Vacations

This morning I grabbed a pink mug from my shelves (yes, plural) of coffee cups and was reminded of a family vacation. The mug is from Disneyland, pink with all the princesses on it. What's funny to me about how cutsie that sounds is that I was 23 when I bought it. It was my first time to Disneyland...

and I went with my family...in an RV.

When I was younger we couldn't afford family vacations to fancy or far off places. We always camped on the Oregon coast which just happens to be a winding 60 minute drive from home. When I was in Middle School we started going to a nearby theme park that had a few rides, mini golf and a water slide. I preferred the gusty beaches.

Once when I was 13 we actually went to Oahu with my grandpa for a family reunion. See, my dad was adopted so while my grandpa was Chinese + Hawaiian we are not. So naturally the reunion was taking place on the island where he grew up. We were only able to afford it because he and his sister were paying for quite a bit of it.

{yes I'm posting a picture of me from 1996}

So nearly ten years later when my family had decided to make the 14 hour drive (that turned into 24 hours) in a rental RV down to Anaheim I was all for it. Even though I had just garnered a ridiculous self-inflicted head injury. Maybe I'll share that story another time.

{March 2005, an RV ride down the 5 will make you crazy}

There was the typical arguments and drama, but all in all it was a good time.

{March 2005, California Adventure}

My next vacation didn't come along until my honeymoon in July of 2007. Ben and I were determined to go somewhere exciting and new. While a lot of our peers were going to the same gusty Oregon beaches after their weddings, we decided to go to Honolulu Hawaii. Ben had never been and I was excited to see some familiar places as well as experience more things with my new husband.

I'm glad I took the time and saved the money to vacation in my early twenties. I haven't been on a vacation since our honeymoon. There hasn't been enough time or money since then. We were invited to Disneyworld with my inlaws last summer but those plans were cancelled when I got pregnant with Malakai. Ben and I are homebodies for sure, but it feels that we are about due for a getaway, one that won't probably happen for at least a few more years. I guess that's what made me reflect on vacations past. It'll be fun to save for future vacations and be creative about where we'd like to go that is kid friendly.

For now I'll enjoy planning for Malakai's 1st birthday and camping at those familiar beaches with our extended family.

What was your favorite vacation? Where do you hope to go on your next one?