I also enjoy traveling. One of my favorite place to go are the National Parks. Since I live in Arizona, I enjoy going to the Grand Canyon. It is a 8 hour drive (give or take) from my house.
In Flaggstaff there is an Armed Forces Recreactional Center (AFRS) that can be used by those who are serving in the military or retired military. The rates there are very good , and it is an hour's drive from the Canyon entrance.
Always got the impression that Christ and his diciples spent a lot of time traveling the country side, visiting friends, etc. Maybe they didn't have vacations as such--because they loved what they were doing and so didn't need to "get away from it all".
But nowadays we often need a vacation in order to find time for GOD
During the days of ROA, I never took a vacation that didn't involve some "event", other than a long weekend.
The only people I knew who actually took non-Way vacations were a couple who owned their own business, as well as a partnership in a family farm, so they were not limited to acertain amount of weeks every year. Oh, and when the Corps were full time, they got to take a vacation, since going to classes and "events" was "work" for them. THAT kind of chapped my @$$ because I had to take MY vacation going to classes.
Last year I took my vacation at scout camp. I had a great time with my son and his friends and the other scout dads (and moms)
This year my vacation was the Oakspear 2002 North American Tour. A more enjoyable, relaxing vaction I have never had!
I had 16 days off, spent 13 of them on the road visting family and GSers, and the last three just hanging out, and drinking beer.
Oakspear
[This message was edited by Oakspear on August 25, 2002 at 16:34.]
It's criminal to raise kids with no vacations. There's a limited window of opportunity to "grow memories". For your kids, vacations are the stuff memories are made of...priceless.
We just returned from vacation to Kentucky. It was great to not have to file a travel plan for the LC's approval. It was nice to not have the LC for each state knowing we were in their state. It was awesome that we did not have to check in at various points to leadership. We simple made our plans and went.
My mom and dad renewed their wedding vows after 45 years of marriage. It was a touching ceremony with a lot of heart. All of us siblings and grandchildren were part of the ceremony. This is something I think TWI would have ridiculed. They had had a Church wedding the first time, but neither one of them belonged anywhere and did not have any strong desire to know God at that time. When I was in my early teens, we all joined a church and at that point their whole focus changed. This was their opportunity to "do it right".
We did a lot of visiting with friends while there. Took in the Louisville Zoo and the Newport Aquarium. The shark tank was awesome.
Several years ago I really enjoyed spending a week at the Outer Banks of North Carolina. That was the most relaxing vacation I have ever had.
While in the Air Force I was a crew member aboard a C-130 based in Tucson, AZ. One time our pilot got special permission to fly at 300 feet above the Grand Canyon. It was truely amazing. Each of us got a turn in the cockpit for a viewing.
I have been teaching my son for a couple of years now that half the fun of a vacation is flexibility and sponteneity... Make a plan, but reserve the right to change your plans...
Stop if you see something interesting.
Cut your time short if what you planned turns out to be boring.
Check out that stupid little gift shop or museum or garage sale!!!
This spring we were on a trip and ended up changing our plans rather drastically. Before I could say anything he said, "Hey that's what a vacation is for: having fun the way YOU want to have fun."
i love how when i would take the bus to work, my offshoot friend told me i shouldn't be listening to my headphones, i should be reading the word....blahhh
Take the car/truck/van/SUV/thing. This country is beautiful, even in Kansas. :)-->
You get to see what you don't in a plane. Plus you can stop when you want to see that rest stop with the funky Teepees, or that giant bottle of Coke or dinasaur, or the sunset in the mountains or the trickling brook. Take a short hike off the road.
Then when you get there you still have the rest of your vacation ahead of you.
OR
Take a train. Also fun and you don't have to sit the whole time. They also give you more leg room than planes do. If your tall like me that is a big plus.
We are driving home in three days. By now I know this road so well I could drive it in my sleep. Don't try that though.
Take the car and only travel back-roads, you know thw two lane highways that are takin me my way.........or get your kicks on route 66!!
Do you know why MT is called big sky country? If you drove through and get off the main routes at night and stop get out and look up, you will know. That and some of the mountains in WY are fabulous! Grandkids with heads looking straight up in awe........... priceless!!!!! Add them critters off howling in the distance, something most cities kids never seen or heard, yet my childhood nights were almost always that wonderful!
