A Look Back at Our Vacation from the Last 26 Years

I loved this old post and the look back at all our family vacations and I decided that it was time to add onto it and include all the trips we've taken since it was originally posted in May of 2017.

It's fun to look back through the photos too. I realize that I was not very good at taking pictures those first few years and we are still quite bad at making sure we are both in any picture together but I am getting better with that!



Once I finished writing this post I was humbled by just how lucky and fortunate we have been.  I honestly had no idea that we had taken as many wonderful vacation as we had!  We truly are blessed to have so many wonderful relaxing times together.

Now onto the trips!

Old Orchard Beach, Maine-- 1994 & 1995 

One my very earliest memories is heading to Old Orchard Beach with my husband and his WHOLE ENTIRE family (mother, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.).  I was still in high school and while I am sure my mom was nervous about me going I have such fond memories of the  beach and the beach house.  We spent our nights playing at the arcade, playing mini golf, and checking out the amusement park.  Days were spent lying in the sand, searching at low tide for sand dollars, and walking out along the pier.

Our first trip in 1994
Boardwalk in 1995


Old Orchard Beach and Kittery/ York, Maine-- 1996

Once we were off in college, we tacked a few extra days onto the end of his family's Old Orchard Beach trip and enjoyed a few nights by ourselves in York, Maine.   We enjoyed browsing the shops in Kittery and the beaches in York as well as visiting the York Park Zoo and eating the largest ice cream cone ever right near the light house.


Niagara Falls, New York-- 1998

Hubby had a job to do near Niagara Falls so I re-worked my schedule at the last minute to go with him on a road trip.  We only stayed over night but we had a great time eating at the Hard Rock Cafe and walking over to the Canadian side of the falls at night to see them all lit up.  We took an elevator down behind the falls on the american side and I had never been that close to the mist and the roaring water.



Las Vegas-- 1999

He was being sent to Las Vegas for a convention through his work and I was invited to tag along.  We stayed at the Monte Carlo.  The trip landed exactly during my spring break from college so I was thrilled to go.  Part of my husbands family was also attending the convention so all the men went to the convention during the day while us women went sight seeing and then we all went out to dinner and to a few really great shows in the evening together.  It was a perfect trip!



Old Orchard Beach-- 1999

We planned a fun couples vacation with friends of ours in Old Orchard Beach.  It was great showing off our old stomping ground with new friends and even better-- this couple is still great friends of ours to this day!



Hampton Beach, New Hampshire-- 1999

We stayed in Hampton beach and enjoyed the beach and the town tremendously.  We also took a side trip up to the Polar Caves.



Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania- 2000

We went to an all inclusive couples resort called Paradise Stream in the Pocono Mountains and that is actually where we got engaged!  We had a fabulous weekend biking, hiking, and swimming.



Honeymoon Cruise-- St Maarten, Nassau Bahamas, St. Thomas-- 2001 

We cruised the seas on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas.  We enjoyed snorkeling, a kayak tour of a Mangrove lagoon, and eating so many new foods.  We had wonderful weather and calm seas.


Ocean City, Maryland-- 2001

Later in the summer we headed to Ocean City Maryland with a couple that my husband and I have known since grade school.  We spent a lot of time at the go- kart track and it is one of the only times in my life that I can ever remember winning a miniature golf game.  The only downside to this vacation was the phone call that my husband's grandmother had passed away.



Lake Winepesaukee, Hew Hampshire-- 2002 

We stayed in a charming lakeside cabin on Lake Winepesaukee for our first anniversary.  We went hiking, toured Castle in the Clouds and went on a lovely dinner cruise around the lake.


The view from our room 

York, Maine-- 2004

Ian's first vacation with us and he was not even a year old yet.  We spent a long weekend in York, Maine taking in the zoo, walking along the town, and giving him his first taste of ice cream.



