Top 10 Family Vacations of all time............ assuming I didn't forget some.

10.Silver Lake- Silver Lake is a lake in Michigan that gets very deep very quickly. It also has some huge dunes on one half of it. My brothers and I (and of course Mitch my best bud) would climb the dunes all day and then run down them onto the water that went from 4 feet deep to 12 feet deep in just one step. One time mitch, matt, and I decided to walk on the other side of the dunse where there were more and more dunes. We walked a whole lot farther than we thought and by the end of it I thought I would collapse from thirst. BUT my most memorable moment was when mitch and my cousin John started wrestling which ended with John getting numerous sand wedgies while screaming for more. Hilarious.

9. Colorado- We took a trip when I was in 7th grade to the United States Air Force Academy. We were going to my cousins graduation and Colorado is absolutely gorgeous! The Academy is so awesome and any time that I am with my father's side of the family it is so fun. It was really an awesome trip. And watching Get Smart for twenty straight hours wasn't too bad either.

8. Washington DC and Gettybsburg- When I was in elementary school we visited both of these places. Gettysburg was by far my favorite of the two. My father would tell us all these different stories as we walked around the battlefields and the two main hills (their names escape me big round top and little round top maybe?). It was very cool to listen to the stories of Pickett's charge and the Union general's (his name also escapes me) final bayonet charge. DC was also very cool. Seeing all the monuments and visiting the smithsonian was very cool. My most memorable thing from this trip was looking out over the large field where Picket made his charge and wondering to myself "Man that would have been easy to shoot them".

7.St George's Island in Florida- When I was a freshman in high school my family took a trip down to St George's island in Florida. We stayed at an absolutely awesom beach house. It was so cool. possibly the most memorable thing from the trip was having my cousin John (from Canada) go with us. IT was a very fun trip. Staying in a huge beach house with our own pool and jacuzzi (which was colder than the pool) for a whole week, the beach a stone's throw away, Awesome Awesome trip

6. Destin, Florida- I do believe I was in 8th grade when we went to Destin. We stayed at the Jetty East condo's. This was also an amazing trip. This time we flew down instead of driving. The condo had just a couple bedrooms, but it was very roomy and comfortable. The pool was just three floors down and the beach was right outside our door. We also had tennis courts that lighted up which was sweet. The most memorable thing from this trip was Matt's obsession with collecting crabs, and Badger telling everyone that he would willingly sunburn himself bc he claims he would have a sweet tan after. The last half of his vacation was ruined because he couldn't move he was so red and burned.

5. Hawaii- My 6th grade year we took a trip to Oahu. Awesome Awesome trip. Climbing Diamond head was very fun, and of course the beach was amazing. Pearl Harbor was a very sad but awesome experience. Still being able to see the ship floating in the shallow harbor was kind of scary. The 7 hour layover in a freezing LAX airport was not very fun but still worth the trip. The most memorable thing from this trip was two things. 1.) I was introduced to snorkeling on this trip and wow is it amazing. You have not snorkeled until you have in the coral reefs at Hawaii. And 2.) We were driving in the car and Badger tried to punch my leg, but punched his own leg instead and yelled "Oh my gosh that is the hardest I have ever been punched. MY leg hurts so bad right now". he finally felt how I felt. Still didn't stop him.

4. Vermont- When I was told that we were going to go on a trip to Lake Champlain with a couple of my Dad's brothers and their families I was not so pumped. And after seeing that the camp had no power I really was not excited. Yet, once I started to hang out with Tim, Aaron, Jake, Pat, my little bro, and all the rest it was so fun. Fort (Mckinley I believe) was really cool to see and going swimming in Lake Champlain with my cousins was awesome. I think my two favorite memories from this trip were 1.) Every night we would have at least three or four skunks in our camp. One skunk went into my Uncle's tent, but they were like used to people or something. And 2.) Following the ways of my father and telling Corn Man stories (Like Ghost Stories, its an inside thing) was very fun. Also this trip made the song Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard for me.

3. Camp Pendelton- Any time I go to California and see my father's family is always memorable. This trip was so fun because all day we would go to the beach and run around like chickens with our heads cut off. We would always meet at least once a day with everyone else and talk. The waves were huge ( I was in elementary school) and hanging with the cousins never gets old. This is where I first fell off of a bunk bed while I was sleeping. My most memorable moment from this trip was that one night everyone went to the beach to meet and talk with each other but, of course, no one told me. I got stuck looking for them with a beach cop or something and when we finally found them I had to stop my crying and climb out of this cop car to get to them Imagine my shame.

2. Petoskey- Since like Elementary school my family makes anually trips to Petoskey Michigan. Petoskey is absolutely gorgeous. Riding to Petsokey one day is always fun. We usually make a stop to run up a flight of stairs in a park that go up this big hill. And also riding into harbor Springs which is the rtichest city I have ever seen. Parts of it I am not high class enough to even look at. There are so many different memories from Petoskey that I am going to have to make a seperate post about it. Stay tune.

1. And the number one best Family Vacation is ................ California- Every year when I was little we would go to California in late summer and spend boat loads of time. We would stay at wrightwood where we would daily go swimming and go climbing in the Mountains. The cousins would get into groups and then perform skits for the uncles and aunts. The year that we had a forest fire and my mom found a leaf that was pure black and ash was falling everywhere and I thought it was snow. Or sometimes we would go to Yucca Calley and play hide and go seek in my grandparents huge backyard. There were hills (as a kid they were mountains) just outside the front door. There was a museum in the valley that was really cool. Making trips to Joshua Tree and exploring was soooooooo much fun. All in all my fondest childhood memories were sculpted in California with all myh cousins and siblings. BUT my most memorable moment out of them all was playing Bonanza with my cousins and siblings in the back of my grandparents house in Wrightwood. One time this guy came over and yelled at us because we were apparently being too loud. I could come up with a thousand more and if I have time and some motivation I may just add another post about my times in California as a kid. That would also be long and would include things like sleeping on the deck as the older people ate root beer floats. Or the time that a cactus got hooked to my leg. OOOOOOOOO thats a good story. I will save that for later. Matt saved my life though. Or at least thought he was. What a nice brother. I'm getting a happy feeling just thinking about all these trips. I am extremely happy that my father and mother took us on trips. It is something I will definitely continue if God ever vlesses me with children.






Unfortunately I must come up with my least favorite family vacation. Of course, this vacation was the only one that I can think of that was not all pure fun. And that is.........................................Interlochen. Interlochen is a campsite on Duck Lake. Don't get me wrong I used to love going thre, but then I got swimmers itch, (as did my mother) and that was excruciating. I hated it. We have not been to Interlochen since. BUT thank you Dad and Mom for allowing me to have so many awesome memories. It is a huge blessing.