Essay About 'How I Spent My Summer Vacation'

Essay About ‘How I Spent My Summer Vacation’

English Essays

Sharing is caring!

This summer was the best one ever! I want to tell you about all the fun things I did during my time off from school. Instead of staying home like usual, my family decided to try something different. We went on an amazing road trip across the country!

It all started when Mom and Dad surprised us at breakfast one morning. They had maps spread out on the kitchen table and big smiles on their faces. “Kids,” Dad said, “we’re going on an adventure!” My little sister Sarah jumped up and down with excitement, and I couldn’t stop grinning.

We spent two whole weeks getting ready for the trip. Mom helped us pack our suitcases with clothes, games, and snacks. Dad checked the car to make sure everything was working right. He taught me how to check the tire pressure and oil level, which made me feel very grown-up.

Finally, the big day came! We woke up super early, when the sky was still dark. The air felt cool and fresh as we loaded our bags into the car. Sarah brought her favorite stuffed bear, Mr. Fuzzy, and I packed my new camera to take pictures of everything we would see.

Our first stop was the Grand Canyon. I had only seen pictures of it in books before, but seeing it in real life was completely different. It was so big that I couldn’t even see where it ended! The rocks were amazing colors – red, orange, and brown all mixed together. We hiked down one of the safer trails with a guide. My legs were tired, but it was worth it to see the canyon up close.

After the Grand Canyon, we drove to Yellowstone National Park. This place was like nothing I had ever seen before! There were hot springs that shot water high into the air – they’re called geysers. The most famous one is Old Faithful, and it really is faithful! It shoots up water every 90 minutes or so. We waited for it three different times because it was so cool to watch.

We also saw lots of animals at Yellowstone. There were buffalo (which Dad told me are actually called bison) walking right next to our car! We saw elk with huge antlers, and one morning, we spotted a black bear in the distance. Mom made sure we stayed far away, but I got some great pictures with my camera.

The best part about camping in Yellowstone was the nights. We stayed in a tent, and I had never seen so many stars in my life! Dad taught us about constellations, and we found the Big Dipper and the North Star. Sarah thought she saw a shooting star, but I think it was just an airplane.

After Yellowstone, we drove to Mount Rushmore. It was amazing to see the huge faces carved into the mountain. We learned about the presidents whose faces are there – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The visitor center had really interesting information about how they carved the mountain. It took 14 years to finish!

One of the unexpected fun parts of our trip was all the small towns we visited along the way. We stopped at a place called Wall Drug in South Dakota, which is this huge store that has everything you can imagine. They’re famous for their ice cream and free ice water. I had a banana split that was bigger than my head!

We also stopped at lots of funny roadside attractions. There was a giant ball of twine, a house made entirely of corn cobs, and a museum of salt and pepper shakers. Mom said these places are part of what makes America special – people just deciding to make something unique and interesting.

The food on our trip was really different from what we eat at home. We tried local specialties in each place we visited. In Texas, we had real barbecue that had been cooking for hours. In New Orleans, we tried gumbo and beignets (which are like fancy donuts covered in powdered sugar). My favorite was when we stopped at a small diner in Kansas where they made the best chocolate milkshake I’ve ever had.

Sometimes, things didn’t go exactly as planned. One day, we got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. But instead of being scary, it turned into an adventure. Dad showed me and Sarah how to change a tire, and a nice family stopped to help us. Their kids were about our age, and we played catch while the parents worked on the car.

We also had one day where it rained so hard we couldn’t do our planned hiking. Instead, we stayed in a small-town library and spent the whole day reading books and playing board games. The librarian was super nice and showed us some old photographs of what the town looked like 100 years ago.

By the end of our trip, we had driven through fifteen states! I kept track on a special map Mom gave me, coloring in each state as we drove through it. Sarah helped by putting stickers on the map for each major place we visited.

The drive home felt different from when we started. Our car was full of souvenirs, maps, and lots of great memories. I had taken over 500 pictures with my camera! Sarah’s bear, Mr. Fuzzy, had his own collection of small pins from different places we visited.

When we finally got home, our house felt both strange and familiar. That night, as I lay in my own bed, I thought about all the amazing things we had seen and done. The best part wasn’t any single place we visited – it was being together as a family and sharing all these experiences.

This vacation taught me so much about our country and about my own family. I learned that my dad knows almost everything about cars, that my mom can read a map better than anyone, and that my little sister is actually pretty fun to hang out with (but don’t tell her I said that!).

School started last week, and when my teacher asked us to write about our summer vacation, I had so much to tell that I didn’t know where to start. Some of my classmates went to summer camp or visited their grandparents, which sounds fun too. But I wouldn’t trade my summer adventure for anything.

Now, whenever I look at the photos from our trip or the postcards we collected, I remember all the amazing places we saw and things we did. Mom says the memories we made will last forever, and I think she’s right. I can’t wait to see where we go next summer!

More essays:

Sharing is caring!

Related Posts