Conway, New Hampshire-- 2005

Ian was not even 2 years old yet and I was pregnant with Alec when we decided we might as well try another family vacation.  We went to Storyland and stayed at a hotel right on main street in Conway.  We also visited Santa's Village. Unfortunately, Ian got sick in the middle of the night and I'll always remember this as the first time he ever had a febrile seizure. Luckily the staff at the Conway emergency room were fantastic and they had a pharmacy right on sight that filled a prescription for us right away.





Cape Cod, Massachusetts-- 2005

My mother in law and her friend rented a summer cottage in Cape Cod for the week and invited us up for a mini vacation.  Ian enjoyed his time at the beach and even cooperated so nicely for a seafood dinner out.  It was a really nice and fairly rural area so we were able to put him in his stroller and go for long walks.   I will never forget sitting in that house watching the coverage of Hurricane Katrina and all the damage it left behind.



Camden, New Jersey-- 2006

We took both of the boys to Camden New Jersey when Alec was still just a baby.  We went to the Camden Aquarium, the Philadelphia zoo, checked out a children's museum, and had our first visit to Sesame Place.


Walt Disney world-- 2007 

Our first trip to Disney when I was still pregnant with Evan.  We tried just a short 4 day trip and while we had fun it was a lot of work; especially when I was feeling a bit under the weather in the mornings.  I swore never to take really young children to Disney ever again.


Quebec, Canada-- 2008

Our town had planned a bus trip to Quebec and my husband and I decided to go as a late anniversary gift to ourselves; leaving the boys at home.  We had 4 days to explore the city; both new and old and had a wonderful time learning all about the area.  You might think travelling with a bus full of people that we might have had a photo taken together... but nope!



Sesame Place, Pennsylvania-- 2008

We headed back to Sesame place in 2008, remembering what a great park it was, even with young kids.  My mother in law came with us for the first time and it started a new family tradition of taking "grammy" on all our family vacations.


Evan, Ian and myself meeting the Count (Alec was terrified of the characters 2008)
Alec's look of panic at the character breakfast



Walt Disney World, Orlando Florida-- 2009

 We left Evan home with my mother- in- law since he was still a baby and my husband refused to go if we had to take him along.  Reminding me of my vow not to take young children to Disney again, I ignored that and booked the trip anyway.  The boys enjoyed meeting ALL the characters, riding the rides, and swimming in the hotel pool at the Wilderness Lodge.



2009--   My husband was working in Orlando for a few weeks while I was home alone with the kids and we decided that I would fly down myself and meet him in Orlando when his job finished up.  We spent 4 glorious days in Disney World alone.  It was the best second honeymoon ever!  We finally got to see all of the wonderful shows (that the kids would never have sat through), try some of the most amazing restaurants (that were not kid friendly), and go on all the "big kid" rides!  For some reason it felt like more a honeymoon than any other trip we had ever taken without the kids.  Maybe because I was finally finished with pregnancy, nursing, and babies.



Sesame Place 2010--  With all three boys at a good age to enjoy the park, the characters, the parade and the food we headed back to Sesame place in 2010.  My mother in law opted not to join us and wanted us to enjoy our vacation alone.


Hershey Park, Hershey Penn.-- 2010

On our way to Sesame place we stopped and spent a few days at Hershey Park.  Evan was getting better with meeting characters and all the boys loved the chocolate tour.  We did have problems riding ride with three young kids and only two adults.  We ended up taking turns whenever we could.

Sorry it's a bit blurry; kids do not like to stand still for photos! 



Walt Disney World, Orlando Florida -- 2010

We met up with our friends at Disney one year; they had girls the same age as our older two boys and we spent a wonderful night at dinner and through the Magic Kingdom with them. Evan was not a fan of meeting characters at all; until we met Snow White and Chip.  My mother in law came with us and spent a few afternoons with them at the hotel while they napped and my husband and I went to lunch, lounged around in a hammock, and spent some time riding adult rides the boys couldn't do; it was like a mini honeymoon inside of our family vacation!



