Family Memories : My Family Vacation

Everyone has them, the stories from their family or childhood so deeply ingrained into their psyche that they can recall it in vivid detail years after the event happened. These stories are usually something or someone causes a trauma that effects the storyteller in some profound way. Mimi Swartz contends that “if we only stick to the facts, our past is as skeletal as black and white line drawings in a coloring book. We must color it in” (p.287). Over the years these stories take on a life of their own adding color and emotion that turns the story into a family myth.

Once I was a boy, I know crazy right! When I was a boy I went on vacation. I know no one else does that right it’s crazy! So I went on vacation to Florida, a strange place to go on vacation I know but we did it! When we arrived my grandparents were at the airport and they drove us to where we were staying, a place… called Club med. When we arrived, we meaning me my Mom my brother Robert and my grandparents, took a tour of the complex, now prepare yourself for a lot of words. There were four swimming pools, three tennis courts, a trapeze swing a club, a smoothie bar a restaurant, an all-day buffet house, four hotels a guests only beach with almost albino white sand and water so clear you could see the bottom, and boats and paddle boards that

Hey guys! I just wanted to start off by apologizing on how late this chapter is. I was on vacation for my birthday but to make up for it I am giving you a double chapter today! Enjoy!

Once upon a time, my family and I went on a vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. This vacation was an event in my life that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of my family and myself. This vacation was the first vacation that my dad had planned all by himself. He was super excited because we were going camping on the beach, and he loved camping. The plan was that we were going to kayak over to the island we would be staying on with all of our stuff, then kayak back in the morning. That is not how it worked out.

My favorite vacation spot is St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. I have been there ten times and every time has affected me in different aspects. Each year that I have gone, I have discovered something new that makes me never want to leave. The people, food, and culture are all so unique because I do not witness it on an every day basis. In the islands there are unique sights, sounds, and smells that let me know I am away from home relaxing and enjoying vacation with family.

We woke up at 5 am When it was pouring rain to get on the cruise ship the ship was absolutely phenomenal. I’ll get into that at a later time. The first Island we went to is called Grand Turk In Turks and Caicos. Now this island we have already gone to previously so we knew what we were gonna do there. The second we got off the ship we took a half a mile walk down the beach to this place called “Jack’s Shack” where they serve THE BEST Jerked chicken and play music and serve drinks to you while you lay

Since both my uncle’s flight and ours left around 4 or 5 in the morning, we drove down to Minneapolis the day before we flew out. That way we wouldn’t have to drive in the middle of the night. That night we stayed in a hotel and had to wake up at 3 in the morning to go to the airport. I only ended up getting 3 hours of sleep that night because I was so excited! Two flights and a hour drive later we were finally arrived in Alabama. My uncle’s family would get there about an hour after us since they were on a different flight, and everyone else would get there soon after. We couldn’t get into the house until 4, so we went down to the beach to waste time. As soon as I stepped out of the car I could feel the sun warm my face and the hot sand spill onto my flip flops. It was cold when we left for the airport so I was in capris and a sweatshirt, which isn’t really ideal clothing for Alabama in the summer. My mom and I walked down to the water and pulled our pants up as we stepped into the ocean. The waves lapped around our ankles as we stood in the cool ocean water.

Have you ever been on a favorite family vacation? I have, and my favorite family vacation is when I went Wisconsin and Illinois to see my niece Karina, my step sister Missy, my Aunt Rena and Uncle Tommy. Before we left we had a lot to do my parents took our dogs to this ladies house that was taking care of our dogs while we was gone. Next my parents drop my brother and I off at my grandparents house to visit them before we left while they picked up the car we are going to drive. It took forever to leave but we finally did.

Last summer, on the 25th of June 2013, I went to the glorious ‘Maui Island’. BEAUTY! Not perfect, but it still was heaven. It was something I’d never seen before! Something wonderful. Enchanting. Magical.

:”as i’m cleaning my room the only thing that on my mind where we going for or third vacation”.’but at the other end my mom had a task for me to so i had to wait”

My childhood is full of many fond memories. When I think back to some of the earliest times, I can only remember tiny sparks and flickers of certain moments. However, at a certain age, I began to more vividly remember events in my life. The first family vacation I can fully recall was a trip my family took to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. When I found out about the trip it was Christmas morning. My brother and I each got an envelope, which encased tickets to Disney World. I was ecstatic to go to Disney World because it was a childhood dream come true for me!

We were all watching tv there was a football game on. My dad got up and asked Graham, Dallas and I to go in to Graham's room. He told us that us three we're going to colorado if we didn't have anything important going on. None of us thought we had anything but it turns out that Dallas, who's a sophomore in high school, had too many test going on so that meant Dallas wasn't going. We were all pretty bummed but not enough to not go. Graham started packing right away. I didn't pack till last minute, that may have been a mistake. When school ended Dallas picked us up and I raced up stairs packing as fast as I could. In about an hour we had everything in the car and ready to go. We were off to colorado.

A vacation is meant to be a time for serenity and relaxation. In my case it was the complete opposite, but it changed me for the better. Five years ago a family vacation to Jamaica changed the way I saw everything and made me appreciate the people I love and where I come from.

As families go, mine was what I thought of as normal – whatever normal may mean. We always took our summer family vacations in Durness in the Northwestern Highlands of Scotland. My Seanmhair, Skye Sutherland on my father’s side lived in a converted crofter cottage on the edge of the cliffs above the sea. The cottage is made of the same stone as the low walls near the cottage. I always loved going back each year to my father’s childhood home. The Highlands of Scotland were more than just the 5,333 miles from my home in Woodland Hills a suburb of Los Angeles, California. There were no malls and no traffic, no housing tracts in the Highlands – only the beautiful green cliffs above the sea.

When I was the first year of the elementary school, my father gave present to my mom, younger sister, and I to travel the United States-- truly it was for visiting my Uncle’s house in Philadelphia. It was the first time that rided the airplane. South Korea to the United States was over the 13 hours. However, I couldn’t get into sleep during the flight because of nervous. When I was arrived airport, it was the first time to meet my uncle and his family. We spend whole summer with his family, especially Jenny who is daughter of Uncle. Because uncle had his job, we had to stay at the house most of time. I was boring with his house. So, my sister, mom, and I were walking around his house. Going his house to drug store and back needed almost 1hours. It was really suprised to me because I needed only 5 minutes to go and back from store. After several days, we were boring again. So, Jenny and my family went to New York City, too. I only remembered that I ate the Spongebob ice cream bar at some park. It was the one of the nice memory of my life.