The Bluebirds are Nesting...: The sweet holdiays of yesteryear.

Sunday, 29 March 2015

The sweet holdiays of yesteryear.

Our trip away (and the way we take short breaks) brings back memories in us both of the holidays we were taken on as children. I remember how exciting a holiday was! My Nan and Pa hired a beach house at Christies Beach each year for many years. It was big enough that Mum, Dad and my brother and I would go plus my aunt Mary and my Uncle Jim. It was a street away from the beach. We had the most wonderful time. Nan ran the kitchen as we still ate family meals mostly and some fish and chips. Pa would take us down to the beach and swing me endlessly in the water. He never tired apparently!

Other holidays included our family staying in a farm house. There was a wood stove and no electricity. We had great adventures during the days, walking to look at Eagle nests, going to the sea near by, padding in a lake that was there. A fire at night and board games, reading and early nights, early mornings.

Andy's family rented a beach shack at Stansbury. This was a couple of hours drive for them. Andy's parents and four kids set of excitedly and the holiday featured lots of fishing everyday. Meals were what they caught! Andy's Nana made giant jars of shortbread glued together with icing and sent these away on these trips. This was so wonderful. (Just as my Nan did.)

The holiday was spent outdoors all day, they collapsed in bed at night exhausted to do it all again the next day!

My Mum and Dad's honeymoon was a trip to the south east of the state with a caravan. I am told Dad looked at cows a great deal as he dreamed of owning cows some day. So their honeymoon pictures are mainly cows :)

Nan and Pa would never have taken a holiday or purchases anything they could not afford. Pa was very mathematical. Every decision was carefully considered. How far away from that are we now? Holidays are routinely paid for on credit and great debts are gone into for them.

My childhood was filled with various holidays and I loved them all! Once we stayed in a shearing quarters and had bonfires in the evening. I never felt deprived that's for sure.

I have noticed something and have been thinking about it. Young people now are told to go see the word and travel extensively. And I can see why to some extent.

But at the same time the dream of owning your own home is becoming a harder to achieve dream. Many are deciding it is impossible. And personal debt levels go up and up.
Is one connected with the other? At least in part?

We decided holidays and breaks are important to us. The way you feel refreshed, revived and things are in perspective, convinces us of that. And we decided to take breaks we can afford. Nan and Pa had no spare money and they managed it as did Andy's parents.

Helen and her husband have a little caravan. They take mini breaks that they love and do it for very little. I know that some places they stay are only $15 a night! You can see Helen's caravan here... Helen's Caravan.

If it can be afforded then travel is life changing, educational and amazing. I had the chance to take the girls to the US and see Disneyland and Hawaii when they were little. This was a gift from my Dad. It was wonderful! The memories will last forever! What I am saying is we can holiday within our budget. We don't need to risk our security to do it. And wise decisions need to be made about what is it we want? A home? A world trip? To be debt free? To have an emergency fund and plan?

It seems our Grandparents (and possibly our parents) were very thoughtful with their money and they are starting to look wiser and wiser as we look back at that!

The trip we just took might be the only one this year. But we can go to the farm and that can be a mini break in a way. We saved up for this from last October. I knew once Lucy was getting close to due I wouln't want to go anywhere... so I planned March was the latest....

Our long drive was a mobile picnic and crochet fest! When we arrived this was the view from the front doors.... (the tide was out)

I posted about my magazines, op shopping and ways we do this very cheaply on Feather your Nest Friday. Andy loathes flying and I have to say I am feeling the same. So we have no airports and no stress, just a drive. We arrived and felt so relaxed and were eating lasagne and salad on deck chairs looking at this about an hour after arriving.

I slept so well with cool sea breeze blowing over me and only the sound of sea and birds. We made friends with these guys who got to know quickly we would feed them...

Andy could fish right out the front. I could take him a coffee by exerting maximum effort and walking across the lawn lol

I have always wanted a zoom lens camera so I could take photos of birds. But here they pose for photos at a distance you can touch them, pretty much eliminating the need for a fancy lens! If anything it was like "could you back up just a little bit? You are fogging up the lens..."

