Tuesday 4~ Travel Bug

 As usual, I am late getting to the party, but I hope it's not too late to join in the fun! It's been a busy few days and I haven't had time to sit down and think about this and what my answers should be...so now that I've slept on it a few nights, let's see if I can come up with anything worth sharing!  I've enjoyed reading everyone else's answers, (actually I am still trying to get around to you all, and by now most of you have moved on to the next thing!)  

So pack your bags and hop on the train, and let's go!

Travel Bug

Hello! It's time for Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 and I am happy you've come by to take part.

I think finding reasons to blog and stay in touch with others, or to meet new bloggers is very important. Blogging also provides you with a record of your thoughts and ideas to leave for your family. It's a journal of sorts really that you share with others.

Summer is June 21st and people usually take advantage of the warm weather to take a trip or vacation or day trips to visit, shop or for recreation.
So could we talk about travel?


1. What are the most memorable destinations you've visited, and what made them stand out? (this could include places like museums, art galleries, etc. not only a vacation site.)

I am trying to remember...our family has not traveled extensively, so it was more the experiences and adventures we had along the way and the places we stopped here and there that were memorable. I have shared several links below to former posts that I've written about some of my family experiences in traveling when I was a child.  With our own children our vacations were mostly going to visit the grandparents, but we did manage to take a few "real" vacations throughout the years. Some of the most memorable places I remember going with our own kids were:

• Biltmore House in Asheville, NC...it was gorgeous, and I'd love to go back now without three young kids that I had to keep in line and reminding them not to touch things!
• Hyde Park in NY
• Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, and all the civil war sites in the area...our 3 sons and their daddy especially loved all of this!
• Washington DC
• New York City and also a Yankees Baseball game at the old Yankee Stadium
• Spent a week in a mountain cabin on "Dream Mountain, NC" with our kids, and met another young family there with kids the same ages as ours, and we ended up having so much fun, picking blackberries and making cobbler, traveling together to Maggie Valley and Ghost Mountain in the Sky.  I had been there before with my parents and siblings, (Ghost Mountain), and it was so much fun to takemy own kids there as well to experience riding up to the top of the mountain in the chair lift and coming down on the cable car.

Most memorable places we've visited (with or without the kids):

• St. Augustine
• The Space Needle in Seattle,WA
• Boston
• a Sleigh Ride at Nestlenook Farm, Jackson, NH  (actually, we did this with our son Matthew and his wife Nicole and our grandson Noah many years ago.  

• See below...the Cog Railway on Mt. Washington, NH

2. Which hidden gem locations have you explored that you'd recommend to others ?

• I don't know if it's a "hidden gem", but if you ever get to go to the White Mountains of New Hampshire and go take a ride on the Cog Railway up to the summit of Mount Washington...that's an experience you'll never forget.  And no matter what time of year you are there, be sure to take a jacket with you to the summit! The temperatures in the valley on the day we went were in the 90's (July), and it was freezing/snowing at the top!
  
  
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  Here's a video so you can experience it for yourself right where you are! But still, you have to be there to feel the real thrill of the ride!
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3. What’s the most unique cultural experience you’ve had while traveling ?

Not so much while traveling, but for our family, when we moved from Florida to Ohio so my hubby could attend Seminary, it was a huge cultural change for us.  We moved from the sunny south to the cold and wintry north, to farm country and all things rural. Our kids experienced snow for the first time, and we enjoyed seeing our first tractor pull. We also lived in an area where there many Amish farms, and we enjoyed the sights and sounds of the horses and buggies trotting by our house every day, and observing how the Amish lived as if it were the 1800's instead of the 1900's. That was fascinating for us. I remember one time that we stopped at a farm stand near our home to buy some vegetables and eggs, and the Amish lady had her young sons there with her, and I had my young sons with me.   I said to her (in my ignorance) that I would love for our little boys to be able to play together sometime.  She looked at me with astonishment, as did her young boys. She may have very quietly said "thank you." I realized then that I had probably made a mistake in suggesting that.  I felt sad about it because I thought it would be so much fun for our boys to experience their farm life, and for their boys to experience our life...but now I know that would never have happened.  


4.What mode of transportation is your favorite for a long trip? How about a short trip?

Well, if our destination is more than two days away, I'd rather fly so that we can get there and then rent a car, so that we have more time to visit the places we are going to see. But now that we are retired, I wish we could take a nice slow road trip and visit many places along the way and come back home a different way. But sadly I think we've missed our opportunity for doing that.  Hubby doesn't really like to drive long distances anymore and health concerns are keeping us from wanting to venture very far from home.  Thankfully we have been able to take a few nice trips to the mountains with our son and daughter in law, and that will probably be the only way we will be doing any travelling (if at all) from now on.  

So thankful for our son being willing to drive us to fun places!

We've come full circle!

Link to older post about my summer vacations

Another Post about Summer vacations

Family Travels as a Child