Family Vacations

Growing up we took several vacations as a family, however, we generally went to the same places several times.  I suppose that my parents weren’t very adventurous because we always visited the same places: Utah, Monterrey, the beach and a cabin in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

When we were little we went to “The Mecca” or Utah every summer in the old brown van.  As a child it seemed that the journey from California to Utah lasted an eternity.  Of course, you must consider the fact that our van didn’t have air conditioning and we were travelling through Nevada in the summer.  How did we survive? 

When my parents weren’t watching we would unbuckle our seat belts and climb under the seats to entertain ourselves.  We would also make forts inside of the car with our blankets and play with our stuffed animals and toys.  It’s amazing how we could entertain ourselves for hours at a time. 

As a tradition each time we passed through a little city called Lovelock my sister Amy would say, “We’re in Lovelock” and my little brother Chris would try to kiss her!  Amy would push him away and say, “No!  Leave me alone, go kiss Andrea instead.”

Of course, there was always the same tunnel right before reaching Elko and we would see who could hold their breath the longest…my dad always slowed down through the tunnel to see if we could make it.

In addition, he would tell us when we needed to go to the bathroom and there were none around that we had to hold it.  On a rare occasion we couldn’t and he would pull off to the side of the road where we would hide behind the van and go to the bathroom.  I still wonder what the cars passing by thought of that?  The most frightening part about pulling your pants down in the desert is that our dad had filled our heads with visions of rattlesnakes.  Before jumping out of the car he would always say, “Now don’t let the rattlesnakes bite your butt!”

Chris and I at Grandma Croft's house

We finally reached Orem, Utah where my Grandma Croft lived after a long and exhausting journey.  At Grandma Croft’s house I remember that it was quite boring because she didn’t have a backyard, so we were required to play inside.  I would play Chess with my little brother Chris to which I would make up moves, so that I would always win.  Being the second to the youngest he was the only one that I could ever get away with doing things like that to.  We would also play with some wooden blocks that my grandma had.  However, the worst part was that we were required to be quiet, which was very difficult for us…and something awful called a “nap” existed in her house.

Amy and I in Monterrey with a monkey on my head

I don’t recall much about the journey home from Utah to California, because I always looked forward to going home.  At home I could get away with sucking my finger without being scolded, but my grandma would always try to break me of the habit.

Our vacations in Monterrey consisted of staying at the Butterfly Inn where we would stay in a house that was sectioned off into four parts.  We would rent one of the four parts of the house, and spent most of our time in the swimming pool. 

Morton Warm Springs

We also would often visit the Monterrey Bay Aquarium where we would look at the fish, sharks and sea life.  We would then spend a lot of time at the Fisherman’s Warf walking around and looking at all of the little shops that they had.  My mom is a fanatic of decorations, and so she loved to visit all of these little shops. 

Their clam chowder in a bread bowl was to die for!  Every year that we visited Monterrey we would go down to the beach and pick up sea shells from the shore.  The water was too cold to play in, and they have a lot of dangerous spots with undercurrents.

Amy and I at the beach

On our beach trips we would pass through Northern California and often visit Doran Beach.  I recall one beach trip that we went on with the Alkema Family.  My sister Amy and my friend Ashley were playing on an inner tube and started drifting out into the ocean too far, so they called to me for help.  I swam out after them and brought them safely back to shore. 

We played in the water for hours, and would then come running back when lunch was ready.  It was so much fun to feel the sand between your toes, and to build sandcastles, and attempt to not let the waves catch you.  However, when it was time to go home there would be sand everywhere for days!

Another vacation spot that we enjoyed as a family was Walt’s Cabin located in Calaveras Big Trees.  We would often spend time in the nice cabin watching television, or I would ride down the staircase on an air mattress while bundled up in my sleeping bag.  We would slide down the staircase super fast!

We also built bomb fires over which we would roast marshmallows at night and eat S’mores.  I think it’s funny how each person cooks their marshmallow differently.  It really does reveal a lot about a person; I would always try to get my marshmallow just right and would patiently wait for it to turn just the right color brown.  However, my sister Natalie would viciously ignite her marshmallow so that it became a flaming ball of fire.  Then she would blow it our leaving a black smoky ball which she would consume.

One year while we were on a hike in Calaveras Big Trees I remember that I was wearing a red bandana.  My dad said that he needed to use the restroom really bad, and so he borrowed my bandana and ran off into the forest.  I never saw that red bandana again…it’s probably a good thing. 

Natalie and I kayaking on the Bear Lake

My favorite part of spending time at the cabin is when we would go kayaking on a lake.  One time after spending hours out on the lake Natalie and Amy were in a kayak and as they were undocking Amy fell out of the kayak into the water.  It was quite hilarious to see Amy all wet when I got back to the dock.