I found this really good fun and so did Andy who has 101 Seagull portraits! Also here was a decline in front of us before the water which meant the birds would fly down and be really close to our heads....

These guys are HUGE and heavy. They put their feet down (landing gear) in anticipation of hitting the ground, several times a foot like seen below almost touched my head! haha they are really funny!

There is no getting around the fact that nature is wonderful, de stresses you and makes you happy. Nature is free.

After a day of this I realised how much better I felt. And I didn't know I had felt bad. I just felt so much more relaxed and was sleeping so much better. Five nights of sleeping like a log was beautiful!

If you have any chance take a leaf out of our Grandparents books and enjoy a quiet and relaxing break for little. Or pack a picnic and go somewhere beautiful for the day. Maybe you know someone with a farm? Or like Helen you know of inexpensive cabins or caravan parks... but something that is a change and will not ruin the budget.

We could have gone ANYWHERE and I doubt we would have relaxed any more or enjoyed it any more than this.

What did your family do for holidays when you were little? I would love to hear. I would love ideas. The US ladies would have stories too that I will probably find amazing! What did your Grandparents and Great Grandparents do? There may have been some that never had a holiday. But I hope most had some opportunity sometimes. How do you save money on holidays and manage to get away within your budget?

Lets re assess holiday expectations. Lets not be paying them off for the rest of our lives!

Now to plan our next one and aim for that. It is fun to have a plan and work towards it even if it is going to take a while! We have picked where we want to go next and this time it is only two hours away and also on the beach. For relaxation I can't beat the beach.

I do notice that vintage caravans are very fashionable. So maybe vintage holidays are making a comeback. I can see why. It makes sense and saves a fortune.

47 comments:

Fiona29 March 2015 at 17:56
Haha, I'm a complete computer dill!.
Read your lovely story then went back and clicked on the Helen's caravan link and then posted on that, then noticed it was january 2014. Oh well, you might just have to go over there to see what I wrote about your holiday and my lovely 1 hour holiday. Cheers Annabel.

Fiona
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Mrs. Chrissy T29 March 2015 at 18:07
I have been so blessed by finding this blog. I love it. Refreshing.
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Nanna Chel29 March 2015 at 19:52
Annabel, we always went to the beach when we were children, Redcliffe outside Brisbane was very popular at the time then when my children were small we would drive mum up to the Sunshine Coast each year as Dad didn't like the beach as he burnt a lot. We still go to the Sunny Coast each year even though it has become a lot busier but Caloundra is still a great place for families. We avoid the Gold Coast like the plague. Too fast for us.
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Anonymous29 March 2015 at 21:15
Annabel a wonderful post and yes being by the sea is so relaxing.

My parents purchased a block of land in a holiday town, by the sea, and initially we stayed in an old caravan while dad built the house - we were not right in the township, just a small walk to get to the shops and beach.

My only grandparents use to camp under a canvas tent then as they got older they purchased a caravan. They didn't take their children along with them very often when they camped, think they stayed home with their grandparents.

My husband use to head to the family farm when he was young with his family - lots of stories about playing cowboys and indians and being chased by a sheep that didn't like the experience.

When my husband worked in the bank he belonged to the social club which enabled us to have a holiday in different places but at a reduced cost - usually we stayed in a place by the beach, once it was the bank manager's home above the branch (no longer used as a home) - the children loved it because it was an old building so huge rooms and lots of big windows to see outside.

We did try the caravan thing but my husband doesn't enjoy that so we have stayed in cabins in caravan parks or like this next time we are staying in an apartment complex at a beach about an hour up the road from where we live - sounds funny given that we have the beach just 4 doors down from us - we will be staying in a tourist area so lots of busyiness happening and the plan is to hit the shops - neither of us like that so it will be a test to see how long we last as the shopping centre is quite large.

We usually head off for drives as well so hopefully the weather will be kind to us.