Wilmington, North Carolina-- 2011

My parents and sister were living in North Carolina for a few years and we decided to take a long road trip to see them.  We had a great time checking out the Cape Fear Serpentarium, the aquarium, the children's museum, and, of course, the beach.  We had a fabulous time even though my husband had been diagnosed with Lyme disease and we had to stay out of the sunshine.  We spent our days indoors and our evenings on the beach.


Las Vegas, Nevada-- 2011

We wanted to celebrate our 10 year anniversary in a big way so we headed to Vegas and spent many a days sitting poolside at the Mandalay bay pool.  We toured the Hoover Dam, checked out the sights on Freemont street and enjoyed a fabulous show each and every night.



Jefferson, New Hampshire- 2011

We went to StoryLand, Santa's Village and 6 Gun City and stopped at the Polar Caves and water country on our way home.  We had such a great time this vacation that we decided to add one more day onto the end of our vacation while we were already driving home!

Storyland; Alec didn't like water rides so I sat off with him while my mother in law and my husband rode with the other two boys 


6 Gun city was a huge hit with the boys. They loved chasing the robbers around and putting them in jail.

All the boys hiked the whole park and panned for gold and gems! 
Walt Disney World-- 2012

We had another fabulous family vacation in Walt Disney World. It was the last time we visited Disney in the spring.



Orlando, Florida-- 2012

We started a new tradition the year we began homeschooling boys and started vacationing in the fall.  In September we decided to try a Florida vacation and not just a Disney vacation.  We stayed in the Nickelodeon hotel and went to Sea World, Medieval Times dinner show, Legoland,  and tubing down a natural springs.  We got to eat dinner with the Ninja Turtles and my parents drove down from North Carolina to spend a bit of time with us as well.  It was wonderful having so many grandparents on vacation with us!




Walt Disney World-- 2013

The next year found us back at Walt Disney World. It was a whole new experience visiting in September than visiting in February or March.  The boys were finally big enough to ride everything and no one needed any naps at all anymore.  We actually saw street performers at EPCOT, watched the boys participate in a Jedi Academy show, and tried out one of the water parks for the very first time.



Nashville, Tennessee-- 2014

My husband had to go to Tennessee for a last minute job.  Airfare was expensive and he asked if we were serious that we'd drive with him.  We packed up some bags and canceled some plans to head off last minute for a 4 day trip to Nashville.  His company paid for our gas and hotel (since they'd be paying that for him anyway!) and we had a very fun, if short, family vacation.  We toured the Opryland hotel, checked out the adventure science center, went to see the Athena Parthenon, and enjoyed an afternoon at the water park.  On the way home we discovered an armory museum on the side of the road so we decided to stop and check that out too!

 

Orlando, Florida-- 2014

Taking a break from Disney but still enjoying the warm Florida weather we took a trip to Universal Orlando, Legoland, kayaking down a natural springs, and over to the shore to see the Camden Aquarium (home of Winter from Dolphin Tale).  My boys could not wait to explore the Harry Potter world! My mother in law elected to stay home; feeling like the boys no longer needed her on vacation... so of course they spent the whole week fighting over who had to ride alone and wishing Grammy had come with us.





Great Wolf Lodge, Massachusetts-- 2015

We had received gift cards from my in-laws for Christmas and since no one could agree on any sort of family vacation we decided to just plan an overnight trip to Great Wolf Lodge, take a few fun day trips and call it a family vacation.  We had a fun time and were so thankful that the trip didn't cost us a dime!




Myrtle Beach, South Carolina-- 2016

We decided it was time to find someplace new for a fun family vacation.  I had fond memories of Myrtle beach from when I was a kid and and after looking around on the computer at the various places to stay and things to do the whole family finally agreed on a vacation.  We drove to South Carolina (with my mother in law) and had a wonderful stay at the Dunes Village resort.  We enjoyed the beach, the water park (in our hotel), and spent a lot of time at Broadway at the Beach.  We went miniature golfing, go kart racing, checked out the aquarium and a pirate themed dinner show.



