Did you ever have to write an essay in school about your summer vacation? Worse, did you ever have nothing extraordinary to share? Of course, I have fond memories of family vacations, riding in a station wagon to Arkansas, an RV to Washington D.C., and a caravan of two Winnebagos to Colorado (which was my favorite!). I remember one vacation when we drove to the coast during Spring Break. We were driving an RV and hauling a boat. I don't know why this happened but apparently we ran out of gas and my dad had to siphon gas out of the boat and put it in the RV. He simply used a tube and sucked on it. He turned a little green and the stubble of his beard turned white. LOL! I have such fond memories of finding sand dollars on the beach and traipsing through majestic pines. But you never knew what crazy things might happen.

Which is true of my own family's vacations. When we went to the Big Island of Hawaii a few years ago.



The last morning as we were packing our suitcases and about to head to the airport, the island experienced an earthquake. Airports were shut down. Power was off on the main island. And we were stuck. How horrible, right? But oh, I remember swimming with the turtles and the taste of fresh pineapple. Bliss.

Then there was our trip to London a couple of years ago. London is one of my favorite places in the world! I've been blessed to go three times now (and hope to go again!).



We were in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and my dear daughter was called down because she got too close to a statue. She simply wanted to see what the 'girl in marble' was reading on her scroll. Thankfully, we were then shown several interesting bits and pieces. While this lovely man with a delightful British accent explained some amazing history to us, I saw a girl that looked like someone we knew. I whispered to my daughter, "That looks like…" And when the girl heard her name, she turned around. It was our friend! We both happened to be in the same gallery in the same museum so far away from our homes at the same time. What a small world! The funny part was that I then tried to explain to the museum guy that the young teens knew each other and had been orphans together. I'm sure he thought that was odd. What I really meant was that they were in the production of Annie together. LOL!

Through writing, I've been blessed to take my kids several places on research trips or to writing conferences. My daughter and I went to New York together, and were able to see a couple of Broadway shows.



We had a marvelous time eating barbecue throughout Memphis when I researched Elvis Takes a Back Seat.



When we visited Marfa, Texas for Once in a Blue Moon, we arrived at the same time as the annual Marfa Lights Festival and my kids got to ride the 'bull' on the town square.



In Scotland, we chased Princess Anne through Edinburgh. Not really. But we kept running into her.



I can't seem to stop remembering now that I have gotten started down this happy trail. So many happy times. So many sweet memories. So many adventures. What stories will I have to tell when we get back from Paris? Au revoir! If you're my 'friend' on Facebook then you know some of the craziness that happened in France, but I'll share here soon.



By the way, this picture was taken by my fabulous travel agent, Caron Guillo.


Leave a comment about your favorite place to travel, and I'll draw a winner next Monday (June 17th)! The winner will receive one of my books mentioned in this post!

Labels: London, Marfa, Memphis, New York City, Paris., research trips, Texas, Vacations