Summer is here and for many of us, vacation plans are in full swing. We'll take dozens of pictures, but with the passing of summer, the excitement and even some of the memories will begin to fade. With a little creativity, you can preserve the excitement as well as the memories, not only for yourself but for future generations.

Imagine how fun it would be if, when you look at those old photos of your grandparents at a family picnic or vacationing at Niagara Falls, you could laugh along with them at that "e;inside"e; joke, pucker over the sour lemonade they drank, or experience their excitement upon first seeing the Falls. Whether you're planning a family trip, a weekend get away, or just some leisure time with friends and family this summer, plan on preserving the memories with more than just a snapshot. Here are some ideas:

1. Journal your trip as you go - Don't wait until you scrapbook the pictures to write about the family trip. You're too apt to forget things. How often do you get pictures back from the developer only to wonder why you took a particular picture. What was so striking about that scene? Journaling during your vacation or family event will allow those special times to spring back to life in the most vivid fashion for you and those who read your passages in the future. But don't feel that you need to walk around with a notebook all day, although if you are going to have down time, you might want to keep it handy. If not, later in the hotel room or after an outing with your family, jot down a few lines about the day, the way it made you feel, what you saw and how it impressed you, or something special or funny that happened. Later, you can transfer it to a scrapbook or keep the journal as a memory all in itself. If you scrapbook, use as much or as little of this journal as you wish. Don't be afraid to use whole pages or even many pages if necessary. Future generations will treasure each word!

2. Photo captions can be journaling moments. If you don?t like the idea of keeping a journal, just jot down a few words about the event or day and use them later with pictures as photo captions.

3. Put a single day's mementos in a plastic ziplock bag with a date to organize each day's treasures. This will later allow you to easily sort through your materials when you actually scrapbook. However, don't use this method for long-term storage. Instead use acid free memorabilia pockets or acid free storage boxes.

4. Include a "e;quote of the day"e; or "e;quote of the week"e; in your scrapbook or journal of something funny or oddly profound that was said that day or week. Or perhaps there was an obvious "e;theme"e; that might be used as a title for a scrapbook page such as a search for a water fountain that overpowered the day of sightseeing or the constant mantra of "e;I'm hungry"e;.

5. Don't forget to include pictures the children drew or colored during the trip or those fun little projects children sometimes make up for themselves. During a long car trip to Florida before Christmas one year our children wrote, "e;The Twelve Days of Florida"e; which we later included in our vacation scrapbook.

6. Create your vacation scrapbook to resemble a tour book of family and scenic sites with your journal entries as the tour guide.

7. If you're visiting a place where your family once lived or you visit frequently, be sure to include that in a caption or journal entry. Future generations will thank you.

8. If you use a digital camera for your trip, consider making an electronic photo scrapbook on your computer. If you have a CD-RW, put your vacation on CD and send it to family and friends for their enjoyment. Plus, a CD is a great long-term preservation method.

These are just a few ideas that hopefully will spark many more on how you can capture this summer's fun!

Here are some links to help with your fun:
Disney on line:
http://family.go.com/travel/

Vintage pictures and articles from old trailer magazines, news stories, books, etc.
http://www.vintage-vacations.com/history.htm

Learn how to preserve your paper mementos:
http://www.webyfl.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=21

 For permission to reprint this article,visit our "e;Reprint"e; page.