Lynette
XXXX
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Anonymous29 March 2015 at 21:22
Have you heard anymore about Laine from laines letters opening a blog this year?
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Mimi29 March 2015 at 21:32
What perfect times Annabel, eh? It just goes to show that refreshing mind, body and soul needn't cost the earth. Our childhood holidays were all spent near the beach. For many years, Mum took us on the Sunlander train, where we would sleep toe to tail on bunks in a sleeper cabin for 3 nights to get to Townsville or Cairns. From there we would take a boat to Magnetic Island or Green Island and spend two blissful weeks getting burnt to a crisp (no Slip Slop Slap campaign back then!) and hand feeding Coral reef fish in the warm shallow waters. We'd trek through rainforest to big old houses....no hotels back then either....where we'd sleep in enormous beds with big old mosquito nets. Mum would freak when huntsman spiders as big as our hands would invade us from the surrounding trees, and nocturnal visits from possums who we'd hand feed, were a nightly event. We'd eat home made brawn and chicken in aspic (so inexpensive and cooling, and a great way to make a small amount of something go a long way) and long thin icy poles in slivers of plastic were a favourite treat, with an argument always ensuing over who got the red ones! Burleigh Heads was another favourite, where we'd run down the hill to the water at 6am and struggle back up at Midday to flop on the beds exhausted until 3pm. A siesta was practically compulsory! These days, we have carved a sanctuary for ourselves at home, and rarely actually want to leave. Staycations are just about our favourite things in the world. Mimi xxx
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Unknown29 March 2015 at 23:14
Dear Annabel and friends, it was only yesterday I was thinking about our caravan! Your photos are simply heavenly Annabel, and have given us all a little jaunt to the seaside.
The difference with holidays also were the length of time.
Dad and Mum had one income and seven children. Dad was a builder, and he paid for renting a flat once, and determined he would never waste money doing it again. So he bought a hundred year old shop with a residence attached for $1000. The year was 1969, and the house was full of rubbish including car bodies.
He and Grandad did several trips down to clean it out, install a septic tank and a bathroom and we were set.
A huge residence with open fire places, where we spent 12 weeks every year. Can you believe it? I didn't even know that was special.
I thought it was normal. Mum saved all year, as when we were there, Dad didn't have a wage. He instead was busy having fun with us, and going on drives in the country accumulating antique furniture which he did up. We had people join us all the time and Mum tells me that over the Christmas holidays it would be nothing for 30 people to be there at once.
All the food was cooked at home, but days were spent fishing in the river, playing with the neighbourhood children, picnics, daily swims at the beach, going to church on the weekend. Total and absolute bliss.
How was this done.....Mum and Dad never bought take away or wasted their money. Everything was bought with the view to how long it would last, and did we need it? This enabled them to live within their means and have funds for the important things like a holiday home for there kids. Thank you so very much Annabel for reviving those memories. Love Helen xxx
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Kathy29 March 2015 at 23:27
Don't know that the really good times are that much different here in the US! When I was little we lived in a different state than both sets of my grandparents and my dad was a teacher so we had some time in the summer and we would take a month or so to put the big camper on the back of the pickup truck and head out, since my parents were history nuts we stopped at all the historic landmarks and battlefields and museums, I could probably still give you a historical guided tour of the route! My grandparents both had farms - one in Colorado and one in Missouri, very different climates and different activities but they both had grandparents who loved us and spent every moment they could with us, ....fond memories.
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Anonymous30 March 2015 at 01:55
We are in the US. As a child we went camping, did a trip or two to Disney, went to the east coast by the beach, and I also remember a trip to Canada. As a teen, I was involved in an adventure type club, we went backpacking every year for two weeks in Colorado, West Virginia, and once to British Columbia.

