The Family Travel Host USA is a family name around here. I’d like to get coffee mugs and t-shirts and sign on my office and a larger one outside so that people will know who I am and what I do because very few of my friends have any idea. I post my articles and website information about who I am and what I do but they all think that what I do is a hobby. It’s not – it’s a business. I launched the Family Traveler years ago when I knew very little about designing a website and it has remained on the web ever since.

Very few people I know take vacations. Their responses vary from not enough time, too expensive, can’t afford it, I hate to drive, I have doctor appointments, the kids have practice … right on down the line. Apparently some have never been anywhere and have no clue what a vacation is really like. They’ve never took the time to really go someplace they like and enjoy it. They all have excuses that keep them in one place and they’re satisfied with that.

I use to be one of those people until I took my first vacation with my children one summer in the early 90’s. In January 1991, my divorce became final and I was struggling with trying to make ends meet on what little child support we received. You see, I had eight children and times was hard. We had rent, utilities and food to buy just like everyone else. The only problem with our situation was I had very little help from daddy – dearest. He was too busy paying DWI fines and probation fees every month to keep his drunk self out of jail. There was little left for his kids. The only experience I had was writing. I finally got a minimum paying job as reporter at the newspaper in a neighboring town and worked real hard. By mid summer, they laid me off and I was right back where I started. It took me several months after that to figure out what I needed to do and it happened all at once, out of the blue. I started my own newspaper in our town because the neighboring paper closed the section that covered our area. I went out, put out notices about my newspapper opening soon and sold several hundred dollars worth of advertising before I had a paper to put them in. It was up to me to get the people to understand that we needed a newspaper in our little town. It worked.

By the next February, I had a plan. The newspaper business was doing well, My oldest daughter worked with me in the evenings doing most of the typing and she and I published the newspaper every Tuesday.

My boyfriend (who is now my husband) loved to travel, too, and he’d take me on weekend getaways every month and that was fun, but I wanted more. I wanted my children to be able to take vacations as well but I couldn’t impose on my honey for that. What was I to do?

My daughter and I took our money we had left over each week (she saved every dime except when she needed something at school), and we saved every cent we could every week. We went to Walmart and put all kinds of camping gear including tents and sleeping bags on layaway (that was back in the day when layaways was going strong). I opened another layaway in her name and put new summer clothes and shoes on layaway because I wanted them to look nice. That summer, I paid everything off and my boyfriend borrowed his sons’ extended cab pickup, and we borrowed a camper shell somewhere! We loaded everything down and struck out to Colorado. Oh, what a delight!

In spite of looking like the Beverly Hillbillies, we were thrilled to the bone. My honey rented us a room going out there – it was a 16 hour drive from home and he rented one coming back. We all crowded in and everyone had a place to sleep (remember those new sleeping bags!) We had to sneak in to keep from paying for extra people but we managed very well. Money was tight. We had enough to eat at fast food places as long as we bought the stuff on sale but no one complained. We arrived in Colorado and stayed at primitive campsites and camped out for free that year but that was a start. My sons loved exploring the mountains and building campfires.

By the next year I knew I had to do something. Vacationing with my family was my new hobby and I wanted nothing less. I wouldn’t have it any other way. They too loved to travel and we had a wonderful time going to different places in Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. They never compalined about sleeping in tents and not having money for expensive things. On our vacations, we saved enough to eat one nice meal together at Denny’s in Durango, Colorado each year. That was always a treat.

As the years passed, my children grew up and vacationing with them became less. They all have their own lives now and vacation with their own families when they can. I have had the pleasure of traveling with their children every year but most of them are grown now too. But there’s still a sprinkling of grands around that love to travel with mamaw! My husband rarely travels anymore due to his health and he just don’t enjoy it as much. But this mamaw is still vacationing as often as she gets a chance several times a year. I long as I can see to drive, I’m going somewhere, whenever or whereever the notion strikes.

This year is no different and neither is next. I’ve already got the months of June 2024 completely filled – Lake City, Colorado here I come. And I’m working on filling up July 2024! Not sure where I”ll end up but it will be anywhere but here! You see, I am the backbone behind my family travel guide and I have to write travel pieces about the places I’ve been and the things we do. It is not my intention to sit home and wallow in the ‘should’ve, could’ve, would’ve’s’ when I can! And I can still travel so that’s what I’m working on – always going someplace and making memories with my family.

I’m working on The Family Travel Host USA and on my 2024 vacation! What are you doing? Want to join me? Pack your bags, load down your car and follow me!