knowing my brothers whereabouts.
only later did we learn he had been deployed off the coast of Cuba and the danger he was in

vcl

The summer I was six, my parents and I spent four whole days in Atlantic City. My Dad tried to teach me to swim in the ocean, we walked on the beach at night, and I was introduced to jelly omelettes and papaya juice. Each night a trio -- piano, violin, and cello -- played in the lobby and each night they ended their concert with Brahms' Lullaby just for me.
We shared the train back home with hundreds of soldiers and sailors and rode all the way from Atlantic City to Penn Station in Newark sitting on our suitcases.

stellaluna

audra, i am glad that we have these memories to go back and savor!! they are like a favorite photo album.
remember that wonderful kind of tired that you only felt after a day at the beach?!!!
my brother reminded me that the name of the place in Bridgehampton is the Candy Kitchen and he thinks it's still there.....

ARKANSASNURSE

Stellaluna, You are correct, the Hamptons have grown so much.
But one of my favorite trips was in 1999 I took my family, who had heard for years and years about Montauk. To see it. My Dad was career Air Force and we lived at Montauk AFB from 1968 til 1973. It was so cool to show my teenagers where Mom grew up.
Other favorite trips I have 2:
We were stationed in Japan at Itazuki AFB (I'm sure its not spelled right) we took the train to Bepoo to Mt Fuji or Mt Aso. I had very very blonde hair and the Japanese were fascinated by it. I was about 6.
While living on Montauk my DAD, who believed in those family summmer trips by car, wanted to go fishing in northern Maine for Labor Day weekend. He had just bought his dream car, a 1969 Caddy. This was a hard top convertible complete with power windows and air. We started eating our snacks for the trip in our driveway. Dad couldn't figure how to get the air to work. So we rode with the windows down all the way. The speed limit on the LIE then was 110!! When we finally got to Maine, he had the car looked at and some switch needed to be turned under the hood. Anyway my brother and i wondered why the beds in our cabin had so many blankets and comforters on them. two days into our trip it snowed, and it snowed. We ended up staying a week. Dad played his guitar and fished. We loved it.
I used to say my Dad had dragged us all over the country. When he passed away in 1999, he left me a tidy little sum of $$ with the stipulation I must show my boys the world. I obeyed.
My eldest is now following in his Grandfather's footsteps and serving us in Iraq, and I know Dad is watching over him.

ARKANSASNURSE

I am looking forward to seeing Montauk on the BATCHELOR tomorrow night.

CaliNurse

GREAT thread--thank you!!
I too lived in CT as a child, and my parents would pile us into the car and take off for places in New England. This was in the late 1950s.
Recall a ottage in New Hampshire, across the road from Old Man in the Mountain. The tour of the cave there was fun, there were narrow passageways called the "lemon twist" and the "orange squeeze." Also had many rips to Cape Cod. Once ate at a turkey farm restaurant, where all they served was TURKEY cooked lots of different ways. Lobster places with bibs, right on the water.
My first hot turkey sandwichi Waltham, Mass, when iw as happily surprised to discover a hot turkey s'wich meant a piece of bread, turkey , and gravy, NOT just heated up turkey.
ok, 'nuff stream of consciousness. Thank you, Dixiegirl, for providing us all with the chance to share, as we go down happy childhood memory lane.

girlonthego

calinurse: I have squeezed through the lemon squeeze!!! Just had to laugh out loud. I have been to the caves as a child...

CaliNurse

Girlonthego--THANKS for writing that!
Poor old Man in the Mountain fell OFF the mountain two years ago.
The lemon squeeze?? You were there too?!! WAS there an orange squeeze also,or is that my kid's memory playing tricks on me??

alya

Ooooh good thread!

Traveling in the UK from Yorkshire to Cornwall, since my parents both hated sitting in traffic we’d leave home at 2am. My sister and I generally slept for the first 4 hours but after breakfast at Gordano Services in Bristol (sometime we had to wait for them to open) we’d be wide-awake and excited. Only 4 hours to go!

My Dad always put together a list of place names that we had to check off and for every town we saw he gave us money. It was his way of keeping us quiet during the journey but also a gentle way of making sure we had money to spend while on vacation.

I did the trip with my parents when my girls were young and I had a serious lump in my throat seeing how thrilled they were to spot a sign for the next town on their list. He died in 2001 – thanks for reviving the memories

ARKANSASNURSE

Oh CaliNurse, I had forgotten hot turkey sandwiches. The ones I loved were a slice of bread, with a scoop of stuffing or dressing in the middle , then a piece of turkey over that and smothered in gravy. I like to leave it set a few minutes until the bread is slightly soggy with the gravy and then eat.
I used to do the with roast beef and mashed potatoes.
My Arkansas hubbie never liked the idea so somewhere over the past 26 years I quit making this.
Thanks for the food memory, come fall, we will try this on him again. Not to mention my grandkids!!!

Wednesday

I began flying an an unaccompanied minor from the start, very young and continue to travel alone frequently...when I would fly into Atlanta, and they opened that jetway, my Dad would always be standing there waiting for me by the plane door in his Delta uniform.....Now, 30 years later, even after he has retired, EVERY time I fly and walk off an airplane, no matter where I am, I always look up into the faces of the people standing right outside the door, I always think he just might be there....

beechbum

Driving from CA to Detroit Lakes MN. My parents would always change the route so we could experience different places each year, getting there was as fun as being there... Detroit Lakes has so many memories. Fishing with my grandfather, he would let me drive his boat, as a little girl that was pretty cool! I loved the way my Grandmother cooked the Walleye. Then as teenagers, my sister and I had a blast. Detroit Lakes will always have a special place in my heart.

Colorado17

My family of five driving in a Chevy Chevette from Washington, DC to Okemo Mountain Vermont to go skiing every year....ten hours with three girls...and only stopping when you absolutely had too! I miss those days so much! We did this for about 17-18 years and we always stayed with my aunt and uncle and their three kids!

Postal

We lived in NYC and had a summer home on Long Island, and that's as far as my family traveled. If it wasn't on Long Island or in the city, my father wouldn't go there. So my greatest childhood travel memory is pretty simple - taking the ferry from Port Jefferson, NY to Connecticut to visit my sister! We always used to watch HER leave Port Jeff on the ferry to go home so it was an incredible thrill to get on that big boat myself! I guess I was 8 or 9.