Summertime Travel...Are we there yet?!

Spring means only one thing to me, summer is right around the corner. And while I enjoy spring, I LOVE summer.

Road trip!

To me nothing says summer like a road trip vacation. Most of us have memories of being loaded in the car with our siblings for a family road trip. My sisters and I crammed in the backseat of the family sedan. Stopping at Stuckey’s for snacks for us and coffee for my folks. Now that my sisters and I are grown with families of our own these long ago road trips have taken on a sense of nostalgia. We don’t recall all of the bickering, all of the pleas of “stop touching me” and cries of “Mom! She’s on my side of the seat!” We just remember the excitement of the trip; sleeping in a hotel, swimming in the hotel’s big pool, eating in restaurants, stopping at the big rest areas. So much fun.

Boone, Iowa

Although my idea of a great vacation has changed over the years, I still feel an undeniable pull to hit the road during summer, whether literally in a car or figuratively. For me, nothing says vacation like the beach. Often times our family road trips ended at a small beach community on the gulf coast. At a beach house where we could run and play on the beach to our hearts content. Other times we were in Florida at an aunt and uncles house in Daytona Beach where the beach seemed vast and never ending and our days were filled with BBQ’s and swimming. Sweet summertime.

I have very fond memories of a road trip I took several years ago with my husband and his parents. What a great time. We all loaded in the car and headed off to Rapid City. We took our time, stopping at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD, Wall Drug and various other points along the way. We stopped to visit Custer State Park, Badlands National Park and the Crazy Horse Memorial, ending our journey at Mount Rushmore. Not only was it fun to spend time together as a family I also got to see a part of the country I had never visited before. It was a great trip and a memory I will always treasure.

Crazy Horse Memorial-Black Hills, South Dakota

Mount Rushmore

Custer State Park-Black Hills, South Dakota

Corn Palace-Mitchell, South Dakota

There are many odd and interesting sites awaiting the travelers of America's back roads. Like this unusual monument located in Rural Georgia.

Georgia Guidestones, Elbert County GA

Georgia Guidestones, Elbert County GA

No matter how much our idea of a what makes a good vacation changes over the years, those early family trips will always hold a special place in our memories. Here's to the coming summer vacations and happy travel memories!

Parts of this story were originally posted at Lazy Lightning