Travel

When it came to money my parents had two priorities. They gave to the church and they made sure we traveled every summer. I know many families that return over and over again to a favorite place. My parents wanted us to see different things. During the school year my parents were frugal. Then we would camp to and from wherever the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference was during the summer.

My mother would do extensive research before we left. She typed up 3x5 cards with interesting information about every state through which we traveled. We kept a family travel journal. Everyone had to write in the journal at least once during the trip. As soon as I could write I had to contribute.

My mother always said that it was her vacation and she didn't want to spend the entire time cooking and cleaning for us. So we had detailed charts of chores. She tried to plan meals that didn't require we spend all our time in meal preparation. One time she put a roast on the engine block so that when we arrived at our camp site dinner would already be cooked. We left late that day and so it wasn't entirely successful...but she was always thinking.

We snorkeled in the Florida Keys, explored Mesa Verde, wrote our names in the sand in New Mexico, drank cherry limeades in Alabama, hunted for Lake Superior agates in Michigan, hiked in the Black Hills, visited an art studio in Chicago, batted mosquitoes in the Everglades, canoed in the Grand Tetons, and felt like we were in another world in New Orleans. We sang songs, played the license plate game, fought over the radio, got on our parents' last nerve and created shared memories.

Traveling, learning, camping and exploring are my parents' legacies. Bryan and I passed on this legacy to our children....minus the camping. I hate camping....all except the smores. I do like the smores.