You know there is a fabulous real American and real Americans living away from the hype and tourist traps!!!!!!
In 1965, my mother, then a single mother working at an auto parts manufacturing plant in Rochester NY had purchased a new red Ford Mustang. She grew up in Northern Arkansas and had a boatload of siblings, who then had spouses and kids, etc.
So, mom, my brother and sister packed into the Mustang for a road trip to Arkansas, with stops in Springfield and Nevada, Missouri.
One of the most magnificient things for me was when we would stop along the road (it was summer, after all) and wade in creeks and shallow rivers that crossed the highways.
It was such a big deal to me that when, in the spring of 1982, as a wow in Fremont, OH (outside of Toledo), I would take walks in the afternoon along a creek that ran through the west side of town, so I could pray.
For about a month that spring, I felt closer to God and more focused in my spiritual life than at ANY other time...
This is only one vacation memory and what it meant to me later in life.
Evan's insight as posted above is very poignant and something I hope all parents get to do with their kids several times, even if not every year.
In this 21st century, as a single parent myself, and while working as a photographer and writer for a small newspaper, I have been able to take a couple of vacations with my daughter to photograph some of the magnificient sights in Arizona.
Now in 8th grade, she is working on the yearbook for her charter school and takes the pictures of school events.
Oaks - we own our own business and it's harder for us to get away than some people who get a paid vacation from their employer! I don't think we've ever gone away as a family for more than 5 days at a time - which is why we fly everywhere we're headed.
One of our last years in TWI, we took our kids on the Disney Cruise and were criticized for it because we didn't use that money to help pay down our mortgage! Vacations were supposed to be for Advanced classes, Word in Business (on Thanksgiving Weekend, of course), or, in the past, Corps Week and the Rock.
I didn't mind the last one. For the most part, CW and ROA were fun in the 70's til the mid 80's. I got to see friends I hadn't seen for a while, and had a fun ROA "job". I didn't go much in the 90's - my kids were small, I didn't like LCM, it got old.
Now, our obligations aren't as much to TWI as they are to our families. We don't live near either of our parents or brothers & sisters. Vacations other than family events have to be well planned - not spontaneous for us - because we don't have the luxury of the time off. Our trip to Vegas/Grand Canyon last summer was great - but I could have used another day there.
I'm trying to figure out what we're going to do this Spring Break - but again, only for 4 or 5 days.
Another vacation for me is when people come to visit US! I love it almost as much as going away.
Anyone want to do a cruise together? We love them but have always said it would be fun to go with friends - especially those with kids the same ages as ours or close! Tis the season for booking them...
Hope R. color>size>face>
What a long, strange trip it's been!size>face>color>
I didn't like the way TWI pooh-poohed vacations. (You've got the rightly-divided Word, what else do you need) Though I think VPW enjoyed traveling. But he can spiritually "handle" it, hmmmmm. I enjoyed vacations to see different parts of the country - ocean and mountains. God created variety and I think it's important to experience it. I'm a bit of a mystic nature lover and so that is important to me. I've been everywhere in the USA, but haven't traveled much lately. Not much money to do so.
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Zshot
On my vacations...
I do what I want!
I have stayed home and done home improvements.
I also enjoy traveling. One of my favorite place to go are the National Parks. Since I live in Arizona, I enjoy going to the Grand Canyon. It is a 8 hour drive (give or take) from my house.
In Flaggstaff there is an Armed Forces Recreactional Center (AFRS) that can be used by those who are serving in the military or retired military. The rates there are very good , and it is an hour's drive from the Canyon entrance.
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Zshot
I also try to go visit my family (mother, grandmother, aunt, uncle etc...)in Utah.
Of course, I am not sure if I would concider that a vacation
[This message was edited by Zshot on July 19, 2002 at 14:32.]
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Kay1952
Yes, we need mental health days. I think God expects us to take those vacations for our mental health.
Machines run 24/7, but if we don't maintainance them they break!
Why would it be different for people!
Love,
Kay
Kay1952
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nandon
this is the most amazing natural thing i have ever seen.
hey and you might as well hit up vegas while your there.
no gambling of course just lots of sex, lcm style
or maybe not...
i remember this one time when i was right...
