Tonight will be the last of our vacation, and I have some thoughts on the subject.

Vacations, that is. As a child, we took one every summer, usually staying in a rustic cabin or camping out somewhere in the mountains of New Mexico or Colorado. We fished, hiked, roasted marshmallows and built things—forts in the woods, dams in the streams.

When our kids were kids, they did the same. Only their parents added off-roading (Jeeping) to the activities. Now, those are some of our best memories.

Charlotte and I talked about it as we drove yesterday (from Ouray to Santa Fe). Children add to vacations. Not that we don’t enjoy it just being the two of us, and we cherish trips with couple friends.

But children see a campfire or trout stream or Jeep road through a whole different lens. And some of that fairy dust lands on all of us.

Which is why we decided to include the grands more in our retirement travels. And, since their parents will read this, there is no turning back.