Charms

Travelin’Oma, Week 7, Day 2.

Charms.

Just this last weekend, Joseph and I went on a trip with the kids to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as well as the Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. I had never been any of those places before. They were absolutely beautiful! (And VERY cold this time of year, I might add.)

Joseph presented at a research conference in Jackson Hole and then we went out with our children to do a little bit of exploring. While we were at the visitor’s center in Jackson (a marvelous place, by the way – it has examples of all the local wildlife and a large patio area that overlooks the elk refuge area – very cool), we were trying to figure out a good way to do souvenirs for this trip as well as other traveling we do in the future. Since traveling is very important to both Joseph and I, we like to have a way to remember the wonderful things we do. Largely this has been done in the past by collecting postcards. This time we decided on two specific traditions to carry on from now on.

The first still involves postcards. Now we will have each family member who is old enough to do so choose a postcard from where we visit. On the back I will write the person’s name and the month and year of the trip. Additionally, we may ask the kids what their favorite part of the vacation was and then write it on the back (or have them do it once they are old enough). We will compile the postcards in a book of some sort and then be able to glance through them to remember what people remembered most from our trips.

The second souvenir tradition we decided to start was to begin purchasing charms for a necklace for me of things that remind us of trips that Joseph and I have been on together. One per trip. The charm does not have to be purchased on the trip, however. It can be purchased afterward if there is something specific we want to have as a way to remember the adventure that is not to be found in local gift shops. We are doing this retroactively as well. This was wonderful to reflect back on all of the trips we have taken together and laugh at the fond and not-so-fond memories we have of certain places. Funny enough, the item chosen is not necessarily typical for that location. We had a great time reminiscing and trying to think of creative charms to represent each experience.

The charm we bought for this last trip was an elk charm. While we were driving through Yellowstone, we saw many different kinds of wildlife, including a herd of elk grazing and drinking at a river. Joseph got out and took many, many pictures. He also took pictures of a herd of bison and a bull moose. The elk is a fun way to remember this part of our vacation.

We will still certainly purchase special souvenirs on some of our trips in the future and we have many beautiful items in our home from our travels around the world in the past. However, it is memories that are the best souvenirs and so I hope to carry these specially selected memories around my neck frequently to remind me of the wonderful times Joseph and I have had together.