Periodically I feel the need to just get away from the hustle and bustle of the daily grind. Evidently there are many people who fall into the same category, thus the advent of the "annual vacation". My wife still laments the fact that when we were younger, and our two boys were home, that we were remiss in carving out those two weeks in the summer to "hit the road". But, I was busy trying to "make it", and the boys were both involved with summer baseball. Not very good excuses, I know. We just didn't get away as often as we should have.
It's not that we didn't take vacations occasionally, we did, but they were not regular events that the whole family planned and anticipated each year. Now, I too, regret that we didn't take the time to create some lasting family memories.
When I was growing up my family rarely took vacations, so I guess it never became entrenched in my DNA. My wife's family, on the other hand, took regular vacations including a six week trek to Alaska and back - In a truck - And a camper - With 16 year old Miss Elizabeth in tow. I've heard the stories of the trip many times, but somehow I think time has mellowed the memories of a six week trip to the wilderness with a teen-age daughter and her sister.
So, while Miss Elizabeth's trips were long, arduous journeys across the States, my vacation experiences were far different, and far less frequent.
My dad was a construction contractor, and summers were the busiest time of the year. No time to get away, especially for more than a few days at a time. Therefore, the few vacations we took, were whirlwind affairs....throw a few clothes in the car....lock the front door to the house (the only time the house was ever locked)....grab a road map, and hit the open road.
We drove big cars with big fins, but no air conditioning. So, we rolled down all four windows, opened the vents, and Dad would drive eighty miles an hour to Texas to see the newly constructed Astrodome. We all marveled at that "8th Wonder of the World", caught a ballgame, drove to Galveston to see the beach, then drove home. Short and sweet, that was my dad's idea of a family vacation....and I suppose that I am more like him than not.
I don't think our family has ever vacationed for more than a week at a time, and I'm not sure we ever will. I may be proven wrong though, since Miss Elizabeth has an itch to take the whole family to St. Thomas, and she usually gets what she wants. I'm just hoping she doesn't want to go in a truck....with a camper....surely not....but what do I know.
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