Our Tic-Tac-Toe Tradition

Some traditions are planned. Ours started because there happened to be a tic-tac-toe board hanging on a hotel wall. During our September 2026 trip, Linda and I stayed our first night at a Hilton, and on the wall was a framed magnetic tic-tac-toe board. There wasn't any discussion about it. We saw it, and we played. The game ended in a draw.

That could have been the end of it, but somewhere along the way, tic-tac-toe became our thing. Since then, we've played with whatever was available. We've used X- and O-shaped gummies, driftwood and seashells in the sand at Cocoa Beach, and the retaining wall at a hotel in Daytona. Once we were home, we started playing with emojis. And now even breakfast isn't safe. Bacon became the X's, fried eggs became the O's, and Mrs. Bacon Egan faced Mr. Eggan. Another draw, naturally.

Unlike most blog posts, this one won't have a final chapter. It's a growing collection of our tic-tac-toe adventures, with a keepsake picture added each time we play a new version. We have no idea where the next game will happen or what we'll use for our pieces. That's part of what makes this tradition so much fun. What began as an ordinary game on a hotel wall has become something we look forward to, one little adventure at a time. Every new game gives us another memory to preserve, another picture to share, and another small piece of us.❤️

Thanks for looking through our growing tic-tac-toe collection. We’ll keep adding new games at the top as we play them, wherever and however we happen to create the next board. For us, it’s a little bit of closeness, a little bit of competition, and a whole lot of creativity. We’re sharing them because maybe another couple will see this and decide to make their own silly little tradition together. You don’t need much to create a memory. Sometimes nine squares, X’s and O’s, and someone you enjoy playing with are plenty. ❤️