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There is an exercise that some summer camp counselors use at the end of each camp, called “Rose, Bud, Thorn”. They ask their campers to give them one highlight (or “Rose”), one thing they could do better (or “Bud”), and one low point (or “Thorn”). This is a great way of getting kids in the habit of incorporating reflection and gratitude in to their daily lives. In turn, the counselors gather useful feedback on how they might make the experience better for the next time around.
I thought it might be fun to share our “Roses, Buds and Thorns” while reflecting on our recent family vacation. We picked southern California, and here’s why:
- Where else can you visit amazing National Parks as well as world class amusement parks all within a few hours of each other?
- Inexpensive airfare.
- Weather is good most of the time so packing is easy!
Planning the trip was not hard. We found so many options by simply Googling “things for families to do in LA”. We noticed that there were 4 National Parks within driving distance of the LA area. Since my husband and I love spending time with our kids in the great outdoors, we opted to rent a car and drive up to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (days 1-3). We thought it would be do-able because the parks are about 5 hours away by car. We ordered a travel book to help us with what to do in both parks, and we found a hotel situated right between the two. As far as the remaining vacation time, the kids were hoping to go to the Disneyland Parks (days 4-5) and make a visit to a local beach (day 6). And on the last day, we allowed time for one or two stops on the way to LAX for the flight home. We were thinking of something like La Brea Tar Pits and a Museum. With all of this in mind, we made our big plans, and headed out hoping for the best.
Now that we are back, we have been discussing what we liked and what we didn’t. Here’s the summary:
Roses (highlights):
- Seeing some of the biggest and oldest living things (giant Sequoia trees) on the planet was awe-inspiring, and we were happy to be able to fit most all of the “must-sees” into our tight timeframe.
- We loved having fun at the Disney Parks, despite it being hot and crowded.
Buds (things we could do better next time):
- Spend less time in the car overall. We ended up driving almost 1,000 miles, and in hindsight we all agreed that it was too much.
- Be better prepared for weather changes in high elevations. While we were in the National Parks the temps ranged from 40 degrees to 68 degrees F, and we had mostly warm weather attire.
Thorns (low spots):
- We didn’t take the time to research beaches closer to our Anaheim hotel (such as Huntington Beach), and ended up spending most of our last full day stuck in traffic to and from Santa Monica Beach (LA traffic is so bad).
- Going to Disney parks after hiking through two National Parks was exhausting. Next time we will allow for a little more “down time” so that we aren’t completely worn out at the end of our vacation.
It’s a great idea to use this exercise with your family members after returning from a vacation, and don’t forget to share your own Rose, Bud and Thorn with them, too. While vacations are rarely PERFECT…they are unique opportunities to make life-long memories!
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