Most of my vacations were to Halifax/NS to see my mom’s parents and all of her side of the family. Most times we drove, but occasionally flew on military flights in a jump seat next to what felt like (as a kid) the largest men on the planet. Our mom would stuff cotton balls in our ears because of the noise.
Later my dad worked for the federal government at DND. He would go to Europe once a year for work but would leave us at home and only take my mom, lol they were sick of all of us by then.
Now I get two weeks (shutdown) at Christmas for local/family and two weeks in the fall and spring for wherever. We definitely do vacations better, but no kids so we can afford to.
As a kid I only remember three vacations. Twice we did two weeks at a beach house in Newport Beach, a 30 minute drive from home. We did do a Zion, Bryce, North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas trip.
As an adult I have been able to take my family on week long trips to Orlando, Hawaii, a Caribean cruise. Trips to Spain and England twice, France, and Italy (took my mom).
Now to be fair to my dad he had three kids to support I have one, I have also had better career opportunities than him.
Considering I took exactly one vacation growing up, not sure how it was done. That didn’t even happen till my sisters were out of the house and I was in middle school at the time.
For us, my wife and kids all pack too much stuff. Otherwise, I just let the wife unit plan and I go with the flow.
Everyone gets one duffel bag. If it doesn’t fit it misses the trip. The kids spend the whole time in a swimsuit anyway. I think actual clothes get worn for a half hour a day. Northern trips are trickier, somehow we get all the bikes and bags to the destination, my parents could not have pulled off those travels. Oh… helmets are part of your duffel.
I think my best family vacation was when I was in high school and my parents planned a trip to go to Niagra Falls with my uncles family. I told them i didn’t want to go, and they let me stay home.
By that point in my life I had had enough of the constant fighting.
My folks did it better just for the simple fact they didn’t have a lot of money. Most trips were camping in our RV. We would do 2 weeks in the Puget Sound, Wa. staying at state campgrounds. Coming from Montana we would show up with RV, and a 14’ aluminum boat on top of the truck. Basically Beverly Hillbillys style and couldn’t believe you could crab, clam, and fish for almost free. Seafood in Montana was a luxury so we had it made.
My family now I take them on camping trips to the Wa, Or coasts to do the same exept no boat and hopefully sand dunes near by. Wife and I have done southern carribean cruise, Cancun area, Carolinas, Moab, Sand Hollow UT. Grand Canyon, Sedona, Disney Land, and lots of semi local. Some flight type trips but mostly driving. This summer an Alaska cruise with friends for a 50th B Day.
When I was little the trips I did with my folks I just have so many good memories. We didn’t have a lot but we sure did make memories that I try to recreate to a degree for my family.
I think my parents did it better when I was a kid.
Vacations we take today are much more costly – often flying somewhere hotels, eating out, etc. And structured.
Growing up it was a week in a station wagon, driving to Northern California, national parks in Utah, Yosemite so many times. Fighting with my brothers in the back seat, eating at A&W, camping half the time, or a cheap hotel, or a cabin we rented. And when camped or in a cabin, it was a week of running wild, meeting girls, making friends you’d never see again. spending a full day in a tent in the rain at Refugio Beach. My moms rule or at least hope was flush toilets in the campground and hot water for showers. That didn’t always happen.
One of my fondest memories was a car trip to Northern California. My dad had bought some Califonia campgrounds guide book, and let me and my brothers decide each day where we were going and where we would stay.
I could never get my wife to go camping, or be in a care for hours like that driving aimlessly. So we don’t do it.
We do better just because we have more money. My parents managed to get us off on a ~2 week vacation each summer with 3 kids and whatever would fit in the back of the station wagon or trunk of the car. Dogs and cats were (mostly) outside pets untethered and left to fend for themselves with a bucket of food and water. It was probably no more than 3 or 4 changes of clothes, and we never packed any food. These days the cats have to be boarded and we definitely bring a lot more stuff, and hotels are pre-booked rather than whatever we can find. We see more and go more places…my kids have been to 5 different countries and dozens of states, and have done outdoor activities that put what I did as an Eagle Scout to shame. But the old family trips are still great memories.