Adding Nostalgia to Every Trip

Adding Nostalgia to Every Trip

In this episode of TravelEssary, we explore how incorporating nostalgia can enhance any trip. We discuss the emotional connection and joy derived from nostalgic elements like visiting old-fashioned general stores, enjoying retro candies, exploring historic diners, and tuning into classic road trip songs. We share personal anecdotes of how revisiting past experiences and places has boosted our mood and strengthened family bonds. Listeners are encouraged to add nostalgic touches to their travels to create memorable and joyful vacations. The episode highlights nostalgia as a powerful tool for creating lasting vacation memories.

Transcript

  We are the Essary family and we're exploring America one destination at a time. On this episode of TravelEssary, we are going to share the importance of adding nostalgia to every trip. Let's chat.

Welcome and thank you for joining us on this episode As we take you back as our. Teenagers would say, you know, back in the teens, back the nineteens. Yeah. Like it was that long ago. But, uh, just nostalgia and I mean, whenever you think of nostalgia, what do you think that means? Are you asking me? I, yes. I thought you were asking our listeners a rhetorical question.

Um, nostalgia is something that takes you back in a good way. In a good way. And it connects you emotionally. Mm-hmm. It, it revives something in your minds where you think back to something that was just extraordinary or something that was Bibo. Oh my gosh. If you do not stop using that word in our podcasts, we're gonna fight something that you remember from the days long gone.

And it, it just brings such good fond memories. , I'm not sure, you know, of all the research that we have been doing over the past year or so, working on our podcast and coming up with topics to talk about. I don't know if I have ever seen this tip anywhere across the internet platforms or anything like that.

It, it might be there, but I've never come across it. This is something that I have specifically realized . It adds to our trip. Like in a good way. It's something that, , it adds euphoria to our trip. , It's a mood booster. Like, , whenever you need a pit stop or , you've had a long, hard day.

It is a mood booster. When you have that little bit of nostalgia added to each and every trip, whether it's a day trip or a week long trip, it's. Greatly improves your vacation time and your family bonding when you do that. , There has been several times where. We've done something from, you know, either back in whenever we were in high school or something that we grew up with, and like we get giddy and excited.

Mm-hmm. And our kids are looking at us like we are plumb nuts, which they do most of the time anyway. But it's fine. But it's a little extra special because we're like, we don't care. We're gonna rock and roll anyways. Mm-hmm. Or we're gonna have a really good time. We're gonna sing this song to the top of our lungs and just.

Fly down the highway , and then of course, that always brings up the next step, which I believe is , the most important by, doing this is you get to. Relive those instances or those times in your lives and you get to share them. Share them with your children, with the next generation, right?

And then in doing so, you can create some really great traditions, which we have started, one we're gonna talk about. But what is nostalgic for one person may not be nostalgic for another. Absolutely. I think there are some basic things that. The general idea can be for everyone, which we're gonna go over some of those, but some of the ones we're talking about may be specific for our family, but I want to share.

Give you examples of how we add nostalgia to every single trip, and I do mean every single trip because I, I've just learned over the past years, especially this past year, that when I do that, when I add that little bit of something nostalgic for us, that it is a huge mood booster and. You know who, who could say no to a mood booster?

Yeah. Who, who could say no to having a joyful time or reliving a fond memory. Right. And you know, that can be through sights, sounds, tastes, smells like anything that can bring that back. So the first thing that we like to do, and I feel like this is one that could be for everyone, is we like to stop. At, I don't even know what you would call them, like little general stores.

Like old fashioned general stores. Yeah. Little general stores that have all the wonderful like old fashioned candies and old fashioned toys. Anywhere from like the forties, fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties. Like they just have decades worth of items you don't see anymore, like at Walmart or Target, you're not gonna find them.

Yeah, we are definitely not talking about your everyday normal items that you're gonna find, like. Down the candy aisle. You know, if you're looking for a Hershey's kisses . We're talking about those long gone items that you can only find at very specific stores, and there's almost always somewhere to stop at that.

Always. We have several around us in central Texas that are within an hour or two drive. Mm-hmm. And some of 'em are in the middle of nowhere. Yes. Like the last one you went to really was in the middle of nowhere. It was in the middle of nowhere. It was. It was really weird because it was like 10 minutes outside of a town.

Town. Outside of town. A tiny town. A tiny, yeah. It wasn't even like a, a large town. No, it was just on the highway in between small towns. It, it is crazy. And you know, there's another one that we stop at all the time because , it's such a nostalgia for us before Bucky's came in and we talked about it, Woody's in a previous podcast.