In my family now, my husband pastors, so we can't get away much, and we simply have never been able to afford something large...but...we have found what is refreshing to us...and that is a day trip to "Amish country." We have a favorite coffee shop, a favorite park, and a favorite shop, which is actually just a bulk food store with a bakery and kitchen novelty store attached. We have recently found a place there that sells very fresh meat, so sometimes, even though it's "grocery shopping," and we buy some groceries for our pantry and freezer, we just love it. Even just the drive over is refreshing. The land is hilly, but open, and the fields are plowed in different directions, it is a patchwork quilt of textures against a beautiful sky. It is so refreshing. Sometimes in the town and city, you can't see that overhead dome of sky that goes from one horizon to the other. I can just breathe easier when I can see the whole sky. ☺️ We do these little trips as time allows, usually on my husband's day off, and then we have a hotel the whole family loves, in the same area, and because we know everybody loves it, and it works very well for our family (pool, free snacks at night, wonderful breakfast buffet, very clean and nice), that is where we take our family get aways for now, just 2-3 nights away. ☺️
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Sherri30 March 2015 at 04:01
Annabel it sounds like you had a lovely, relaxing time away. When I was a teenager Mum had a standing booking on a beach house at Bribie Island for two weeks every Christmas holidays. It was so relaxing and we had so much fun at the beach. I followed the link to Helen's caravan - it is lovely and it made me smile as I have the same Robert Gordon cups, saucers and plates and the same book that is in the photo.
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KayeB30 March 2015 at 04:24
I feel like I've enjoyed a little refreshing break just reading all these lovely comments and reminiscing. We used to stay at a company beach bungalow. I remember it had a caravan kitchen and a bungalow for sleeping. We used to walk down a walkway to the beach at Ocean Grove in Victoria. I think a lot of these were around along the coast in that era (60s) we also went camping a lot with my stepfather. He made a special canopy for their ute, they slept in that, and he'd made a tent attachment for us 3 girls to sleep in. We had great holidays away in that setup. Somehow we were allowed to travel in the back of the ute sitting on a stool together! Before seat belts obviously ;-)

I still love simple pleasures when away. We have picnics, go for walks and drives and enjoy the scenery and wildlife. I love beach holidays, but also equally love the mountains - as we live in the flat country here and a change in scenery is great!
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patsy30 March 2015 at 08:41
Annabel, we are on a working vacation now and it is not nearly as quiet and peaceful as yours sounds. Love this post! It speaks to my heart!
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Unknown30 March 2015 at 22:04
Dear Annabel,
The most memorable vacation I had as a child was when I was 8 years old. We visited my mom's cousin in southern Illinois where they owned 80+ acres of land. A very old house sat on it nearly in ruins, and we could explore the home. It had broken windows, an antique hutch full of vintage china, shelves of dusty old vintage books and a winding, creaking staircase. It was fascinating! Right near the home was their trailer home they stayed in as they were clearing a portion of the land and demolishing the home and rebuilding. We stayed in the trailer with them as well. In the evenings the fireflies were abundant and we caught them in jars to make lanterns. Also, the grasshoppers were thick and we sat on the inside of the hood of an old car, turned upside down on the ground. This was attached to a hitch behind a tractor and we were pulled around as fast as lightening (or so it felt!) through the fields and turned around in circles for what felt like forever! The grasshoppers were our bait for fishing! My older brother didn't like baiting his hook but I could help him no problem :) We also went gigging for frogs. We gigged at night, cleaned them for eating the next day! We went to bed after being bathed in about an inch of water (several children through the same water), examined head to toe by our mothers for dear tics (none of us had them), LOL and slept like logs. It was hot, humid, the air was thick and the summer days were really hazy but we did not know any different and loved every second of it! Fast forward to my adult life, I live for beach side vacations. Cooler (esky) for the trip just like you, bring our own coffee maker for the mornings, tea, snacks, etc. Eat at our fave place on the pier for dinner. It is exactly six hours in the car to get there and it is pure bliss. I am not a "schedule this, run and do that, shop here, must get this in" blah blah blah. I know many who "vacation" like that and if that is restful for them then that is grand, just please don't ask me! I park it on the beach and destress. I could not agree more with what you say about taking breaks and not having to go into debt over it! Thank you for this beautiful post, it has me dreaming of a break in July! xxx
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Anonymous31 March 2015 at 04:09
Hi Annabel

Your trip away looks so peaceful and tranquil. It sounds very relaxing and I must say Andy looks like he was enjoying himself.

