One of the things I miss about being a teenager are the vacations we used to take as a family during summer break.
Since my mom is originally from Kentucky, we visited my grandparents every summer.
Growing up in Bay St. Louis, I considered myself more or less a city girl. However, when I visited my grandparents, I had a blast picking vegetables from their gardens, feeding the animals and – the best part – eating grandma’s home cooked meals.
My grandparents raised peacocks, ducks and chickens. We would follow the hens around to find their nests so the eggs could be placed in incubators. I always enjoyed holding the newborn animals.
We always took two trips during the summer and each year the places and themes varied.
One year, we traveled to Stone Mountain in Atlanta, Georgia and also visited antebellum homes. We panned for gold and I got a newborn Cabbage Patch doll from the Babyland General Hospital.
We toured Natchez and Vicksburg one year, which still remains a favorite of mine, because I love learning about history.
I’ve always been a thrill seeker and was ecstatic when we would visit amusement parks.
We’ve been to a couple of Six Flags parks and of course Walt Disney World in Florida.
The Six Flags parks always featured the more exciting rollercoasters, which I love.
However, Disney World will always be at the top of my list. There’s so much to do and see. Now that I’m older, I really enjoy visiting Epcot and learning about the different countries and sampling their ethnic foods. And I still get excited to ride Peter Pan’s Flight in the Magic Kingdom.
Even though we don’t take summer vacations anymore, I still remember some of our adventures as if it happened yesterday.
I’m so grateful to my parents and grandparents for making our times together so special. It didn’t matter where we went, it was about us being together as a family, learning new things and sharing experiences.