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maure
Always got the impression that Christ and his diciples spent a lot of time traveling the country side, visiting friends, etc. Maybe they didn't have vacations as such--because they loved what they were doing and so didn't need to "get away from it all".
But nowadays we often need a vacation in order to find time for GOD
MO
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Oakspear
During the days of ROA, I never took a vacation that didn't involve some "event", other than a long weekend.
The only people I knew who actually took non-Way vacations were a couple who owned their own business, as well as a partnership in a family farm, so they were not limited to acertain amount of weeks every year. Oh, and when the Corps were full time, they got to take a vacation, since going to classes and "events" was "work" for them. THAT kind of chapped my @$$ because I had to take MY vacation going to classes.
Last year I took my vacation at scout camp. I had a great time with my son and his friends and the other scout dads (and moms)
This year my vacation was the Oakspear 2002 North American Tour. A more enjoyable, relaxing vaction I have never had!
I had 16 days off, spent 13 of them on the road visting family and GSers, and the last three just hanging out, and drinking beer.
Oakspear
[This message was edited by Oakspear on August 25, 2002 at 16:34.]
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Danny
I could handle that at the beach.
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TheEvan
It's criminal to raise kids with no vacations. There's a limited window of opportunity to "grow memories". For your kids, vacations are the stuff memories are made of...priceless.
For everything else there's MasterCard, right?
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SocketCreep
We just returned from vacation to Kentucky. It was great to not have to file a travel plan for the LC's approval. It was nice to not have the LC for each state knowing we were in their state. It was awesome that we did not have to check in at various points to leadership. We simple made our plans and went.
My mom and dad renewed their wedding vows after 45 years of marriage. It was a touching ceremony with a lot of heart. All of us siblings and grandchildren were part of the ceremony. This is something I think TWI would have ridiculed. They had had a Church wedding the first time, but neither one of them belonged anywhere and did not have any strong desire to know God at that time. When I was in my early teens, we all joined a church and at that point their whole focus changed. This was their opportunity to "do it right".
We did a lot of visiting with friends while there. Took in the Louisville Zoo and the Newport Aquarium. The shark tank was awesome.
Several years ago I really enjoyed spending a week at the Outer Banks of North Carolina. That was the most relaxing vacation I have ever had.
While in the Air Force I was a crew member aboard a C-130 based in Tucson, AZ. One time our pilot got special permission to fly at 300 feet above the Grand Canyon. It was truely amazing. Each of us got a turn in the cockpit for a viewing.
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TheHighWay
I have been teaching my son for a couple of years now that half the fun of a vacation is flexibility and sponteneity... Make a plan, but reserve the right to change your plans...
Stop if you see something interesting.
Cut your time short if what you planned turns out to be boring.
Check out that stupid little gift shop or museum or garage sale!!!
This spring we were on a trip and ended up changing our plans rather drastically. Before I could say anything he said, "Hey that's what a vacation is for: having fun the way YOU want to have fun."
Mission accomplished. Take THAT, twi.
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JustThinking
A few years back, I started taking less classes and more family vacations. My relationship with God AND my family is much better. What a surprise! ;-)
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No Way
i love how when i would take the bus to work, my offshoot friend told me i shouldn't be listening to my headphones, i should be reading the word....blahhh
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Kit Sober
Vacations -- another reason to be glad to be out!
Didn't take a vacation for 23 years in. Sister-in-law and her family invited us to go camping before one roa (they were in Akron OH), a brief respite.
Advanced Class-ROA-Word in Business-Advance of this and that these are not vacations.
Vacations are a free will choice thing for you and your family, having a nice time together.
So glad to be out!
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JustThinking
Kit,
23 years!? Are you kidding? Was that simply you being a wayfer or did you just not have any time left after a bazillion ministry events?
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lindyhopper
I'm with OAK.
Take the car/truck/van/SUV/thing. This country is beautiful, even in Kansas.
:)-->
You get to see what you don't in a plane. Plus you can stop when you want to see that rest stop with the funky Teepees, or that giant bottle of Coke or dinasaur, or the sunset in the mountains or the trickling brook. Take a short hike off the road.
