My Fifty State Coin Map
Introducing: The Yorks on Holiday
When the movie Chicken Run came out in theaters, we took our girls to see it. We loved it! Once it was available on VHS, we bought the movie. Chicken Run was on repeat at our home. We knew it so well, we could recite the lines with or without the characters. Babs was our favorite. She was the ditzy hen who loved to knit. Each time one of the chickens went missing because of the mean poultry farmer, Babs would ask happily, “Are they on holiday?”
We didn’t get to travel every summer, but the ones we did, we loved to quote Babs at the beginning of our journey. “Are we on holiday?”
In our daughters’ early years, we traveled mostly south –– enjoying the Atlantic Ocean and beaches near the Gulf of Mexico. When they reached elementary and middle school, our girls all received the fifty state coin collector maps that were so popular at the time. It was fun filling in the circles placed on each state of their maps with shiny, brand new printed quarters. Every coin displayed something each state was known for. One day, after placing a new coin in her map, our middle daughter began putting check marks by the states we had already traveled. I was surprised to see how many states she marked off. If we planned strategically, maybe we could travel to all fifty states with our kids before they left home.
I decided if we were going to attempt this, we couldn’t just drive through them. It became my mission to include a side trip, experiencing at least one thing unique to each state. I have to admit, some of those side trips were a little quirky. As my kids got older, they would roll their eyes and sometimes protest, but those funny adventures made our travels all the more entertaining. My husband, bless his heart, always went along for the ride.
I’m excited to share some of our family adventures. I hope you find as much humor in them as we do. As ridiculous as some of the stories may sound, I promise it’s all true.
My middle daughter gave me permission to share some of her travel journals she wrote as she rode for hours and hours. She captured little snapshots of the places we visited and funny family interactions from her perspective. I think you’ll enjoy those too.
Sit back, enjoy, and travel back in time with me. Let’s go on Holiday.
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