Before the kids grow up: A modified bucket list

We've wanted to take our kids to my home town in New York and to see Niagara Falls along with NYC. Unfortunately our work schedules have prevented us from getting the two weeks off needed to go. Every year we ask the kids where do you want to go for our two weekly summer vacation. Two years running its been to the Windcreek State Park here in Alabama. It is there favorite spot to swim, make new friends and just relax. The wife said next summer it will be Gatlinburg for one of them and where ever the kids want to go for the second. Have fun and enjoy that trip.

As a divorced dad, I wrote a bucket list at 30 when my daughter was 19 months old and her mom walked out. The judge told me I had only 6 wks visitation in the summer. I took a 94 ooo pay cut to take a job which would give me the chance to see my kid during the time I had her. I never thought my kid got it but and age 19 she called last fathers day and said Pop, the plane ride was not easy but you made the landing smooth. I have seen all the state capitals with my daughter and met some of the most wonderful people along the way. , camping, Assateague Island is beyond words. I took my kid there when she was 15 and it was the first time she woke up on her own at 5 30 am amazing place. Philly is great place. I own a summer home in Nj and my daughter and I always stop at for a cheese steak at Tony Lukes. Liberty harbor for nyc safe place way over priced but still way less expensie then a hotel. Time moves on I don t hear much from daughter anymore, but I look at the photo of my daughter at the campfire roasting moastmellows that's what it all about All the best to you. Sorry for the miss spelling

Not sure if my intentions didn't come through, but it seems the first few responses didn't get what I was saying.

Yeah, fishing down the street is a great way to make memories. We camp 10 times a year and keep our poles in the camper. We've made lots of great memories and saved tons of fuel that way.

Didn't you ever want to take your kids someplace special? Go see where the Declaration of Independence was written? Or go see the ocean that's 700 miles away? That's what I'm referring to.

lizzie seems to get what I'm saying. :)

I don't see anything wrong with a "bucket list" at any age. Our kids (all 5 of them)are middle-aged now and they tell us that we never wasted a dime or a minute taking them camping. They say that those experiences were the highlights of their childhoods. I was fortunate to be able to take six weeks off every summer, their Dad could take three. We hit the road and he flew out to join us at the mid-point. We tried for all of the National Parks in the contiguous USA, had theme trips (geology, aviation, forts ,etc.) depending on their interests. Everybody had input into where we went and what we did. We were always on the lookout for low-cost and/or free attractions and events. Go as far and as much as you can. You will never regret it. lizzie

Deb and Ed M wrote:
You've got 4 years. Once the oldest can drive, all bets are off, because they often have jobs and school events......

My kids liked any adventure involving water... LOL!!

If you can get as far as CA, my kids were fascinated by LA and the La Brea Tar Pits.

4 years, I was thinking the same thing too. Makes me kind of panicky, lol.

Realistically, I don't think we'll make it to CA. Too far for us. And yeah, we're big into water too.

You've got 4 years. Once the oldest can drive, all bets are off, because they often have jobs and school events......

My kids liked any adventure involving water... LOL!!

If you can get as far as CA, my kids were fascinated by LA and the La Brea Tar Pits.

Along the lines of what korbe is saying...don't let the destinations become more important than the time spent with the kids. I'm sure that isn't your intentions but I've seen it happen to others in past.

Mine are 21 and 23 now. Because of DW's work schedule, our trips were mostly 2 to 3 night weekend trips so we kept closer to home...maybe 6 hrs drive. We were still able to build lots of memories.

Wherever you end up taking them, cherish every moment :)

YOur 30's is way too young for a Bucket List. :)

I don't believe in bucket lists. I feel they set one up for a sense of failure and create too much "we have to do this" stress. Sure, there are places I want to see but to give it a beginning and an end takes away a lot of the fun of RVing.

I have come to realize that there is not enough time or money to satisfy a travel bucket list for the kids. For us, the quality time spent with our kids was what we found to be most important. A weekend fishing at a local lake turned out to hold more of a quality memory for them than our trip to a major theme park.