Childhood Vacations

One of the things I always appreciated about my parents, well appreciate now, is that they dragged my brother and I all over the western States and Canada to make sure we saw things. I’ve been to Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills in South Dakota, Banff and Lake Louise in Alberta, seen the red dirt in Southern Utah and been to many a battlefield and National Park.

As an adult, I’m impressed with the fact that my mom forced us to take a family vacation every year to experience something together. Now I realize that it was likely a financial stress to do this each year, but it was something that my mom believed was really important. Because of that, I’m one of the few people who live in Oregon who have actually been to Crater Lake. And now that I am an adult, I wish I had a do-over at a lot of those places they took us to see. For at least half of the trips I was a very surly teenager, sulking in the back seat of our mini van and the other half I was too young to remember clearly.

Over the past few years, I’ve started to re-see some of these places. I took a trip home one summer and did Glacier and Yellowstone for the first time in at least 15 years. We also squeezed in a side trip to Big Hole National Battlefield, which I studied as a kid in Montana History. I had an opportunity to go back up Vancouver Island this past summer. And I always try and make a stop at Disneyland when in Southern California. My dad and I were just talking about how we’d like to go see Custer’s Last Stand again. I have a very distinct memory of visiting that particular battlefield, but would like to see it again as an adult who better understands the history and significance of that event.

As we kids got older, we’d often travel with another family. Our dads are best friends and enjoy the same things so I wish I were kidding when I say that I’m sure we’ve stopped at 90% of the historical markers in the Pacific Northwest. We frequently took trips out to the coast in the summers together. I have a picture from one summer around 6th grade with us four kids standing in front of Multnomah Falls. Amazingly through the years, I’ve stayed good friends with their son, Nate, and since he only lives a few short hours from me, we try and make a habit of meeting up every few months. I’ll either stop by on my way home from Seattle or we make plans to go explore someplace.

When we opt for the exploring option, we often end up going back to places we went as kids. Over Memorial Day, we met at Mt. St. Helens, as neither of us had been there in close to 20 years. It was so foggy that day you couldn’t even see the mountain, but it was fun to go back someplace that we’d been as kids. Next weekend we’re meeting up on the Oregon Coast to go to the Lewis and Clark National Park. If you’re from Montana, you’ve studied Lewis and Clark. I’ve gone so far, thanks to my dad, to having floated down a section of the Missouri River that they did hundreds of years before me. And as a kid, no trip to the Oregon Coast was complete without a stop at Fort Clatsop.

I’ve tried for years to get my Portland friends to go with me to Fort Clatsop again, and even when we’re already out at the coast for a long weekend, I’ve had no luck. So I was thrilled when Nate suggested we head there to meet up next weekend. After talking to him though, the Goertzens must have done Fort Clatsop more than his family, because I distinctly remember walking around there and buying a souvenir to hopefully get extra credit in 7th grade Montana History. Nate however, remembers our dads going to see the Fort and accidently taking his glasses with them, while we played on the beach.

I’m so thankful that my mom made us go to all kinds of places we thought were boring as kids. It’s nice to be able to say I’ve been to and seen well known places. And some lesser known places. And for taking me while I was a surly teenager. The woman should get a medal for that alone. Even more importantly, I’m thankful that she installed a desire to travel and see things in me, even if it’s something in my backyard. And it’s fun to have those childhood friends to re-discover your past trips with. Watch out Fort Clatsop, we’re coming back.