Memory Tees

My newest souvenir tee-shirt, from Kartchner Caverns in 2014.

 

And this was my souvenir tee from Kartchner Caverns in 2005

 

It has long been my tradition to buy tee-shirts for myself and my children as souvenirs any time we travel. I didn't realize until a few months ago how many tees I had accumulated in this manner over the years!

 

And so I thought I would share these little pieces of vacations past . . .

 

TUCSON, Arizona

Tucson 2005

 

Funny story about this tee, which I got during the same trip as the 2005 Kartchner Caverns tee-shirt above:

 

I'd been really sick for months before this trip, pretty much "out of it." When we arrived at the resort I discovered I'd left ALL my clothes at home, hanging on a door frame in our bedroom. So we shopped at a local Ross store and I bought a couple of outfits (including this tee) to get me through the 5-day trip. The tee-shirt says "California," but I'll always remember it from Tucson, when I arrived there with nothing but the clothes on my back!

 

DISNEYLAND - Anaheim, California

Disneyland 1994

Mark and I took Sarah (age 4) and Jacob (almost 3) to Disneyland

after attending the Butler Family Reunion in Visalia, California.

Then we spent a few days in San Diego with my cousin Rick and his sweet wife Leslie.

 

Disneyland 2004

I was at Disneyland when it opened in 1955! I was 11 months old

when my parents took me there in August of 1955.

Mark and I took Sarah (age15), Jacob (age 13), and Dylan (age 7)

to Disneyland and a resort on the beach in Oceanside during Christmas Break 2003-04.

 

Disneyland 2007

This was our first family trip with me as a single mom, after my 2006 divorce from Mark.

It was July 2007, with me (age 52), Sarah (age 17), Jacob (age 16), and Dylan (age 10).

 

LAS VEGAS, Nevada

Las Vegas 2003

Before Siegfried and Roy's deadly tiger attack . . .

 

Las Vegas 2006

This well-loved tee-shirt was worn out, fell apart, and then was thrown out long ago.
Thus, there is no current close-up.

 

Las Vegas 2013
Our most recent family vacation!

 

BRANSON, Missouri

Silver Dollar City theme park in Branson 2009

 The kids and I drove all the way to Branson and spent a week there,

then drove to the Aurora, MO, home of my brother and sis-in-law, Darryl and Tamera.

We spent 6 days with them before traveling to Wichita Falls, Texas, for 2 days

to see my nephew D.J. who was at the Air Force base there.

That was a 17-day vacation road trip!

 

HONEYMOON - Alaskan Cruise and Oregon

Ketchikan, Alaska, 2010

Ed and I took an 8-day Alaskan cruise up the Inside Passage 5 weeks after we got married,

June 27 to July 4, 2010. It was a magical honeymoon and I'll treasure the memories always.

We stopped at Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway, as well as Sawyer Glacier.

I believe Ed and I got our tees in Ketchikan, and I got souvenir tees for my kids in Juneau.

 

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 2010

On our way back to Seattle, Washington, our ship made a final stop at Victoria,

the capital city of British Columbia. Ed and I spent a great day there.

 

Tillamook, Oregon, 2010

From Seattle, Ed and I drove to Portland, Oregon, where he'd lived 1999-2007.

From July 4-7, I saw the places he'd lived and ate and worked and played,

and I met his friends, and we attended a music festival on the Willamette River.

One day we drove down the Oregon coast, and we stopped at the cheese factory

in Tillamook to take the cheese-making tour. The ice cream at the end was amazing. Fun!

 

CHEYENNE, Wyoming

Cheyenne 2010

After our marriage, Ed and I drove back and forth between Arizona and Wyoming

for many months to gradually move all his belongings from his home in Cheyenne.

On one trip we were shopping at his favorite hunters' store in Cheyenne,

 and he bought me this cute tee-shirt.

Wyoming is known for its great hunting, and Ed is an avid huntsman.

 

ESTES PARK, Colorado

Estes Park 2010

The summer before I met Ed, the kids and I planned a family vacation to Colorado.

We'd never been there before, and Jacob's friend had moved there and wanted him to visit.

