Summer months always make me think of my childhood and summer vacation.  Of course, there were the days spent at home watching Price Is Right or annoying my mom with hours and hours of the Nintendo Legend of Zelda theme song.  And then there was the week or two where my family went somewhere fun!  So, in the spirit of the summers of my youth, here are my five favorite childhood vacation spots:

1. Black Butte: Check out my post last week.  Love it so much, I have to mention it again!
The infamous bumpy bridge on banana seat bikes
Awesome 1980s arcade inside the barn!



2. Disneyland: How much closer to Walt Disney can you get?  Immediately, when I was a kid, you would walk in the park and feel as if you were in the 1950s and 1960s because not much had changed.  Along Main Street was the ice cream parlor and the arcade where you could watch penny films and play with old fashioned games, like marble baseball.  Plus original rides from 1955 still were in operation:  Dumbo's Flying Circus and practically all of Fantasyland, Disneyland Railroad, Autopia, Mark Twain's Riverboat, and the Jungle Cruise.  It's too bad they got rid of the Tomorrowland Boats because I think there's a hilarious childhood film that exists where I'm intensely focused on driving that boat and staying on course - not knowing we were attached to a track underneath the water!  I also miss the classic Peoplemover in Tomorrowland and the Skyway that passed through the Matterhorn ride where you could hear the yeti roar.  I love the before and after photos below from of one of our rainy visits...ok, so not ALL trips to Disney are perfect!  Absolute classic expressions from everyone in my family in the "after" shot!


3. Disneyworld:  Speaking of Mickey, why stop at the West Coast.  In fact, while I may have more history with Disneyland due to its proximity, Disneyworld was far better suited to my interests.  I remember just falling in love with Epcot, specifically the countries and more specifically France.  In fact, this may be the point of origin for my fascination with world travel.  How great would it be if each country was just a 5 minute walk from each other, and if Italy and Morocco were neighbors?

4. Hawaii:  I grew up on the West Coast, so our tropical destination was always Hawaii.  While I was there for the first time, Mount St. Helens erupted and we came home to ash in our yard.  My memory from Maui was a cockroach in my shoe.  Then from the Big Island, I spent too much time boogie boarding and got 2nd degree sunburn.  OK, so it seems like I had an awful time every time we went, but that's not the case.  There were amazing memories from our vacations on the islands, like the shave ice, gecko chasing, late night pool visits where I would dance in front of the pool lights to perform a shadow dance (that should have qualified me for some amazing award - I'm convinced), and many, many puka shell necklaces purchased.  And did I mention the boogie boarding???

5. Washington D.C.:  Initially, I recall my parents had to bribe me with a few days at Disneyworld before I would go and be cooperative on a "knowledge-expanding" trip to D.C.   Hey, I was young - can you blame me that I wanted to spend my time off from school screaming on rides and not going to museums?  I remember having a lot of fun, though, visiting the Smithsonians to see the airplanes and First Lady dresses, as well as our tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing where I left with a bag of shredded dollars.  Then there was the charm of Williamsburg.  I came away with a fife and a feather pen with ink from that visit, and apparently a trip to the stocks based on the photo below!  Who knew I would end up living in D.C. as an adult.  I still find it surreal that I live in a town that is an international travel destination.