I just got back from a four day mini-vacation in Florida with my parents and brother. Our family doesn’t exactly travel well together….two or three of us on a trip is okay but all four of us together is just asking for trouble. There’s usually a little yelling, a few disagreements, a couple of accusations of favoritism, and at least one instance of someone storming off in anger. We’ve been on a few memorable family vacations that would put even the Griswolds to shame. Here are some highlights of our classic family vacations:
Williamsburg, Virginia – I don’t remember too much about this trip except that it was really, really hot, my brother and I got those three-cornered colonial hats (I wonder where mine ended up?), and there was a huge fight about going to A Good Place to Eat because, well, I guess we didn’t think it was really a good place to eat.
Washington, DC/Baltimore – If you’ve never visited the nation’s Capital, you should. Just don’t do it in the middle of summer when it’s hot and humid and miserable because chances are, you’re going to be hot and sweaty and miserable. Things were going well until we got to the Washington Monument. Then my parents got into a fight and my dad left us on one of those sight-seeing buses to walk back to our hotel (he’s a mailman, he likes to walk.) To add insult to injury, when we got back to the hotel, we were hot and sweaty and miserable and my dad was happy as a clam, swimming in the pool. And I thought my mom was mad when he left us!
Walt Disney World – Whenever I think that it’d be cool to go on vacation with one’s entire extended family, I remember our trip to Disney World. Overall, it wasn’t that bad. I mean, my dad only got mad and left us once but I can’t blame him…It’s a Small World is kind of an annoying ride. We ate at this really good restaurant called Johnny Appleseed’s which must’ve been a good place to eat because we went there a lot. But I learned a very important lesson on this trip: when you’re nine, you should not buy the same pair of shorts as your cool teenage cousin. Apparently, imitation is not the sincerest form of flattery for teenagers. I still have those shorts though.
Caribbean Cruise – We knew this vacation was going to be rough when we arrived at the cruise terminal and our entire itinerary was changed. Yet another important lesson: never book a Caribbean cruise during hurricane season unless you’re prepared to spend nine days at sea and a Sunday in Bermuda. Interesting factoid – nothing’s open in Bermuda on a Sunday. As our ship docked and my mom shrieked hysterically about not wanting to be in Bermuda (I don’t know what she has against Bermuda…it’s a lovely place and the people wear nice shorts), my brother and I looked at each other and realized that our dad was on to something when he left us on all those other vacations. So, we took off. Dad quickly caught up and we ended up at the only place that was open on a Sunday – a bar. Watching football in a bar in Bermuda on a Sunday…that’s called “making a memory” people.
Just like all of our other vacations, our trip to Florida had its ups and downs and we weren’t always happy. But in a few years, we’ll look back on this trip and laugh…just like we do when we remember that time Dad left us. And that other time too.
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| Happy Hendersons during one of the happier moments of our family vacation! |
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