Charleston, South Carolina- July 2017

In 2017 my husband and I were both turning 40 and we decided rather than have a big party we'd go away for a nice long weekend.  We flew to Charleston and while it was unbearably hot (really what where we thinking going there at the end of July?) we had a great time together.  We stayed at an amazing hotel in Patriot's Point and lazed around by the pool.  We walked on a few beaches at Isle of Palms, checked out the aquarium and straw market in Charleston.  It was fabulous!



Tampa Bay, Florida-- October 2017

We flew into Tampa and drove out to Indian Rock's beach where we rented a house for a week.  We explored Busch Gardens, the Lowery Park zoo, the Florida Aquarium, went kayaking down a river and saw a manatee, checked out the beach (with warm water)!!, toured a few art museums, Ian and my husband went fishing in the Tampa bay and we saw dolphins frolicking everywhere.



Burlington, Vermont-- May 2018

My husband and I just went away just overnight and while we had both been to Vermont before neither of us had stayed in this area.  It sounded like a beautiful spot to visit but it rained the whole 2 days and made it hard to enjoy things like bike riding on the trails or hiking.  We instead went on a dinner train and explored the shops in the rain.



Hershey, Pennsylvania-- June 2018

We took a short 4 day trip to Hershey park.  We wanted to go again with the boys since they were older and could ride all the rides.  We had perfect weather and a wonderful time! We explored our first limestone cave, ZooAmerica, a car museum, and of course the chocolate world.



Niagara Falls, New York-- September 2018

We spent a week exploring both sides of Niagara falls with lots of hiking, sight seeing, a zoo trip, an aquarium stop, even some wet behind the falls and maid of the mist tours.



Lincoln, New Hampshire--May 2019

My husband and I took a quick little 3 day trip to Lincoln, New Hampshire.  We had beautiful weather and did lots and lots of hiking!   We played mini golf, went out for lots of delicious dinners and even rode to the top of Cannon mountain.



Cape Cod & Nantucket-- July 2019

My husband knew I really wanted to see Nantucket and he made that happen for my birthday. The boys didn't want to go so we went just the two of us and made it a weekend trip. We arrived on Cape, stayed overnight in Hyannis were we took the ferry over to Nantucket for the day.  Our trip was right in the middle of a heat wave but we didn't let that stop us from exploring.  We toured the whaling museum and had a few really delicious meals out as well as getting in a bit of a shipping too. 



Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, & Iowa-- September 2019

We planned a trip to Mount Rushmore that turned into a whole see the mid-west area trip!  We flew into Denver, drove through Wyoming, stayed a few nights in Rapid City, South Dakota and continued on through the other end of the state and into Nebraska and Iowa.  We crammed a lot into our 7 day trip and had a great time hiking, exploring lots of new parks (Mt. Rushmore & Custer state park being our two favorites), checked out some hot springs, saw mammoth fossils, toured a gold mine, visited the reptile gardens, went kayaking, walked through the zoo & Aquarium, and saw the badlands.



I know my husband and I had a few more long weekend and overnight trips away from the kids.  I tend to leave the camera at home when it's just him and I and focus on enjoying our time together.

I can distinctly remember a trip to Cape Cod and a duck boat tour, walking around eating Ben and Jerry's ice cream afterwards.

We also went to Boston a few times to see shows and do some sightseeing. Somehow we always seemed to pick really cold and snowy days but I definitely remember eating at the Cheers pub, taking the T, and most recently taking a duck tour around the harbor.

We've also been back to Pennsylvania and the Pocono mountains to hike, shop, and remember the weekend we got engaged.

I can't wait to head out on the next trip or trips (three of which I already have 99% planned!).

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Comments

  1. Loved reading this post and looking at all of your pics! I also love how so many of your trips are in New England- no better place to be in the summer! :)

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    1. Thank you! We definitely take mini trips all around New England as it's such a fun and cheaper way to vacay.

