summer road trip

[twitter]I clearly remember the last family vacation I had with my brother, sister, and parents. We went to Maui a few weeks before I started University. I remember our condo across from the beach. I remember sitting at the pool all day listening to the local radio station heavily promoting the debut of Michael Jackson‘s new album, Bad. I remember buying a pooka shell necklace, and snorkelling at Molokini. I remember my parents made a big deal about the trip.

“This is probably our last vacation together as a family,” they must have said every day leading up to the trip. Typical of my age, I didn’t pay much attention to their sentimentality.

Summer vacations were a big deal growing up. They usually involved a long road trip. From Kingston, Ontario to South Carolina. From Kingston, Ontario to Vancouver, BC. From Vancouver, BC to Los Angeles. They always lasted at least of couple of weeks. We always went as a family.

My parents were right. That summer of 1987 was the last time we all went away on a summer vacation together.

I didnt think of that moment much until last week. We’re headed to Idaho for our summer vacation this year (I’ve taken my parents’ affinity for road trips), and after reaching out to their tourist bureau for vacation ideas, I discovered their marketing message revolved around the idea of 18 summers.

18 summers. That’s all we get as a family. Wow. That’s all we had has a family. Our last family vacation was that Hawaii trip in the summer of 1987, I was born in the winter of 1970. That’s 18 summers. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

Zacharie was born in May, 2007. This summer will be … number 9? No.

Am I really halfway through? I know ‘they grow up so fast,’ but am I really already halfway through the summers I will spend with my boys as a family? Sure, we might make it to 20, or 21, if I cling a little tighter to my kids, but 9 is still nearly half those numbers too.

18 summers. That’s all we get. We’ve done Vancouver (often), Montana, Alberta, but this summer number 9’s road trip will be Idaho. We’ll hike Schweitzer Mountain, sample huckleberries, play at Silverwood Theme Park, kayak Lake Pend D’Oreille, ride the Route of the Haiwatha, and the whole time I will be thinking “Wow. This is number 9.”

18 Summers In Idaho

You’ve got 18 summers of family vacations with your kids. What do you have planned for this year?

You can join us in Idaho this summer, and even win your own vacation. Enter here.

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