CHILDHOOD VACATIONS

Lake Isabella - Most of the vacations I remember as a child were driving to Lompoc to visit family.  I don't even remember my friends talking about vacations growing up so I don't know if other families took "real" vacations or not?  The first & only "real" vacation I remember we ever took as a family was a trip to Lake Isabella to go fishing & play in the lake.  We stayed at a motel that had a swimming pool & I thought that was so cool!  Although this is the only vacation I remember, it is one of the happiest memories I have with my entire family.

Bass Lake - When I started high school, the Hargis family started inviting me camping with them to Bass Lake each summer.  We would water ski & play on the boat during the day & I would babysit at the camp sight while the adults went out in the evenings.  I loved the Hargis kids, so it was a pretty good deal for me.  We camped near the PGE lodge & they had volleyball games & other activities that we participated in, too.  They brought me along every summer & I was happy to go. 

The Beach - During Easter breaks, I would go with high school friends to Pismo & go camping on the beach...crazy stuff happened there & I'm amazed I escaped it without incident.  When I look back on that I'm surprised my mom allowed it, but I think she trusted the older kids I was with more than she should of...I must admit, my brother's friends were always very protective of me & I never felt like I was in danger.  One Easter I got to go to Carpenteria Beach with another family that Bonnie had recommended me to...I got to play with those kids during the day but I got to hang out with the teenagers in the evening.

Google images, because I didn't own a camera back then & when I was that age,
"What happens in Pismo, stays in Pismo!"

Avila Beach

Disneyland - As a young mom, we never went on a vacation unless it was to come home to California to see family.  I would come to California for weeks at a time during the summer because I was homesick & I wanted my children to know my mom.  I did insist on taking the Carter kids to Disneyland often, once they got old enough to understand what Disneyland was...it was a happy memory for me (even though I never went until I was in junior high school) & I wanted my kids to enjoy that growing up. 

With high school friends on the bus coming home from a Disneyland trip.

Disneyland 1983

Disneyland 1993 - Cindi's 12th Birthday