For the last thirteen summers, my dad and I have made our annual expedition to Versailles, Indiana, for a week, so that we can go camping with my dad’s three brothers, cousins, and their children, which is about 20 Graver men in all, at the same camp site that holds so many memories of years past events, and soon to be events. When we camp there are three procedures that we follow: we eat when we are hungry, we sleep when we are tired, and we must be at the campground pool at 11:00 a.m., so we can be in our traditional location. If we are not at the pool or the campsite, then we are riding our bikes around the campground, enjoying God’s art and handiwork. This is the shortest week out of the entire year, but by far the most enjoyable week, …show more content…
We then proceed to Indiana, once our three tasks are completed. To make sure that we are mentally prepared, we sing the following, “Oh Indiana, Oh Indiana, Oh Indiana we’re all for you. We will fight for the Cream and Crimson, and the glory of Old IU. Never daunted, we cannot falter in the battle, we’re tried and true. Indiana, Our Indiana, Indiana, we’re all for you!”
The driving portion of the trip is boring and nothing really happens except for the fact that we travel over 580 miles, while battling vehicles of all different shapes, sizes, and color; so I will just skip it and move on to the actual camping element. When we arrive at the entrance of Versailles State Park and see the grass that was cut by the female chain gang the previous day (not a sexist statement, but we really saw a female chain gang a year ago doing the landscaping), the gentle swaying of the trees in the soft breeze, and the fact that our hearts are telling us that we have arrived to the only utopia on the face of the earth, my dad and I know that jam packed week of Graverism and fun are about to begin. As we venture into the state park we look around at all of God’s handy work, from the little creatures running around, to the abundant botanic life forms, and the way that God paints a picture for us in the sky every morning and evening is just truly mind blowing. I along with everyone else
It had looked so far away it was hard to believe I would be on top of it in a few days. Besides in the campsites, we only saw one other group of people during the entire 12 day trek and the only human sounds were our own. Each camp was an island of civilization in a great sea of wilderness, and a wonderful solace to end the day’s hike.
"Welcome to the wilderness, Rolling Stones!" Rob, the JH Ranch camp director, said in his unique Australian accent with a slight southern draw added from living in Nashville for several years. "As y 'all will recall, your coaches can 't tell you how to get to your destination, or when you arrive. It 's up to your leader, secretary, and your navigator to get you there. This activity is meant to make your team and your relationship to the lord stronger. Don 't forget the steps in solving a problem: pray, analyze the information given, discuss the problem, listen to everyone in your group, and choose the best plan of action."
This year’s family vacation was one for the books. With my aunt living in Tennessee, we do not get together as often as we would like so my family decided to go to Nashville, Tennessee. When we started our trip, it was 6 a.m. and it was nothing short of fun and laughter along the way. Never having been to Tennessee before, I figured I’d enjoy the eight-hour ride of sight-seeing and laughter with my family. When we were a few miles into the trip, the mountains of Georgia were breathtaking. While I was enjoying the scenery, another thing that I found enjoyable about this trip was the conversation that I had with my family. We went on talking about life in general, all the struggles, and childhood memories that we had. We even talked about years
First,my church called “GOCC” had to take a four hour drive to St.Louis. Me and my family we're excited to sleep is a tent for the first time. We had a tent,two sleeping bags, and a cover. Are church stayed in a train of cars the whole destination. Some of the names of the people that came with my family we're Richard, Adaya,Dayana, Monica, Shawn, David, Al, Shelton, Oliva, Brandi, and Ty’isha.
Choosing fun over work, I pressured them to let me go, and they reluctantly said yes. We went by tour bus; on the way, I played games on my phone, talked with siblings and church friends, prayed, and sang hymns. We stayed in a Hampton Inn, and enjoyed a good night’s sleep after an exhausting day of touring different towns and eating different foods. The next day, we set out to the falls themselves. The adults let us choose if
My mom wanted to move to Indiana and my dad wanted a cat. My mom didn't want to take Shadow on the long drive, so we ended up giving Shadow to my dad. My mom and I moved to Indiana. When we got here I still really wanted a cat and really missed shadow. My mom got me a surprise that we still have today! She got me a new cat named Sylvester! He is a short haired tuxedo cat. I remember getting him and being so happy I had another cat.
