There are two very distinct memories of summer vacation I have from growing up.  One is going to the beach what seemed like everyday with the same group of four families.  Luckily there were kids my age (that is after all how moms become friends and they were all off for the summer- 1 teacher, the others stay at home moms).  We played in the sun, swam and had golden skin by the end of the summer.  It also meant we were in bed when it was still light out (my sister’s favorite story).  But there was a routine to it all and it was fun.

My other very distinct favorite childhood memory is going to York Beach.  My parents would rent a cottage- the same one every year- for the middle two weeks of July.  We would pack a U Haul to get us up there (it wasn’t until I was older and was telling Chris that I realized this is not how most families travel!).  We packed the grill, our bikes, toys plus all the essentials.   And for two weeks we went to the most perfect beach, flew kites, got ice cream and at some point during the two weeks, we went the the amusement park there.  It seemed so huge when we were little, so small now that I am an adult.  The other odd thing about our vacation is that cousins and friends would come and visit us.  I didn’t realize that was out of the ordinary until much later too.

But I can understand why they would.  It is just under 2 hours to get there and it is such a beautiful place.  My sisters and I still go there- for a day, a few days or longer.  There are places we routinely visit- sometimes because it is what we did as kids.  This is our summer.  It would not be complete without a York trip.

We went to York for only the second time this summer on Monday.  Chris is on vacation this week and not fighting traffic on a weekend was quite appealing.  We had an awesome day.  The boys played in the sand and splashed in the waves.  We buried them in the sand. We had dinner and of course ice cream.  It was perfect.