Picnics

I really don't remember a lot of picnics except for those when we used to stop at the roadside parks on the way to a vacation destination. (Our vacations almost always involved camping rather than hotels/motels.) Mom would pack things in the picnic basket and the ice chest. I remember things like vienna sausage and potted meat served with crackers. I'm sure we must have had other things sometimes, but that's what sticks out in my mind. I can't say that either of those things are (or ever have been) favorite foods. Of course, the old timey family reunions were essentially huge picnics. I barely remember anything about the old ones when the Thorntons gathered at the "old home place" but I do have a couple of photos. As you can see, there was a big spread, but you'd expect that in a family with 12 children who had children and grandchildren in attendance. (There may have even been a great-grandchild or two there by the time these color photos were taken.) Even though picnics weren't a big part of my life, I don't have a negative view of them. The outdoor setting made them special. One of our favorite roadside parks was in Arkansas right beside a stream. It was somewhere between Hot Springs and Mena. We would stop there on our way to a family camp in Oklahoma which was a cheap family vacation.


This post was written for the Geneabloggers Picnic.