My mom planned summer vacations for our family each year when I was growing up.
I recall a really fun beach vacation on the island of Jamaica where I met a new friend, Susan, who lived in Illinois. My dad was the driver on long car trips to Florida, the Catskills, the Jersey Shore and to Nova Scotia, Canada.
As a high school student, I remember a family cruise ship vacation. I was plagued by motion sickness the entire cruise. My only respite was on the daily excursions off the ship. One memorable incident from that cruise ship vacation was walking onto a sandy beach in St. Martin and hearing my name being called by a woman in a black one-piece bathing suit wearing a straw hat. It was one of my high school teachers!
After college graduation, I planned my first summer vacation trip to California. My boyfriend and I flew to San Francisco to spend a few days. Then we drove our rental car to go camping in Yosemite National Park. This was my first camping experience. On the way to Yosemite, we stopped at a K-Mart and bought a tent, two sleeping bags, a cookstove, groceries, etc. It was late afternoon in mid-July. When we arrived at the first campground, we were told that all of the tent sites were booked. The park service worker said that we could stay if we asked other campers for permission to share their camp site to pitch our tent. So that’s what we did.
Yosemite National Park featured gorgeous waterfalls, hiking trails, a beautiful river and lots of wildlife. After two nights, we drove to Big Sur, then Monterey Bay, and finally to Hermosa Beach. Camping, hiking, beaches and Disneyland made for a fun vacation!
Over the years, my summer vacations have included hiking trips to Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Colorado and San Diego.
I’ve been looking online at Dude Ranch vacations in Wyoming. So many options for Dude Ranch or Guest Ranch experiences! Dude Ranches like Blackwater Creek Ranch offer trail rides on horseback, fishing, hiking and archery in the beautiful Wyoming wilderness.
I have not ridden a horse in years. I started riding up at my summer share house in the Berkshires when I was 28. I bought the leather boots and the black velvet riding helmet. I was assigned a large dark brown horse named Rocky. I focused on improving my riding skills each weekend through leisurely group trail rides on the hilly wooded property and also individual trail rides with the owner so I could practice my cantering and galloping with Rocky. I also signed up for time to learn jumping with Rocky in the corral. I enjoyed the thrill of jumping one to two feet off the ground and asked one of my friends to take photos, too.
The last time I was scheduled to ride Rocky on a trail ride, I arrived at the barn to learn that the owner couldn’t make it but his 20-something son and his girlfriend said they’d ride with me. They took off on their horses at a full gallop. Rocky rocketed right behind them through the woods on the narrow dirt trail. In sheer terror, I feared being decapitated by the tree limbs whizzing past my head. I hunched down with my face against Rocky’s neck and closed my eyes and prayed as the horses thundered one after the other through the woods. We eventually returned to the horse barn in one piece.
Kim Kovach prefers leisurely trail hikes with waterfall views! Visit her website at www.kimkovachwrites.com.
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