I was playing catch-up at home today… and can’t believe how things I needed to take care of since I got home from visiting with my sisters.
At 11:00 tonight it was too late to start anything new, so I decided a Giveaway might be fun..
This is a little something I picked up in Springfield and if you have 18″ dolls, this will work for any of them. It is made for Our Generation dolls, but American Girls would be happy to have it too!
This little set of goodies is called Lovely Trips… and your doll will love the purple heart sunglasses, the sweet raccoon Keyholder, the pink travel suitcase, the train ticket and passport… You can use your imagination and think up a story for your doll using these fun pieces…
If you’d like to be entered into the drawing, tell me the best vacation/trip you’ve ever had… (that’s how you’ll be entered.) You can leave it in the comments below or hit the “Contact Me” tab at the top of my blog and send me an email…
You have until 12:00 midnight Thursday, Illinois time! (Central Time Zone)
I’ll write the names of everyone who wants to be part of the Giveaway and draw a name out and post the winner Friday!!
See you tomorrow
Blessings, Jeanne
The best trip (as in “once in a lifetime”)….it would have to be the trip to Africa in 1999; I was one of three dozen folks from the church we attended at the time, on a short-term mission trip to work on special projects for the missionaries at Trans World Radio in Manzini, Swaziland. We spent a week working on our projects (I headed up the group setting up a subject file for their home school library), and another week touring. We went to the Hluhluwe Game Reserve for a weekend of debriefing afterwards, and the a trip by bus down the Garden Route until we ended up in Johannesburg, from which we flew home. Ron wasn’t interested in going, so he stayed home. He was still working at that time.
The best vacations, though, are the ones where I get to see my best friend June and some of my family–and that means Michigan! It’s my favorite place to go. (You can take the girl out of Michigan, but you can’t take Michigan out of the girl.)
I should add, the Garden Route is along the coast of South Africa (and of course that’s where Jo’burg is, too).
The best vacation I ever had was an awesome time. My husband and I planned two weeks to go to Niagra Falls. We just took our time and saw lots of sights along the way. We stopped at the Air Force Museum, Football Hall of Fame and a barge ride down the Erie Canal. But the best of the whole trip was Niagra Falls!!! Wow! It was beyond my expectations! Words can not explain the sight! If you have never been there, then you really should.
My best trip was when the kids were ages 5 thru 12 and we took them to The Tetons and Yellowstone. We had just a regular sedan and all four of them sat in the back seat. We stopped at mealtime at campgrounds and spent a night or two in a tent…until we woke up on July 4 and it was 32 degrees. Mike went straight to the camp office and rented a cabin! It is such a beautiful area with such fun things to do! I made us all matching red-white-blue t shirts . The pictures were great and I love looking at them often.
Hi Helen, Yes, Niagara Falls is stunning. I’ve seen them from both the American and Canadian side.
I think one family vacation that we had had stands out pretty much, and that was our trip to Williamsburg, which we took years ago when our two were 10 and 11 years old. We planned and planned for this trip, researched everything about Williamsburg, and of course, this was before the Internet and before being able to check anything online. We had the car packed and drove through several states, and not knowing how far we would get in one day, and had to stop that evening in a little holler in West Virginia, which was very “rustic”, you might say! All the more fun!
We went through the beautiful mountains of West Virginia, then the gorgeous scenery of Virginia, finally coming to our destination, Williamsburg. How interesting for the children, and us! We walked along Duke of Gloucester Street, seeing costumed characters recreating Colonial scenes, saw a dance at the palace, ate at various inns and taverns, saw where Washington and other famous patriots worshipped, and all the various shops, and simple homes that gave Williamsburg it’s charm.
We also visited Jamestown, the various plantations along the James River, and not to forget that we lived in modern times, also had a visit to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, where the kids rode the roller coaster, called The Big Bad Wolf!
The trip home was just as much fun and of course, had beautiful scenery going through Tennessee, Kentucky and then Missouri. All in all, a wonderful trip that none of us will forget!
Dear Jeanne, my most memorable vacations are the trips I took to Paris. I can still envision walking down the Champs Elysees, sitting in sidewalk cafes, taking Afternoon Tea at Mariage Freres, meeting a new friend Joan (from the US), using my very poor French, and feeling “hugged” by the city.
I don’t want to be in the contest. I am trying to downsize after my recent move.
