52 Weeks of Sharing Our Memories - Family Vacations

This post is part of the 52 Weeks of Writing our Memories by Lorine McGinnis Schulze at Olive Tree Genealogy who has challenged us to write our memories for our future generations.

I remember spending some summer vacations at the beach. I loved the beach! We usually went to Fernandina or Daytona beach in Florida. The summer after second grade, I contracted pneumonia just before our beach trip. The doctor told my parents that I couldn't get into the water. That was shear agony for me. My parents finally let me at least walk in the water and wade in up to my thighs. Of course, I tested the boundaries and went further in and "accidentally" got splashed by a few waves. I remember going to the emergency room while we were there, but I don't remember why. Maybe my mom had gotten worried about my condition. I remember being afraid that the doctor was going to put me in the hospital and spoil my vacation.

Here I am at the motel swimming pool on one of our beach trips in 1959

The summer that I was nearly 12, we drove to Washington, D.C. I enjoyed most of that trip except for the hours spent in the car with my two brothers and two sisters. We ranged in age from three to 12. My dad suggested that we keep a diary about our adventure. I have no idea what happened to mine. It's been long gone. But my dad kept his and included it in his memoirs. We visited with friends and relatives along the way. We went to Williamsburg and Jamestown, Virginia, and George Washington's Mt. Vernon. We saw the usual sights in Washington, D.C. like the Smithsonian, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery where we visited my maternal grandfather William Liming Redles' grave, the tomb of the unknown soldier, and President John F. Kennedy's grave.

My dad wrote in his Washington, D.C. travel diary on June 16, 1966, that he asked me if I wanted to go to the Capitol that day or the Smithsonian. I chose the Smithsonian, but when we got into the cab, he told the driver to take us to the Capitol. He said he doesn't know why he did that and that we were nearly at the Capitol when he realized his mistake. While at the Capitol, we met with U.S. Representative J. Russell Tuten from Georgia who gave us some salted peanuts to snack on. I thought that was pretty cool. We went to the United States Botanic Gardens next. I wonder why I'm pouting in those photos! I probably didn't want to go and thought it was boring.

Wow. Look at that pouty face!
Me with my mom at the U.S. Botanic Gardens in Washington, D.C. in 1966

Even today, as much as I love plants and flowers, I really have no desire to go to a botanic garden, but give me the beach any day!

Catherine