Adventure Vacations
We’re continuing the Family section of Wisdom Nuggets. The tentative outline is: My Wedding Advice, Selfish Reasons to Have Children, About Raising Children, Family Traditions, Adventure Vacations (this one), and Christmas Letters and Photo Books.
In 2010, my friend Michael and I went on a week-long bike tour in southern Oregon. We started in Klamath Falls and rode up to Crater Lake. We bicycled the ring road around Crater Lake on the “rest day”. Then back to Klamath Falls by different roads to finish the ride. After the ride, I put Michael on the train home, and picked up Sheila and my kids who had taken the train from Seattle down to Chemult, OR.
We spent the next week packing in every adventure I could find in that part of the state. We took a boat tour of Crater Lake. We stayed in a tree house hotel. We zip-lined. We rafted the Rogue River. We explored the Oregon Caves. Laura took a class in technical tree climbing using rope systems and knots. Those of us with more fear of heights cheered her from the ground. Laura’s the one upside down in the picture. Of course she is.
Then we drove up the coast highway stopping at light houses, and the sea lion caves near Florence. Finally, we joined Steve and his family for a few days on the beach at Seaside. To this day if you ask my kids about their favorite vacation, it’s the adventure vacation in Oregon, hands down, no competition.
There are about eight years in middle school and high school, when your kids are old enough to do things like paddle a kayak or raft, or fly down a zip line. Make the most of those years. Pack in all the adventures and experiences you can. Let your kids sample the range of physical activities, sports, and outdoor adventures. A lot of this stuff really isn’t very expensive. Your kids will learn that life is exciting, that exertion can be fun, and to savor the beauty of creation. And with a little luck, one of these things may stick with your kids and they’ll have a hobby or sport for life. That’s a real gift.