Best vacation ever was our trip to Prince Edward Island the summer of 2001 to see all things Anne. We took the train going and coming home and were in a sleeper car. The dining on a train experience was fun as well. We visited all places Anne and L.M. Montgomery on the island, even getting to see places where the Anne movies and Road to Avonlea were filmed. Gus’ lighthouse is on private property and was also where Anne and Diana run on the beach. The owners invited us into their home to view the lighthouse and ocean from a higher vantage point. We also visited Nova Scotia and saw Peggy’s Cove (absolutely fascinating!) and the Bay of Fundy. Visited every lighthouse and had tea in Charlottetown on PEI and also in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Many lovely tearooms both places
The red soil and pink and silver sand of the island is gorgeous. I brought some of each home in an empty bottle of Anne’s Raspberry Cordial plus some in bags and rocks (my favorite types of souvenirs). I could have come home, packed, and moved there in a heartbeat.
Like Linda, we also did a lovely trip to Williamsburg in 1998 to see Felicity’s world. Trips to Mackinac Island, MI round out the top three vacations. Is it any wonder I have some of my dolls living or summering in those places?
I don’t wish to be entered in the contest either. Give someone else who hasn’t won before a chance.
I love Mackinac Island, also! My husband and I were there some years back, and of course I went there when I was a kid and we lived in the Upper Peninsula. Heaven on earth, that’s what the UP is!!
Charlotte and I seem to share a love for vacationing in the state of Michigan since that was my all-time favorite trip we ever took. I really can’t remember exactly what route we took on that trip, but our destination was to visit my dear friend Jacquie in the Detroit area. Jacquie had been raised in Detroit and after working in California and Texas (where I met her) she retired back to Michigan as that was where her two sisters still lived. Jacquie had no children and was like a grandmother to our children. On our way north we stopped in Frankenmuth and experienced all that town had to offer, and it was much. Jacquie said it was a must-see and it sure was. Visiting Jacquie anywhere would have been great but she let us know before we left on our trip that when we arrived she would be in northern Michigan visiting a cousin. Her cousin had lived in Detroit but built a vacation place in the north and was now retired and living there. We were camping as usual and had a pop-up so we stayed at a lovely campground not far from Jacquie’s cousin. While there we visited Mackinac Island. It was in July but I remember having to wear a sweater taking the water taxi over. I also remember restaurants having their windows open and enjoying a lovely breeze while eating our meal. The weather was perfect while we were there. Then we went through the Soo Locks. That included a dinner cruise with a fantastic 4th of July fireworks display which was extra special because here in Texas we were in the midst of a drought and our fireworks displays had been cancelled. We always joke about the trip we were willing to take to see fireworks. I would love to make a return trip but Jacquie passed away several years ago and it just wouldn’t be the same without her.
Absolutely loved hearing about everyone’s delightful vacation trips. So fun.
I think the trip I most enjoyed was in the early 70’s, after I was out of college, when I went with my parents to South America. The highlights were swimming in the Amazon and visiting Machu Picchu, as well as our arrival in Columbia, when our whole tour group was delayed until some important piece of paper arrived on the next flight. Memories.
Thanks for doing the give away, Jeanne. These stories make me want to pack the car and take off for new vistas. 🙂
My most exciting vacation/trip, because it was the farthest place I’ve been, was when I got to go to Guatemala on a mission retreat for about 8 days. It felt like a different world. There were a lot of volcanoes and trees. We were at a town called San Lucas Toliman, which is near Lake Atitlan – a beautiful lake inside of a volcanic crater. We got to go on a boat ride to Panajachel and Santiago Atitlan. The latter place was where we saw the room where Father Stanley Francis Rother was killed for being Catholic. The Crucifixes there were interesting. The hands and feet were created abnormally large to emphasize His wounds. We got to see an open air market, where people were selling their handmade blankets and other things. Each town had its own skirt pattern. Women wove with looms attached to trees. At Mass people knelt on a board or on the floor and women covered their heads with a towel.
We had different work groups. One was to plant coffee trees I think. One was to lay down floor tiles at the hospital. Another group worked on shaping re-rods to make a connecting building at the school.
We got to stay at a hotel called The Key that had a wall around it. It was owned by a Guatemalan family who gave me and two others a birthday gift since we had our birthdays there. They had a pet green parrot that sat on a ring. The sky was visible from a lot of the hotel, like it had an open courtyard… you could see into the kitchen. We were supposed to drink bottled water there, but some people got sick from the dishwasher… I love that place…
From the dish water. Also got to see a smoking volcano
My best vacation was our cruise to Alaska, we stopped in Juno and I hiked up the mountain in a wedding dress and keds. We got married on the mountain, it was amazing!!