We decided on the little town of Estes Park at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.

Ed and I were still newlyweds, so he joined us on this July 2010 vacation.

It came to be known fondly as the "Family Vacation from Hell."

Ed did not find traveling with teens to his liking, and he made his feelings clear.

That's why he didn't join us on our 2013 trip to Las Vegas.

 

Estes Park 2010

I actually bought both these tees in a little shop in downtown Estes Park.

It was a two-for-one sale. The kids and Ed got multiple tees, too!

 

NEW YORK Trip

Manhattan 2012

In 2012, we spent the entire month of July on the road, traveling to New York and back.

Ed's mom paid for the trip so we could meet her family and see where she grew up.

Caryl, Ed, Dylan, and I made the trip in Ed's new truck, hauling our tiny fifth-wheel trailer.

It was a VERY long drive, both ways, with 4 people sharing a very small space.

There was a lot of friction and some unpleasantness, but I'd do it again.

We saw great places, had great experiences, and learned a lot.

 

Staten Island 2012

We spent a week in Canandaigua, upstate New York, where Caryl grew up.

We met her two sisters and little brother and their families.

We aso met her spry, 97-year-old mother!

 

Coney Island 2012

Ed, Dylan, and I left Caryl with her family and drove to New York City.

We spent 3 days there, riding the subway; seeing the Manhattan Temple;

riding the Staten Island Ferry past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty,

and eating lunch on Staten Island. We also drove to Coney Island,

where I was able to wade in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in my life!

 

Palmyra 2012

The day before we left Canandaigua, we took the 20-minute drive north

from Canandaigua to Palmyra, New York, and saw the sights there,

including the Palmyra Temple and the Sacred Grove.

Palmyra is very important in the early history of the Mormon Church.

That night we saw the huge Hill Cumorah Pageant, which was impressive.

 

Niagara Falls 2012

From Canandaigua, we headed west again and stopped to see Niagara Falls.

I couldn't be in New York state and miss that! What power!

And we could see Canada right across the river.

From the falls, we headed south to the town of Franklinville

and saw the huge farm and rolling hills where Ed grew up. I loved that.

 

Nauvoo, Illinois 2012

On our way home, we visited all the Church historical sites along our route. 

We stopped in Kirtland, Ohio; and Nauvoo, Illinois (with a session in the Nauvoo Temple);

and Carthage, Illinois; and Adam-ondi-Ahman, Missouri; and Liberty, Missouri; 

and Far West, Missouri; and Independence, Missouri.

We also attended a session in the brand-new Kansas City Missouri Temple.

For all the places we visited, I only bought a tee-shirt in Nauvoo.

We spent 4 days there, and it was incredible despite the awful humidity.

I don't know how the early Saints did it!

 



ATLANTA, Georgia

Atlanta 2013

Last summer, Ed wanted to attend the big Primerica Convention in Atlanta.

I'd never been to Georgia, or any state in the South for that matter.

We had a good 6 days together there. We were able to spend some time sightseeing,

including a trip to the theme park at Stone Mountain.

I really never imagined it would be the last vacation Ed and I ever had together.

 

Atlanta 2013

Our Primerica group went out to dinner at Hard Rock Cafe one night.

That was great fun, and I got this tee to commemorate it.



 

GIFTS from My Husband

Bear Lake, Utah 2010

In August 2010, when Ed and I had been married for less than 3 months,

he returned to Cheyenne, Wyoming, without me.

Before our marriage, he was assistant Scoutmaster to a Scout troop in Cheyenne.

I had just returned to work with the start of the new school year,

and he wanted to go with his Boy Scouts to their week-long Scout Camp

in Bear lake, Utah, so I sent him with my blessing.

Ed was gone for 17 days, but when he returned he brought me this tee.

I was so touched by his thoughfulness.

Scottsdale, Arizona 2013

One last, miscellaneous tee-shirt. Not really from a vacation, but

we got it at the Scottsdale resort where we were attending a Primerica conference.

I do love my bling! Ed bought me matching earrings, too.

It's too bad our financial opportunities with this company

have been washed away in the tsunami of our divorce.

Now you know why my big closet is so stuffed!