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  2. Replies
    1. Yep! Even when the kids were small and vacations were a lot of work I knew they'd be worth it for the memories.

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  3. Lovely post. We had so many vacations planned for this year and had to cancel them all due to Covid. Not being able to travel was/is the hardest part of Covid for me; but I know so many people have suffered worse, so I should not be complaining.

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    1. We did too! I am so bummed waiting around to see when we'll get to travel again. I really hope we can use up our park passes we purchased before they expire.

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  4. These are some great trips and memories for your family!

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  5. We've been to some of the same places - get this, my husband and I used to go to Caesars' all the time! Paradise Stream, plus the other ones!

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  6. I absolutely love this post!!! Old Orchard Beach used to be about 20 min from where I lived in college and when I lived with my fiance. So many fun memories!!!! The pier fries and the mini golf are my faves! New England has so many fun places and so much charm, doesn't it?? :)

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  7. What a fun post! Maine & Nantucket are on my bucket list. xo

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  8. Oh wow! I love all the old photos! It looks like you have had some amazing trips!

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  9. So many wonderful vacations and memories made! We loved the maid of the mist ride when we went in '99, would love to go back there again, but somehow we always end up going west or southeast now or visit my family overseas. Which is all nice but wish there were more vacation days in a year!! So great that you get to travel along with your husband sometimes when he goes for work!
    Thanks for sharing!
    Ellibelle's Corner

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    1. I always wish we had more vacation days too! There are so many wonderful places I want to see and yet most places we've been are so fun we want to go back there too.

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  10. Oh my gosh, this made me smile so much! You have had some amazing vacations my friend! I love all the smiles. I especially love the picture of the boys with the Reese’s cup, LOL!

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    1. I had to bribe the older boys to try and "recreate" that Reese's photo from our previous trip. But I love seeing them side by side.

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  11. Ohhhh, this was a FUN post! I love that photo of you and the hubs in the old time western attire. :) This was the sweetest post and had to take some work to put together. Something you will forever cherish though!

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    1. Yeah, it definitely took some work to put together; especially since so many of these trips were before digital cameras were even a thing.

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  12. What a great look back. Wonderful memories!

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  13. What a fun trip down memory lane! Pun totally intended - ha! My husband and I have one of those old time photos from when we were dating too - it was fun to do back then. Our oldest had a febrile seizure when he was 2 and that was scary, I can't imagine it happening while on vacay. Y'all have been to Disney more than we have and we live here! You have many years of great vacations!
    xo,
    Kellyann

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    1. They are terrifying!! Ian actually ended up having a number of them spread out over a few years and they never seemed less scary. I am an unabashed Disney fan! If it was up to me I would have added a few more trips in there. LOL.

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  14. You have had a lot of incredible vacations! What a fun trip through time that was. I remember going to Sesame Place when they first opened in 1980. I was 6 years old. I think I still have photos of it somewhere. Thanks for sharing this fun post and linking up!

    Shelbee
    www.shelbeeontheedge.com

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    1. I had never heard of Sesame Place until my kids were younger; I hadn't realized they had been open so long!

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  15. Joanne, What a great look back with many family fun memories! It's nice to see how children grow over the years.

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  16. I love this post so much! How fun to look back on all of this!! I've had it on my blog post ideas list to recap every single one of our past trips (taken before I started blogging), but I've only gotten around to doing a few of them. The list is so long that it will probably take years to get through them all!

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    1. I figure this is the closest I'm going to get in recapping our vacations that happened pre-blog.

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  17. So many great places and wonderful family memories. Posts like these help us through these non-traveling times, don't they?

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  18. What lovely memories! And what a way to see the growth of the family. You really did quite a bit of traveling! Loved the places you visited and what a good time you had.

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    1. Thanks! They do grow so fast and I tried to make the most of the years we could travel together.

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