, You gotta go check out the podcast that we talk about Woody's. It's the top 10 hidden. Hidden restaurants. Hidden restaurants. In Texas. In Texas. Um, we talk about.

It's a fantastic place. If you ever get the chance, definitely stop it. It's worth it. But just going to those places and then I. Telling all the stories from us going to there. Yeah. Or letting the kids try candy from your childhood, or like, this was from my mom used to show me this candy whenever she would take me to the store, and it was from her childhood and being able to share.

Things that you can't find anywhere else. And it, it's just, it's so nostalgic and they have like the old fashioned sodas and the glass bottles, and sometimes they even have like the really old toys. The really old toys, like the raggedy Anns, . One of my family's favorites is like the old fashioned taffy. The Taffy, and they like to watch it being made. Yes. And we have been able to do that in multiple places. So every time, you know, we're in Galveston or Fredericksburg or even downtown Austin.

Yes. They have places that have. All of the old fashioned candy and old fashioned toys, and our, our children love them just as much as we do. In fact, my mom and , my dad, they really love visiting those places as well. Oh yeah. It's. And it's multi-generational that want to go and check these places out.

Yeah, because like I said, it's decades worth of items that you just don't see everywhere that you go. Yeah. They're specialty items, you know, explaining what we did before. You know, , we never had energy drinks whenever we were growing up, but we had. The, the greatest thing on top of it.

Those, those little straws of sugar pixie sticks. . You took a pixie sticks and you were good for like a week. Yeah. 'cause it, it contains so much, it was just straight sugar, like a shot of sugar. Yeah. And so just explaining that, or the ring pops or the little necklace candies, you know mm-hmm. That you would eat or, you know, you'd have your friend eat and then you'd snap it back to your neck and it's like all, you're just wearing it from there.

Yeah. It was just, the craziness from our childhood but man, just going back and reliving those , being able to tell the kids, you know, Hey, we did this, and then getting them to try some things mm-hmm., Is even cooler on top of that.

'cause then they're like, oh my goodness, this is amazing. It's like, yes it is. Yeah. I also like when we stop at like the drug stores that do like the old fashioned malts and shades. Oh yes. Like they do by hand and stuff and they're so good. Yeah. Where they get the bluebell and then they do their own little mixing.

Mm-hmm. Or sometimes they even make their own syrup and other things. Yes. Oh, it's amazing. Yes, yes, yes. So speaking of generational enjoyment, . We like to vacate every now and then. Generationally, like with extended family, absolutely. Where our parents are joining us, or kids and grandkids, like we can have three or four generations.

Um, now, I guess at your family what there's five. What, it's five, five generations now that, , get together every holiday and stuff and, and we share stories back and forth. Yeah. Talk about nostalgia. Oh my goodness. I mean, some of the stories that, you know, happened to us as children and then that doesn't happen to our kids because our parents got soft.

Our grandparents don't, you know, they don't. Vacation the same way that they did back in the day, and just being able to relive some of those stories is, is really awesome. It kind of gives them a, a perspective of how privileged they are. Yeah. Nowadays with everything that's going on, but going generational, being able to experience things Oh, it's amazing.

Through different perspectives. Oh yeah. It's, there's something nostalgic about it, and it's something that , it does take a little bit of planning because not every generation is gonna be able to do. Maybe what every activity. Right. Maybe with the younger generation, you know, , if you're going to Six Flags or a theme park Yeah.

None of the grandparents would enjoy that. Grandparents aren't going. Mm-hmm. Um, but there's so much other stuff that you can do. Like, I barely enjoy that anymore. I'm sold. Yeah. But going to a zoo or going to a market. Mm-hmm. Or just spending time with each other, like sitting on a campier camp. Yeah. Oh my goodness.

That's amazing. Some of the stories , that are told, it's just mm-hmm. It's phenomenal. And then of course you get to experience all the cooking, especially with my grandfather. So my grandfather owned a restaurant. Yeah, that's right. Back whenever I was young. And so being able to, , relive those stories or even, if he cooks, you know, his steak fingers or a hamburger or something like that, I mean, he's cooking it original style the way he did back, in the late eighties.

So,, just being able to . Share that with the next generation to come. . Well, you're encroaching on my next point, which is one of the things that I like to do for us, and I think everybody should do, is to stop at old fashioned restaurants and diners.

Absolute. Oh my goodness. The mom and pops. Like, especially if you can get like the older mom and pops, , the originals that started it back in like the eighties or nineties. Mm-hmm. It's like when you go and order, it's exactly how your mom and your grandma may be growing up.

