Making Vacation Memories
I have a lot of great vacation based memories from back when I was a kid. Only now that I have a daughter of my own do I see that the best vacations are to places that are BOTH adult and child friendly. My parents may have enjoyed out trips to the Grand Canyon, and I am sure I did as well. But to be quite honest, I do not have a whole lot of stored memories about that vacation. I was 16, but there are an awful lot of blank spots when I try to think back to it. On the other hand, our trip to Orlando happened when I was only 4, but I have more concrete memories of that trip. And, talking to my parents, it seems that they do as well.
So, although I have been excited for a long time about taking my daughter to Washington, DC (my hometown), it turns out that she did not enjoy it all that well. I spent more time trying to keep her occupied and the sights and sounds around me blended in with her whining and her complaints.
Orlando, though, that is a whole other story. We may only live an hour from Orlando, but that does not reduce its value as a memorable vacation destination for my family. My daughter is always richly involved when we go there. She is all big eyes and awe-filled sighs. She talks about the things we did at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and even the restaurants there as though we had discovered the Holy Grail.
I will take her back to DC when she is older. By then, she will be ready to share with me the awe I feel for that city. For now, I think we will stick to Orlando for our mother-daughter special trips. (Although, when my daughter is an adult, those trips to DC might be trumped by trips to Vegas where we can take in Madame Tussauds, a couple of shows, and some of the other zillions of other things to do in Las Vegas.) There are tons of things to do in Orlando. And even when it seems like the cost of tickets are going to overwhelm me, I can usually find a good deal through Trusted Tours & Attractions. They have online travel guides as well as discounted tickets.
While I am on the topic of the Trusted Tours website, you should check them out. They are always running one promotion or another where if you sign up for their newsletter you can win a very cool gift. Right now that prize is a handheld GPS Offer. Be quick about it, though, the drawing for the GPR ends June 30th, 2008.
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