We have just arrived at our campsite. So far, this is the most outstanding campsite I have ever seen. Just looking out the window of the car I saw the tall orange and yellow trees as the autumn sun was shining down upon them. Then, when I got out of
My story begins in the sunny bright land of Crestview, Florida in 2015. My father announced that he was going to be moving in with his fiance in Indiana and my brother and I would be living with our mom for the remainder of the school year. My brother and I had the choice to stay or go to be closer to the rest of our family who lives in Indiana as well. My brother was pleading with everything to go to Indiana so we could be closer and see our family more often. Myself, I wanted to stay because I had friends and one thing holding me there, my girlfriend. She was the only reason I wanted to stay in Florida, we were together for a year and a half and I would rather stay with her than leave to be with my family. Eventually as the school year was wrapping up, she became nervous that I would wind up leaving her and going to Indiana so she did what any non-logical person would do. She started dating another guy. Most people would be heartbroken or even devastated over this, but me? No, I was perfectly fine. I knew this was God’s plan to get me to a better life, allow me to tell you more of my
A few minutes before we landed at the airport, I looked at the screen in front of me and it showed ‘33°C’. It had been a year since I last experienced that kind of heat and I couldn’t bear it last time, so I wondered how I would cope with the heat this time. As the plane began to slow and turn into terminal, I could hear people around me start to get there belongings together so that they could get off the plane first. People returned the magazines to the rack on the back of the chair in front of them and I turned off my iPod and put it back in my bag. When I took my headphones out, I felt like I was back in the real world now as I had been concentrating on listening to music for hours. It seemed like time was going slower and slower
This past summer my family went on a vacation out west to Zion National Park, Utah. In Zion, we saw many amazing things, but nothing could compare to our trip to the top of Angel's Landing. The morning of our hike we were scheduled to leave our hotel by six o’clock. It was cold and foggy and all I had on was a pair of shorts, a tank top, and my new black hiking sandals; nonetheless, I was freezing. When we finally got to the shuttle bus stop there were very few people there. On the shuttle bus ride, my anxiety about going on this hike was growing even more.
Today is the first day I’m writing in my Journal. But today is definitely not my first day working here in The Congaree National park. I have worked here for many years. Although I love the smiles of the children and the curious looks of the excited people, there are some downs. But before I complain to you about the beautiful and amazing park I will show you how my day goes. As I put on my clothing I forget something….Something I forget every time. My name tag! I pick up my brown name tag and brush my fingers of my name, Louisa,. I put on my hat and right before I walk out the door, I say a little prayer “Lord, please don’t let me get eaten by an alligator, Amen”. Then I open my door and a fresh blow of crisp South Carolinian air brushes my face. As my face gets stroked by the wind I smile, until I hear a yell from my boss. I ran over to him and he says in a happy voice “You are going to take this lovely family on a tour”. All I could do at the moment was smile and say “Come this way”. My boss taps my shoulder and whispers “You can do this, you know everything about this park,it's your home”. We walk and walk till we finally get to the start of the hiking spot, I go over the boring rules and tell them to stay close. I took a deep breath and continued on with the facts. I announce this “Here at Congaree
My two brothers nagged and complained constantly that “it’s too hot to do anything”. consequently, My family and I were off to find water. Two and a half miles of complacent landscape and flat concrete roads later, My family and I had arrived at Krause Springs, a popular spot for young families and middle aged men lying on pool floats. Entering the spring, I gendered in amazement at the sharp cliffs jetting off the ground and Into the sky. I had done nothing that whole day, but laugh, play, and eat chips until my older brother invited me up a narrow rocky path. “Where are we going” I asked excitedly. “Just wait, you’ll see” he responded ominously, speeding up his pace. When my brother and i enter a clearing in the path my mind pondered on what we would be doing, until I found that
Approximately 33% or a third of all families in the United States will go on a family vacation this year. Family vacations when you break it down is entirely for the parents. Parents and their children are stressed during the school year, whether it's providing for the family or homework. Family vacations may be stress reducing or enhancing depending on where you go, who you’re going with, and why you’re going.
After working all year long, sometimes sixty plus hours a week, the mind and body can become very worn down. You have to have a break or your work performance could suffer. The last part of winter or the first part of spring, is when
Spending quality time with family is one of my favorite childhood memories, whether it was spending time outdoors, playing ping pong, or watching a movie. My most meaningful family memory came from our vacation to Colorado back in 2004; yes, 2004. Although I don’t remember all of the events that transpired, I’m able to recall most of the memorable events that took place. It was a cool, misty morning in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, and I could distinctly hear the unmistakable elk calls that echoed through the mountains. The breeze gently scraped my face as I got into the car to begin the first day of our family vacation in Colorado. I could hear the car tires gently humming on the road during this cool, foggy, Colorado morning. As I looked past the lanky pine trees, glistening drops of dew formed on the tall grass, dancing with the wind. As we moved further down the road, I could see the tip of the sun barely begin to peek over the steep, snowy mountain peaks; however, the sun was soon covered by the misty Colorado clouds. This was it: our family vacation!