Yeah. , It just brings those memories back of a Sunday morning breakfast. Mm-hmm. Or you know, and you, they've been using the same recipe for like 60 years and you know what to expect when you go in and it brings back those memories. Just the sights, the sounds, the taste, and then again, sharing that with your kids and having them love it just as much as you do.

Yeah. Not where you're going into. You know, some franchise restaurant that they're all done the exact same way. But usually whenever you go to those mom and pops, especially the old diners, if you can find the old diners you go to, they have pictures. Mm-hmm. All over the place about different people of decades worth of stuff.

And then the stories that are behind it. . The stories that they can tell you from what happened, you know, back in the, the sixties and seventies is, , it's amazing and be able to hear those.

And remember, . Yeah. And that's not just for the adults either. Like our 18-year-old, he loves to listen to people's stories.

Whenever we're walking around the park, and people are fishing, he will stop and he will talk to them and he just wants to hear their story. He loves hearing about stories and you know, people's lives. And that is a great place when you're at one of these old fashioned diners or you're in a generational vacation or something like that for the younger generation to be able to, have the opportunity to listen to stories like that. 'cause it's a completely different day and age. I mean, from when we were children. The world's already so, so very different. So very different. So whenever our parents were children or our grandparents were children, yes.

, Even so much more different. And it's good for the younger generations to hear those stories and to hear those experiences. And me having already heard them several times growing up, I get to relive it again whenever my kids are told those same stories. It's so incredibly nostalgic. What I really liked doing whenever they start telling those stories is putting my, my perspective at that time, like, what was going on?

Mm-hmm. And be like, no, y'all, it, it wasn't that good. That's You're romanticizing it. Yeah. Don't romanticize it. No. This is how it truly was, you know, something that makes me really sad is when I hear of one closing down. I know that my parents went to, that I went to, and then I find out that I can't take my kids to it because it's been shut down.

Something like that makes me so incredibly sad. So if you have the opportunity to take your kids to those places, do it before something happens and they close down. Absolutely. 'cause people can pass away, they can have health issues and then the family just sells it. And that's the end of it. Yeah. The next generation.

It's not always kept in the generation. Like Yeah. The next generation doesn't want to keep it going. , Which everybody's entitled to their own life. Absolutely. But. That may be your, your one and only chance. You never know to take your kids to something that was so incredibly special to you or even your parents when they were children.

So if, if it's still around, take them while you have that opportunity. Don't, don't wait. Don't be like, ah, we'll get in a couple years whenever they get older. It may not be there in a couple years. So definitely, definitely take 'em to it. Let 'em. You know, take pictures if they're too young to really fully remember, but at least you will have that memory that you can share with them later on down the road.

Mm-hmm. Something else that I do specifically for our family is I like to bring in old movies on our trips. So for instance, when we went to the Alamo the night before when we were in our Airbnb, we rented the movie The Alamo, the older one. I don't remember when it was. It was an older version. You know, we were in San Antonio going to the Alamo. Mm-hmm. So , it was something that we wanted our kids to fully understand.

But even like the other times, whenever we get, you know, we like to bring out the old musicals, the old, oh my goodness. Like Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. Yes. We like to bring out, um, Newsies. We like to bring out, um, what is your Babes and Toy lands at Christmas time. Um, those are things that we bring out.

Specifically on vacation. And the reason we do that is because when you're at home and you have movie night, , we want to watch something new a lot of the times. Right? Something we haven't seen before. Right. And then, and if the kids aren't interested in it, they're gonna go to their rooms.

They're not gonna be involved in movie night or something. But when you're on vacation and your entertainment, I guess, is limited, we really like to add in . Nostalgic movies, older movies for that because it's good for family bonding. It's good to share the experience with your kids and it adds that bit of euphoria that we were talking about, 

then sharing that with your children that probably have never seen a movie like that. They're just thinking about today's age and today's time. By sharing. That movie experience with them is gonna bring up stories, which goes back to just the generational part and, you know, sharing your thoughts, your opinions, your feelings, the whole nostalgia with the next generation. Mm-hmm. And along those lines, I guess, of media is when we road trip, we road trip to classic.

Road trip songs, things like way before our time, even like we will road trip to some classic, whether it's The Beatles or something. It will be so classic. I, I don't know what it is, but a road trip. But you have to have classic popular songs like you just do, and it's very important that you pick classic good songs or , what you really liked whenever you would road trip with your parents, what your parents would listen to mm-hmm. Throwing that flavor into the songs and it, it just kind of brings up so much and then all of a sudden a song comes on.

I, I can't tell you which song it was, but a song came on and we were road tripping. I think we were going to Austin for something and it came on and like. Me and Misty just went nuts. And we just started singing it and our kids were like, what are you doing?

