Vacation Documentation: The Early Years

It should be no surprise to you that I'm a giant advocate of documenting life. I've posted often over the years about my passion for it - through journaling, photos, and scrapbooking.

Today I want to show you one of my early works of documentation and why I love it so.

Back in 1986, in between my second and third grade years of school, my parents planned a huge (for us) family vacation. I don't think it was our first trip since I'd been born, but it was the first regular vacation I remember taking. Mom, Dad, my older sister (Julie) and I packed ourselves in the family station wagon and drove from Indiana all the way out to Washington DC for an extended vacation to see all the parts of the the city.

Julie was living on her own by that point, so it was an extra fun adventure to have her along. My parents bought one of those hard plastic luggage carriers that strapped on top of a vehicle, so we could put all our suitcases on top of the car and have more room inside for...well...us. This was before the days of seatbelt laws, so I rode all the way out and back in the way-back of the station wagon. I made a little bed for myself back there and had the merriest time watching the scenery fly by the window - in between books, of course. My sister had the entire back seat to herself, and my parents rode up front, Dad doing the driving and Mom navigating with the atlas and the AAA maps.

Mom gave me a job for the trip - and I had no idea it would set the tone for my entire life where trips were concerned. I was the official documenter of our vacation. She handed me a notebook and let me keep whatever record I chose.

I giggled all the way through that written record when I read it this past week. My spelling was questionable, but I was only eight, you know. Here's a sample:

"I opened my first preasent." Mom had gotten me some little dollar gifts (before dollar stores were even a thing) and wrapped them up. Every few hours, I could open a new one. Apparently the first one was due at 7:30 (a.m.).

"I went through Cloumbus, Ohio." You've been there, right? And then at 3:25 p.m., we came to West Virgina. Wow. That was awkward.

"We saw trucks come off the Interstate and go to a big parking lot to eat or to stay at a Motel." I'm surprised I didn't count them!!!

Every single day of our trip has a questionably spelled journal entry, complete with reports on times and weather.

 Good old "Mount Vernen" and the "basment" and the "deks" on the boat.

Ahhh that boat. It was a ferry of sorts, and as I stood in line between the ticket counter and the boat itself, my ticket fell into the water. I sobbed. I thought they were going to let my entire family on the boat and make me stay on the dock until they got back. Alas, they took pity on me and let me go:

I love all the pictures Mom took in and around our hotels. It's fascinating to me to see how they have changed in presentation since 1986. This is one reason I always take pictures of every single hotel room we stay in now. I want to compare in 30 more years!

Mom also kept every single receipt from the hotels on this trip, and the prices are fascinating!! The average cost for 4 people to stay in a room throughout this trip was about $50.00.

I also loved all the pictures she took at major places. If Ryan and I ever get to tour Washington D.C. ourselves, it would be so much fun to recreate some of these photos!

My Dad, who was still a high school teacher at that time, was in charge of the senior trip each year. They always went to Washington D.C. for the day, so Dad always had a contact with our congressmen. When we made our plan to visit as a family, Dad reached out to him and he met us for lunch and helped us arrange some tours. We even got an official photo!

The whole scrapbook is filled with ticket stubs, postcards, brochures, menus, and more. It was very thorough, especially for 1986 standards, and I loved looking through it. It brought me so much joy and reminded me that this is why I put so much time and effort into documenting the trips we take. I want to preserve the days - and thankfully I've advanced beyond a record of times and weather reports.

And this is where I got my documentation start!