As a young child I remember going on holidays with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins to a small beachside township a little less than 2 hours from home and I have such happy memories from this time away. My weekends and holidays were always spent with my Aunt and her family and I will always cherish the closeness I have to them.

My memories are filled with mornings spent on the beach with us taking morning tea, then home for lunch and either back down to the beach in the afternoon or a game of backyard cricket or a trip into the ice cream parlour a BBQ dinner and a walk along the beach before heading home to bed at night.

As I grew up and started working I still remained very close to my Cousin's and when my oldest Cousin moved to the country I would like nothing more than to go to visit and quite often planned a short trip for like a week and ended up staying for most of my 3 weeks vacation. There is something about the fresh country air and being away from it all.
It is funny how your trip has cropped up as only in the last few days we have been thinking of where we would like to go on a trip we are planning to take in the next few months. Do we want to go down south again and visit family or head north and see some of the places up this way......so many choices and decisions to make.

So glad you are well rested as you will need to be to preform your Grandma or Nanna duties...............oh so close

Aly xxx

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Lana31 March 2015 at 14:31
I have wonderful memories of visiting my grandparents every summer and their odd house built on a hillside that only goats could easily walk on along with the bathroom all the way down in the creepy basement past the monster coal furnace. Sadly that house burned down several years ago but I can still go there in my memories!

Sixteen years ago we purchased a 1/12 share of a house on a beautiful lake. We paid cash for the share and can go one week out of every season and if we want to go short notice we can use it anytime it is not occupied. It is only 2 hours from home so it is not a big deal to even head over after work mid-week and stay through the weekend. It is so peaceful and quiet there. When the kids were growing up it was a lot of swimming and outdoor activities but now that they are grown and just the two of us are there we are much more relaxed. We sleep long nights and spend our meals out on the deck overlooking the water. Books are read and a lot of talking is done and we always enjoy good food and wine there. The house costs us only $480 a year in fees to maintain it and we could not even go for a few nights for that amount of money of we had to rent. We have been very blessed to have this getaway place.
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Lana31 March 2015 at 14:51
Another post as you all might enjoy hearing about the other side of vacations. My Mother-in-law grew up in a wealthy family, servants and all. Every summer her Mother, sister and their maid went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the entire summer. They went in late May and stayed through the first weekend of September. Her Father came and joined the family every weekend. They stayed at a hotel and ate in the restaurant for every meal. She said she had chicken salad every single day. She met my Father-in-law there the summer that she was 17 and they married when she was 18. Those were fond memories for her and she talked of those summers all of her life.
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Rhonda31 March 2015 at 18:09
I am glad you and your husband had a nice trip- it looks wonderful
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Anonymous7 April 2015 at 18:20
Wow Annabel, you speak to my heart in so many levels. I'm only 29. But this is exactly what I LOVE about holidays. I remember going to the beach for holidays with my parents, cousins, aunt, uncle and grandparents and all bunkering down in the same little house. Swimming, walking, riding our bikes, collecting shells, reading and watching movies....such lovely times. I also remember just being on holidays with my grandparents and it was so happy. My gran would make me a special cake on my arrival and just spending time with them drinking cups of tea, going to the beach, and spending time together was so important to me, even as a little girl. Everyone says my wonderful DH and I are old fashioned. We love beach holidays and holidays in Aus. Most people we know, at our age, are going on their next overseas trip. We would rather have these beautiful, special breaks and pay our mortgage. Most people our age do look at us incredulously. What do you mean you don't want to go overseas? Sure we can see the value in it for others, but for us there is nothing nicer than a swim and a drink on the beach with a bbq at home. We are blessed to be united in this way. I also thought of you on our last getaway for Easter. We took our own homemade scones and a flask of coffee and had a picnic on our way. Such lovely times. Not long til we get to share it with our little one- 29 May, so not far after Lucy. Thank you for positing. It gives us great joy. Love, Bridge
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