It's like this, was the song , whenever we were in high school. Yeah. And that's the, you know, that's what we remembered. And then we were able to tell those stories just bringing up those, good Philly moments that we had.

Yeah. , Even the kids, they like, you know, eighties pop music Yes. And stuff like that. And that's nostalgic. We were both born in the eighties. Yeah. Eighties pop , is definitely our go-to. For sure. , We can do some nineties. Misty's taste in nineties was different from my taste in nineties.

I don't really like hardly anything from the nineties at all, but what's important is that you add some nostalgic music, or not just some, but you know, make your road trip playlist all nostalgic like I do.

Highly suggest that it's, I don't know, the whole family can . Enjoy that.

And all of these tips and tricks can be done even by yourself taking a solo trip. I mean, me and Misty have done it, not as a couple, but we've done solo trips where, you know, I'm traveling by myself or she's going somewhere by herself that we put on playlists. Whenever we're at the hotel or whatever, we watch those nostalgic movies because there's so much joy that you get from it and I think it's just one of those really cool things that is so simple to do.

Yeah, because but adds so much because we don't necessarily add nostalgia to our day-to-day life. , We have our own family schedule and the way we do things and Oh yeah, I mean , it might get thrown in accidentally or something every now and then, but for our trips, I do purposely plan nostalgia for our trips.

In fact, we have started our own kind of family tradition that I hope is nostalgic for our kids growing up, but we pretty much don't take a trip. At all anymore. Even if it's just a day trip. , Without stopping at a bakery, we're always planning to find a bakery. And the great thing about bakeries is we can go at any point in time.

Mm-hmm. I mean, , we can go brunch, we. We can go after dinner. Mm-hmm. I mean, you can always find a bakery that is open that is selling some type of cookie or, yeah. And it may not be like a bakery that sells everything. They may be very specific. It may be they just sell cupcakes. Just cupcakes. Or they just sell cookies.

Mm-hmm. Or they sell pies. And some of them they might sell everything, but we do try to find some sort of bakery on every single trip. Um, one, just because I am obsessed with bakeries. I don't know why, but I've become so obsessed and now whenever we step into one and we find one on our trips, it's already becoming nostalgic even though it's something we've only been doing for what, a year and a half to two years.

Mm-hmm. And now the kids like, they expect it. Now, like now they're like, where's, when are we stopping at the bakery? Oh yeah. What are we doing that, which one is it? What, what, what, what's gonna be there? What can we get? Yeah. What can we get? Yeah. And I hope that, you know, when they grow older, anytime they go into a bakery with their families, that it brings back that nostalgia of our vacations and our trips together.

, We've been doing it for a short time, but we'll go into a bakery. And they'll be like, oh, I wish they had this thing that this other bakery did, because you know, they're already remembering. Mm-hmm. You know, it's already being refreshed in their mind.

Yeah. Almost at every trip that we take. And we recently discovered that we really like Mexican bakeries too. Just give us something sweet and we'll be so happy. And so bakeries really fit our family. And I think there's something out there for every family that you can give. Yeah. But bakeries fit ours because we have chocoholics. We have because who doesn't like a bakery?

Yeah. And, and who doesn't want something sweet? We, we have kids that don't want chocolate, but , they still have that sweet tooth that they want. Mm-hmm. And so a bakery just really fits all of our needs. And it doesn't matter what bakery we go to. 'cause if it's cupcakes, chocolate, vanilla.

Mm-hmm. You know, they have whatever you're looking for. If it's cookies, they have a chocolate and then they have whatever. Right. So , you're always able to do multiple things. By stopping at a bakery, especially for us complete pretty much anybody in your family. Yeah. And you can always take it in the car with you.

Yes. Ariel's famous for that. So when I stop at the bakery. I'm eating whatever it is, like the moment I'm in the car, sometimes I'm eating it before I even make it back to the car, like I'm already eating it. But Ariel is really good at, she's wants to save it for later.

She wants to save it, she wants to save it. She wants to put it in a bag and she wants to save it for later and then she'll pull it out and I'm like, Hmm. You're looking pretty good too. Yeah. It's like Errol, you better eat that in a hurry or uh, it's gonna be gone. Yeah. So that is a nostalgic. Tradition, I guess, that we have started creating for our family road trips.

And like Jeremy said, there is something for every family, whether, , you're recreating old family pictures or you're showing your children spaces that you enjoyed and love so much as a child, whether you're sharing movies or food or music that you enjoyed. There's something out there for everyone, and you definitely should, definitely should be adding nostalgia to every single trip.

Join us next week. We are going to be talking about the challenges of cooking in an