Five years ago this month, shortly after we purchased our first motorhome, I found this “making memories” canvas at a local home store and knew it would be a perfect addition to our new cabin on wheels. It has hung in the bedrooms of our two RVs ever since, and I suspect that no matter what RV we have in the future, we will always have this picture hanging somewhere inside to commemorate the spirit of our RV adventures.
However, “making memories” is a phrase we used in our travels decades before we ever purchased our first RV. In fact, we have a very long history of referring to “making memories” when we travel. For that reason, I immediately knew this canvas would be a great fit as we began our RV travels.
“Today’s moments are tomorrow’s memories.”
— Unknown
My earliest recollection of hearing the “making memories” phrase when traveling dates back to a week-long vacation with some good friends and all five of our combined very young children for a week of vacation at a lake in East Texas one summer in the late 1980s. To say that this trip was laden with unexpected events would be an understatement.
Here are just a couple of “memories” from that fateful trip.
We took my father’s 1960s era red and white Larson Lapline outboard boat with us, and late one evening while taking a cruise on the lake with all nine of us on board, the motor shut down. We never could get it started again and had to use the water skis and an oar on board to paddle back to the dock, which fortunately wasn’t too terribly far away but still far enough that it took a while to get there.
We adults were exhausted from paddling and there was some brief talk of a ruined vacation. Then…
… my sweet friend, who remains one of my very best friends today and has a great sense of humor, reminded us all that we were just “making memories,” and from that point forward, that phrase stuck like glue to our vacation escapades.
On that same trip, we all dined out at a nearby seafood restaurant one evening. As we arrived, a big summer thunderstorm blew up, and before we knew it, a tornado was headed our way. The restaurant staff warned everyone to stay inside and take cover, and panic quickly set in among the guests. All we could safely do was follow their advice to stay put and take cover, and fortunately, the small tornado veered off in a different direction and did very little damage. As we resumed our meal and the talk at the table immediately went to the many unfortunate circumstances of our trip, my friend reminded us that we were just “making memories.”
And she was so right. To this day, we enjoy recounting that trip with those dear friends and the “series of unfortunate events” that we encountered. Without all those memories, we might not remember that trip at all now.
Ever since that memorable trip, we’ve continued to use the phrase “making memories” when unexpected things come up while traveling, both the good things and especially the challenging things. We’ve had our fair share of “making memories” on vacations over time, for sure, including our RV vacations over the past five years.
Some of our fondest RV travel memories to date are the times we have traveled with family members and friends. When we bought our first RV five years ago, we never anticipated that others we knew would soon follow our lead and buy their first RVs. Now, it seems that we have found, quite unexpectedly, a great balance of traveling by ourselves with the dogs and occasionally traveling with others, and at this point, it is a perfect fit for us. And what great memories we’ve made with all of these great people over the past five years, too.
There is just something so special about traveling with those you love the most and getting away from everyday routines, even if only for a weekend, taking time to connect and enjoy each other’s company. Young parents today would be wise to remember this, too, even if a staycation is more appropriate financially.
It’s really all about spending uninterrupted time together, and most of us have to plan our schedules carefully to actually achieve it these days. It needs to be a priority in our lives on a regular basis.
“We didn’t realize we were making memories. We just knew we were having fun.”
— Unknown
A group of guys on Hubby’s side of the family has decided to resume yearly tent camping trips together, something they used to do as a family group as they were all growing up when tent camping was all they could afford. Now, they can bring along the next generation of sons with them, and their first trip is scheduled for late September. Even though Hubby is a little spoiled to the RV, he is looking forward to resuming this fun tradition with our son for the first time… in a tent.
I can only imagine the memories those guys will make together, including a few I will probably never hear about. They all have busy lives and careers now, but I’m so glad they are once again taking time to be together and continue a long time family tradition. Good for them.
We are looking forward to “making memories” in our new-to-us RV very soon as we are finally ready to resume travels this fall as the weather cools off. Our long, hot summer is hopefully winding down, schools are back in session and our travel plans are mostly in place with our inaugural long trip scheduled to begin on Labor Day weekend. I’m glad we had the summer to really put the RV through some paces here at home, as well as making a couple of quick test trips.
Now, it’s finally time to get this RV show on the road once again… and start “making [even more] memories!” 😀
My Five Fs 
When I was young — about 10 or 11 — I once asked, while sitting in the back seat of our station wagon if I might not swap places with mom and sit up front with dad. My dad turned to me and said “Some day you will leave home and the two of us (meaning mom & dad) will be left alone without you. We sit together so that when you leave we still have special feelings between us.” I didn’t think much about it at the time because I was accustomed to sitting in the back; but I never forgot those words.
As I aged through my teens I noticed more and more adult couples who seemed to hardly fit together anymore. I had no idea what might have brought them together in the first place but I heard wives humiliate their husbands and husbands who talked rudely about their wives when they weren’t around and the value of dad’s ‘advice’ began to sink in.
When we married Peg and I agreed that while our friends were socking away money for their retirement that we would invest in “our” future — which is to say in our relationship — even when we had nothing to put in the bank. WE tried to teach the same to our daugther. But now, when man of our friends with bigger retirement nest eggs are divorced (some of them twice over) we’re fortunate enough to still be in love and happily partnered.
Making Memories is surely a wonderful thing!
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That’s a great story and such a good use of “investing.” We invest in many ways, not just financially. We have also invested in our relationship over the decades of our marriage, too. One thing I’m seeing more these days with young families, though, is the lack of investing in uninterrupted time, both as couples and as families. I don’t necessarily think it has much to do with money with a good number of them either. They are so invested in their careers to the seeming detriment of that uninterrupted time together. It can be something as simple as a Saturday out at a nearby park with a picnic lunch, letting the kids play on the playground, reading a book under a tree and playing catch with a baseball and a couple of gloves. I hate to see kids growing up in front of a television or an iPad. Kids need regular exercise, and so many are not getting it. Camping is a great solution, even in a tent overnight. Hiking, building a campfire and telling stories, cooking over a campfire, seeing new birds and other wildlife and so many other things associated with camping are inexpensive ways to spend time together, whether as a couple or as a family. The guys on Hubby’s side of the family are apparently missing those days now, and I’m glad they are going to invest in that time together, hopefully on a yearly basis once again. Thanks for sharing those great thoughts.
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