I don’t know if I mentioned at all, but our family took a little trip this last weekend.
We took off after Sarah’s soccer game on Saturday to go up to Lake Murray, Oklahoma. My parents gave us a gift certificate last year for the lodge there and we really needed to use it. Sarah had a long weekend off of school, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Oh it was a beautiful weekend. And if you need a quick getaway, that is a great place for it. The lodge accommodations aren’t five-star by any stretch of the imagination… maybe two. But there was a bed and no tent.
Because, you know, I don't camp. Roughing it for me involves a hotel without room service. And unless 6:30 am coffee service at your room qualifies as room service, this was roughing it.
But there is so much to do around there, especially with the kids.
And this was a first for me. I went totally without doing any research. Well, I suppose that’s not entirely accurate. I had one thing on my agenda and that was Arbuckle Wilderness, and I only had that on my radar because my parents gave us money to do that as well. We also figured we’d be able to rent Wave Runners at some point and take the kids out on the lake. Beyond that, we had no plans at all.
Well, the Wave Runner thing didn’t pan out. But we did some other fun things instead. Like…
Mini golf….
A horseback ride…
Hiking and swimming at Turner Falls…
And of course, Arbuckle Wilderness…
I realized only after we got home that this may have been the first time we’ve traveled for a vacation with just the four of us. Since Nathan has been born, either he was young enough that he stayed home, or our vacations have been with extended family.
And how wonderful that both of our kids are now old enough that we can go and do things without diaper bags, diaper changes, sippy cups, high chairs, or naps on the rare occasion if need be.
We are truly at a fun point in life.
And I hope to take full advantage of it.
Are you there yet? What kinds of things do you / did you do with your family to take advantage of this young childhood time of life? Give a mama some ideas.
8 Comments:
That all looked like fun...except for the animals reaching inside your car! I'd have been freaked out like Nathan was! aaaaaah!
We're taking our first family vacation in Feb to DISNEY WORLD and parts around it! We can hardly wait. We're still doing diapers here, but I don't mind it.
Wow.. looks like you had a great weekend. The video cracked me up! I think SOMEbody wasn't very happy about ginormous animal heads inside the car... but I'm not naming any names! LOL
We've done Glen Rose. It's a short getaway place. It's sort of outdoorsy. Dino tracks... etc. Sea World is fun.
We like Glen Rose too and have stayed here:
http://countrywoodsinn.com/
The kids really enjoy feeding the animals in the barnyard...but the rooster does crow might early!
Some years we get a family pass to Fossil Rim and then go to Glen Rose 2-3 times that year to make the pass worth it.
Looks like you had a fun time. Loved your video clip! We did a family vacation in 2004 to Santa's Village in Bracebridge, Ontario. It was a lot of fun. We tend to take day trips to Toronto to experience things like the CN Tower, ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) or we just do stuff around home. We have a zoo here that is free admission, so we go there quite often, swimming at he YMCA, or just going and shooting some hoops in the school yard.
I don't know how much this is going to help you in TX (unless of course you wanted to vacation here =)but....
Being Pacific Northwesterners, my kids' favorite activity is a 45 minute trip to the dam to see the fish swimming up the fish ladder, and then a visit to the fish hatchery where baby chinook and coho salmon are raised before they are released. And its FREE! Always good. =)
We also like to drive to the coast to visit tide pools and see seals and sea lions. Also free (if you know where to look).
We're also an hour away from the mountains, two hours from the high desert and less than 20 minutes from a dozen or so streams/creeks/rivers. Most of what we do is in day trips and it is mostly free except for the cost of gas.
I don't know what Texas has to offer, but I'm sure you could find lots of interesting things to do. Parks services, fish and wildlife preserves, and God's nature itself can provide hours of family entertainment at very little cost. Many state parks even have very reasonable cabin rentals too! =)
I remember going to fish hatcheries when I was a kid. Went to several. Of course, I have no idea where they were. lol We took Boo to one in Branson. Just watching the fish make a big splash when you throw food in seems to delight kids.. and those of us that aren't so little anymore.. ah-hum. lol
I wanna live where "Beyond This Moment" lives! That sounds AWESOME!!!
Oh it looks like you all had a blast! How wonderful!!! We really haven't had the opportunity to take vacations.
Blessings
Michelle
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