travel
Family travel is complicated. And sometimes fun.
The Return
There was a time when I hadn’t been home in something like 3-4 years. I was truly the sojourn traveler, the hopeless victim of wanderlust. Around the 4th or 5th year of my expat life, people started to look at me with that look of awe and wonder, as if I were some sort of superman when I told them how long I had been gone. “You’ve been in China that long!”, they’d say. It all seemed perfectly normal to me, being the traveler’s life has always been a part of my personality and moving abroad and staying away for so long was simply a natural progression for me.
By Robert Burton5 years ago in Families
Family Fun Things to Do at Virginia Beach, VA, this Summer
You need to include surfing, entertainment, fun, and, most importantly, abundant sun and water on any Virginia Beach checklist. This family-friendly location is bound to give you and your family a memorable getaway.
By Stephen Dalton5 years ago in Families
The Move
I will never forget the day CPS came and took me away. I was living in a motel in Port Angeles when this man came. He sat down on the bed and looked at me in the eyes and asked a simple question. “How would you like to go live with your father in Alaska” to which I immediately replied, “Only if my mom can come too”. He assured me she would telling me that they would fly me up there first and then let my mom get her things together and send her up after. I was 11 years old, and I was ecstatic at the thought of us all being a family again. The reality was very much the opposite.
By Forrest Rhodes5 years ago in Families
Betsy of Lake Marion
Last summer my wife and mother in-law planned a fall fishing trip for the entire family to Eutawville, South Carolina on Lake Marion. The location was picked specifically for my father in-law and myself. Who are both avid fishermen, and enjoy all type of fishing especially cat fishing which is particularly good on Lake Marion. The property we rented for the week came equipped with a kayak, a paddle boat, and a small two man fiberglass fishing boat. The first day was extremely gloomy, overcast with scattered showers and thunderstorms. The day was spent mostly settling into our rooms, taking a trip to the grocery store, and spending the rest of the day watching the rain from the screened in porch anxiously waiting to get a few lines in the water.
By Paul whiddon 5 years ago in Families
Somebody get the pacifier!!!
On to the next part of the story. We began our journey to Kansas City. The day we left my father was the first day of my third-grade school year. To be honest, until the leaving part, it was nothing to write home about.I honestly hated school in Florida and was always happy when my dad let me skip. I didn’t really like most of my classmates, it was boring, and a lot of the teachers were mean.
By Anthony Anthem5 years ago in Families
a cheap vacation
I needed some time away. I am trying to find myself. I lost myself so many years ago trying to make everyone happy but me. So, one late night when I was lying in bed, I decided to drive to Daytona Beach because, hey, I'm off for a couple of days. So I asked my twins, who are teenage girls if they wanted to go. Of course, they wanted to go. Who doesn't want to lie on the beach and take all the troubles off our minds? I don't have lots of money. I'm a single mother of three. This had to be a cheap trip. We decided if we couldn't get a cheap hotel for under 100 dollars, we would spend the day on the beach and sleep in the car for a little bit if we had to. And then head back home. So I was lucky and found a hotel for cheap and it just happened to still be open. We bought all the food we could before we left and took one outfit plus our swimming suits. We headed to the gas station to fill up the car and left out for our carefree days. I drove from 8 that night until 11 that next morning. We arrived at the hotel. We were four hours early, but I had an idea, so we didn't have to pay to spend time on the beach before we checked in. So I walked into the hotel and told the woman. "I know we can't check until three," but I asked if there was any way I could go ahead and park here at the hotel and get to the beach. She explained that you couldn't check in until three o'clock. But since you are going to be staying here, you are more than welcome to park here and head to the beach. We had stopped at a rest area in Georgia and switched our clothing. So we were ready for the sand, sunshine, and the ocean. So we laid and played on and on the beach from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.This was so much fun with my girls. This was the first time I got to spend alone time and learn about them. Life is always passing us by, but in those two days, I learned more about my children than I had in the previous month. It was all about them and me. We slept that night in the hotel and the next day when we woke up we had pop tarts for breakfast. Then we laid by the pool tanning, went back out to the beach, and played in it before our departure and that evening we left. Just like that. These 2 days were the greatest 2 days I have had in some time. My getaway and the amazing time I had with my girls cost me a total of four hundred dollars. A lot of people think they can't make these trips. I wanted to show anyone how to do things cheaply and in a fun way. The only painful thing was me driving the whole 12 hours. I did make it down without any rest time. I stopped at every other rest area. It was refreshing for me and my girls. I lay on the beach for hours and got to think about life and what can make me and my family happy. The hotel was only 78 dollars and it was not a bad hotel at all. So I do give Sea escape so much credit. It was clean and very friendly. From the outside, it looked a little rough and it was very old, but I wasn't there to be in the hotel and when I did approach our room and opened the door, it was very clean and smelled great. I was there to lay on the beach anyways and clear my mind and enjoy my children. That's exactly what we got to do and enjoy family time.
By Lizzy Allen5 years ago in Families
Maine on the Horizon
MAINE ON THE HORIZON Water crashing along the shoreline, the raucous commotion of the Atlantic Puffins, nesting nearby on Eastern Egg Rock; for Maddie Cartwright, islands and isolation seemed a perfect choice for reflection on this summer day in late July. She was just another unassuming tourist, escaping the trappings of big city life.
By Pam Sievert-Russomanno5 years ago in Families