Then when you get there you still have the rest of your vacation ahead of you.
OR
Take a train. Also fun and you don't have to sit the whole time. They also give you more leg room than planes do. If your tall like me that is a big plus.
We are driving home in three days. By now I know this road so well I could drive it in my sleep. Don't try that though.
It don't mean a thing, all you gotta do is swing.
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Steve!
You never see purple mountains from a plane!
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Grizzy
Lindy and Oak are really onto something!!!!!!!!
Take the car and only travel back-roads, you know thw two lane highways that are takin me my way.........or get your kicks on route 66!!
Do you know why MT is called big sky country? If you drove through and get off the main routes at night and stop get out and look up, you will know. That and some of the mountains in WY are fabulous! Grandkids with heads looking straight up in awe........... priceless!!!!! Add them critters off howling in the distance, something most cities kids never seen or heard, yet my childhood nights were almost always that wonderful!
You know there is a fabulous real American and real Americans living away from the hype and tourist traps!!!!!!
God Bless America; SIZE>
Grizz SIZE>
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Rocky
In 1965, my mother, then a single mother working at an auto parts manufacturing plant in Rochester NY had purchased a new red Ford Mustang. She grew up in Northern Arkansas and had a boatload of siblings, who then had spouses and kids, etc.
So, mom, my brother and sister packed into the Mustang for a road trip to Arkansas, with stops in Springfield and Nevada, Missouri.
One of the most magnificient things for me was when we would stop along the road (it was summer, after all) and wade in creeks and shallow rivers that crossed the highways.
It was such a big deal to me that when, in the spring of 1982, as a wow in Fremont, OH (outside of Toledo), I would take walks in the afternoon along a creek that ran through the west side of town, so I could pray.
For about a month that spring, I felt closer to God and more focused in my spiritual life than at ANY other time...
This is only one vacation memory and what it meant to me later in life.
Evan's insight as posted above is very poignant and something I hope all parents get to do with their kids several times, even if not every year.
In this 21st century, as a single parent myself, and while working as a photographer and writer for a small newspaper, I have been able to take a couple of vacations with my daughter to photograph some of the magnificient sights in Arizona.
Now in 8th grade, she is working on the yearbook for her charter school and takes the pictures of school events.
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Rocky
oops, double post.
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Hope R.
Oaks - we own our own business and it's harder for us to get away than some people who get a paid vacation from their employer! I don't think we've ever gone away as a family for more than 5 days at a time - which is why we fly everywhere we're headed.
One of our last years in TWI, we took our kids on the Disney Cruise and were criticized for it because we didn't use that money to help pay down our mortgage! Vacations were supposed to be for Advanced classes, Word in Business (on Thanksgiving Weekend, of course), or, in the past, Corps Week and the Rock.
I didn't mind the last one. For the most part, CW and ROA were fun in the 70's til the mid 80's. I got to see friends I hadn't seen for a while, and had a fun ROA "job". I didn't go much in the 90's - my kids were small, I didn't like LCM, it got old.
Now, our obligations aren't as much to TWI as they are to our families. We don't live near either of our parents or brothers & sisters. Vacations other than family events have to be well planned - not spontaneous for us - because we don't have the luxury of the time off. Our trip to Vegas/Grand Canyon last summer was great - but I could have used another day there.
I'm trying to figure out what we're going to do this Spring Break - but again, only for 4 or 5 days.
Another vacation for me is when people come to visit US! I love it almost as much as going away.
Anyone want to do a cruise together? We love them but have always said it would be fun to go with friends - especially those with kids the same ages as ours or close! Tis the season for booking them...
Hope R. color>size>face>
What a long, strange trip it's been!size>face>color>
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CircleGame
I didn't like the way TWI pooh-poohed vacations. (You've got the rightly-divided Word, what else do you need) Though I think VPW enjoyed traveling. But he can spiritually "handle" it, hmmmmm. I enjoyed vacations to see different parts of the country - ocean and mountains. God created variety and I think it's important to experience it. I'm a bit of a mystic nature lover and so that is important to me. I've been everywhere in the USA, but haven't traveled much lately. Not much money to do so.
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Zshot
I am thinking about going to the Grand Canyon for a few days in April 2004.
Anybody want to meet me there?
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