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EUCLID, Ohio – To travel or not to travel, was a question my husband and I pondered every summer when our three daughters, now teenagers and young adults, were small.
It was no surprise. Like many parents of young children, car seats, strollers, pack-n-games, and enough entertainment to keep very active youngsters occupied — on long car rides or cramped flights — was all it took to think. To question the wisdom of going on vacation, as opposed to staying home.
Looking back, I’m glad we didn’t shy away from the dangers and frustrations of traveling with kids. Yes, sometimes, our journeys to reconnect with family or explore new insights can be fast and stressful, but now with misty-eyed nostalgia, I can recall the multitude of family memories that are distant images in our family’s rearview. Mirror, as our women grew up.
In the beginning, we discovered the magic of Cheerios and ice cream and their power to calm even the most angry individuals. Together we licked the taste of the salty ocean air and slept on chain hotel mattresses, happy to escape from home. We eagerly explored our share of wildlife and water and logged countless miles in the minivan, our fake living room on wheels.
While our previous family trips were driven by our love of oceanfront beaches, we diverged into a trip shaped by our passion. The New York City trip was inspired by my middle daughter’s desire to visit the Statue of Liberty and the Central Park Zoo, the setting for the animated Madagascar movies. A trip to Washington, D.C. was conceived by another daughter’s desire to see the White House.
Our late fourth grade teacher inspired a day trip to Bar Harbor, Maine, where we went lobster fishing, and a day trip to explore the Everglades following our family trip to Disney World.
We visited family in Puerto Rico and Omaha, Nebraska, and spent my husband’s childhood at the Jersey Shore. A few of our trips to Hilton Head included spending a day in Savannah, Georgia and a weekend in Charleston, South Carolina. One of our summer road trips started in Niagara Falls, weaved through New York’s Finger Lakes and ended with two days in Boston and Cape Cod.
This year, gas prices didn’t stop us from driving to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, taking a boat ride to Picture Rocks, hiking around Tahquamenon Falls, and riding road bikes around Mackinac Island. Driving along the west coast of Michigan, we stopped at several quaint and charming towns before spending time in Trav City and seeing the amazing Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Over the years, whether the destination is big or small, we’ve learned that it’s the time spent enjoying the change in our daily routine and sharing the wonder of new surroundings that inspires our favorite vacation memories, however simple.
Rachel Santiago
Summer trips aren’t always a given, but reminiscing about days of sunny weather and outdoor activities will make the summers of yesteryears shine brightly. More than travel, I remember ice cream and picnics on Lake Erie, hiking in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and walks in our favorite metroparks.
My sister and I especially enjoyed the summer, I ran “Camp Rock,” a cousins camp with my kids and my brother’s son and daughter, complete with t-shirts, crafts, snacks, and daily trips to local beaches, museums, and parks.
Now that my daughters are juggling jobs, college classes, and sports conditioning, it’s the little things of summer, the things that are so elusive now, that I cherish the most. It’s a reminder that we should all make memories, big and small, as much as we can.
Raquel Santiago is a freelance writer who lives in Euclid with her husband and three daughters. This summer, in addition to a family trip to Michigan, she is working as a fellow with Literary Cleveland.
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