Come join me for If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! We'll be taking time out to share some memories. We'll Blog Back Time with possible ways to right past wrongs or about how times have changed. We'll share childhood memories, school/work memories, family and friend memories.Today's topic is: Summer Vacation
Remember Summer Vacation when you were a kid? Now they call it “Summer Break”. Back when I was a kid it seemed like it lasted forever. The bad part about becoming a grown-up is missing summer vacation. We were just so carefree. Summer seemed endless and we just never appreciated them at the time.
Sadly, my family never went on vacation. We took a road trip to Chicago once to visit my Dad’s Aunt who was 98 years old. That was some excitement for a 12 year old.
Even though we never went to Wisconsin Dells, Mount Rushmore or Disneyland like many of our friends did, my Mom always made sure we had fun things to do. My Mom didn’t drive, so everywhere we went, we took the bus.
When we were younger we would go to Brookfield Zoo (WI) and the museum. We also went to Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair, Festa Italiana every summer without fail. Every year we looked forward to attending these events. After I had my own children, we tried to keep up the tradition of going to the Wisconsin State Fair, even though we lived in Illinois. It was a nice 2-3 day getaway for us.
When the weather was good we’d ride our bikes all over and play ball in the street until dark and when it was rainy, we played in our basement or in Joey’s basement. At my house we’d played grocery store. We’d play board games at Joey's house.
Several of our neighbors had backyard pools, so when the weather was nice we had our pick of houses to go swimming at. It’s amazing what a backyard pool will do to strengthen your friendships. If you ever had a fight with one of your friends, you always made up when the weather got warm. Lol!
Every summer my friend Joey’s (Joanne’s) family had a Muscular Dystrophy Carnival.
Did anyone else ever have an MDA Carnival?
Joey's Mom set up booths in their back yard with carnival games and they charged admission. They sold lemonade, hotdogs, cookies and cupcakes. They even had a tent with a fortune teller (Joey’s Mom). Every year we looked forward to it and every year I begged my parents to let us hold our own carnival. Of course the answer was no, because if there already was a carnival on our block, why would anyone come to ours? Hmm, now that’s parent logic!
In Junior High Joey and I discovered tennis. We each got our own tennis rackets just before her family had a planned vacation to Wisconsin Dells. We sneaked out of our houses at 4am to play tennis on her driveway, using the driveway gate as a fence. Neither of our Moms knew we had sneaked out, until Joey's neighbor called her Mom to complain. (What kid is outside playing at 4am? Freaks like us, that's who!) I'll never forget my Mom's face as she stormed up Joey's driveway in her housecoat, and Joey's Mom flying out their back door in her housecoat. (Do they even sell housecoats anymore? Was that just a 60's Mom thing?) I'm betting it was really hard for both of them to keep their angry face on. Looking back I'm sure they had to laugh about it later, when we weren't around.
So, what's your Summer Vacation story? Come on! We all have at least one. Now it's your turn. Please post your Summer Vacation Memory on your blog. Then come back to Lola's Diner and leave the actual post link here. Please grab the html code for If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! Badge HERE. Please note these links are STRICTLY for If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.
Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!
Lola's Diner
©2008-2009
Even though we never went to Wisconsin Dells, Mount Rushmore or Disneyland like many of our friends did, my Mom always made sure we had fun things to do. My Mom didn’t drive, so everywhere we went, we took the bus.
When we were younger we would go to Brookfield Zoo (WI) and the museum. We also went to Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair, Festa Italiana every summer without fail. Every year we looked forward to attending these events. After I had my own children, we tried to keep up the tradition of going to the Wisconsin State Fair, even though we lived in Illinois. It was a nice 2-3 day getaway for us.
When the weather was good we’d ride our bikes all over and play ball in the street until dark and when it was rainy, we played in our basement or in Joey’s basement. At my house we’d played grocery store. We’d play board games at Joey's house.
Several of our neighbors had backyard pools, so when the weather was nice we had our pick of houses to go swimming at. It’s amazing what a backyard pool will do to strengthen your friendships. If you ever had a fight with one of your friends, you always made up when the weather got warm. Lol!
