Coppertone Memories
Most of my favorite childhood memories are centered around trips with my family. We didn’t take big, expensive vacations—we didn’t need to. Getting away from the daily routine of school and work, seeing new places, eating out and just being together was all we needed.

I was born in Birmingham and grew up in Homewood, but then my family moved to Huntsville when I was 10, right in the middle of the Space Race. Redstone Arsenal was actively building and testing rockets at the time, and I remember coming home from school each afternoon and hearing the sounds of sonic booms from my back yard. Since Huntsville was fairly close to the Tennessee state line, Rock City Gardens in Chattanooga was a favorite quick trip. To pass the time in the car, my younger brother and sister and I would count the bright red “See Rock City” signs painted on barns along the way. Once we arrived, we loved to wriggle through Fat Man’s Squeeze, bounce on the Swinging Bridge, and when we reached the top of the mountain, we would put a quarter in the slot of the mounted binoculars to try to “See Seven States.” (We never could.)

Each summer we would load up our car and head to Pensacola Beach for a few days, usually staying in one of those little motels where the door to each room was painted a different color. My aunt & uncle lived there so we also got to play with our cousins on this trip. My dad & I would look for shells, and the younger kids would try to build the world’s most amazing sand castle. My mother, slathered with Coppertone, would work on her suntan, since those were the days before we knew the sun was harmful. To this day I can’t open a bottle of Coppertone and smell that distinctive scent without thinking of my mother.

My husband & I have two daughters now and our youngest, Christina, has moved to Pensacola. Last weekend, we picked up our oldest daughter Rachel and drove to Pensacola so the four of us could spend Mother’s Day weekend together. We walked along the beach, visited with my cousins, played putt-putt (a beach tradition), ate amazing Shrimp & Grits a Ya Ya at The Fish House and tremendous steaks and hamburgers at the famous McGuire’s. It was a really nice weekend.

I was reminded again that it doesn’t matter whether you take an exotic trip to a far-away destination or a low-key vacation at the lake—what really matters is spending time together as a family. Enjoy!