My family took big trips, small trips, and some very unique trips at times too.  We would go to Gatlinburg TN most summers, and Myrtle Beach some years as well.  Twice we went to Niagra Falls, and once, we took a two week road trip west to Provo, Utah where my Dad had some business.  Since he was going anyway, he loaded the family up and made it a working vacation.  We went to Chicago, Memphis, Arches National Park, all through Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and all across Utah.

Some of my favorite vacation memories though are of going on "Wagon Train".  My Dad was the president of a horse riding club, and for two weeks each summer, the club would go on wagon train.  They had all built old wagons, and would ride in a train from stop to stop and camp for the night.  Some drove the wagons, while others pulled the campers and got them set up at the next location while the wagons and riders took all day to get there.  Some stops would be just for a night, while others were for 2 nights.  My favorite stop was always at the lake where we would stay 3 nights.

After the long day of riding in the wagons, the evenings would be filled with camp fires, live music and singing provided by the members who could pick guitars, banjos, fiddles, and harmonicas.  There would also be cake walks, and my favorite event, watermelon races!  They would group everyone together by age group and line them up, and then place a watermelon about 30 yards away.  When the race started, the first to get it got to keep it, and he/she and their friends would snack on watermelon that night.

 

That would be young me in the center of this pic!