Every summer my friend Joey’s (Joanne’s) family had a Muscular Dystrophy Carnival.
Did anyone else ever have an MDA Carnival?Joey's Mom set up booths in their back yard with carnival games and they charged admission. They sold lemonade, hotdogs, cookies and cupcakes. They even had a tent with a fortune teller (Joey’s Mom). Every year we looked forward to it and every year I begged my parents to let us hold our own carnival. Of course the answer was no, because if there already was a carnival on our block, why would anyone come to ours? Hmm, now that’s parent logic!
In Junior High Joey and I discovered tennis. We each got our own tennis rackets just before her family had a planned vacation to Wisconsin Dells. We sneaked out of our houses at 4am to play tennis on her driveway, using the driveway gate as a fence. Neither of our Moms knew we had sneaked out, until Joey's neighbor called her Mom to complain. (What kid is outside playing at 4am? Freaks like us, that's who!) I'll never forget my Mom's face as she stormed up Joey's driveway in her housecoat, and Joey's Mom flying out their back door in her housecoat. (Do they even sell housecoats anymore? Was that just a 60's Mom thing?) I'm betting it was really hard for both of them to keep their angry face on. Looking back I'm sure they had to laugh about it later, when we weren't around.
So, what's your Summer Vacation story? Come on! We all have at least one. Now it's your turn. Please post your Summer Vacation Memory on your blog. Then come back to Lola's Diner and leave the actual post link here. Please grab the html code for If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! Badge HERE. Please note these links are STRICTLY for If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.
Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!
Lola's Diner
©2008-2009
wow, i remember those summer vacations. Playing outside till the sun went down, jumping in puddles after a heavy rain. Swimming in the backyard pool for hours making sure we put our feet in the 'waiting pool' to get the dirt off before we went in. riding bikes as far as our little legs would take us, and just plan being creative...Not a care in the world.
ReplyDeleteThese days "what camp is your kids going to?" "can we set up a play date?" "put your helmet on or you cant ride you bike" "only play in the backyard"
Wish it was like it use to be
Oh yeh, "Summertime and the livin is easy..", as the songs goes. I really liked summertime, Out of School and the weather seemed always nice. The biking,afraid I can't do that now! Tried a couple years ago, one sore seat,lol. Do not remember any festival and no friends with pools:-( However our school had a pool and I took swimming. so not a big summer thing for me. But the trips oh the stories to tell! My Post is up.
ReplyDeleteOh this one was absolutely wonderful what fabulous memories you brought back for me.. thank you...
ReplyDeletethank you for bringing back some great memories.
ReplyDeleteThe publicist grew up at the beach so her summer vacation was built in...thanks for the memories
ReplyDeleteWe didn't take vacations either, except a few summers we spent a week at my aunt's log cabin in Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteI remember lots of fairs and carnivals, zoo trips, and playing, playing, playing. Both my parents worked, so I think I did a lot with friends' families.
The highlight was going to Springfield, IL to spend a week with my dad's parents. My mom never came, so it was like Lord of the Flies. When we arrived, my granny had the dining room table completely covered with bowls of candy. We drank Coke after Coke, right out of the bottle, played outside well past dark, and watched TV in the morning. It was awesome.
@ John - These days you can't let your kids out of your site. I recall being gone all day, coming home only for lunch and dinner and my parents had no clue where I was. As long as my Mom knew who I was with and that I was somewhere in the general area of our block, it was fine.
ReplyDelete@ Auntie E, Shauni, Dina - Great posts. Thanks for participating!
@ Priscilla - That must have been nice growing up on the beach.
@ JD - So Grandma got you all sugared up and then sent you home? Cool!
Hi Lola, i would love to join this meme. :) Can i?
ReplyDelete@ Arlene - Yes, please do. Sorry, when I got my blog makeover, unfortunately a line of code didn't convert for Mr. Linky. It is fixed now.
ReplyDelete