Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Home, Sweet Home

We're back.  I'm not saying it was easy.  I'm not saying I didn't contemplate leaving the car at a rest stop this afternoon and wandering off.  But we made it.  6 hours on the road, sitting crammed behind the front passenger seat and next to a 5-year-old who never stops talking, I tried desperately to enjoy what should have been quality creative time ("What are you making, Mommy?  How many?  Is it done yet?"); but really, I just wanted to stab myself in the head repeatedly with my crochet hook....

Family travel is not for the weak.

We spent the last few days (on Grandpa's dime) at a resort-y place in the mountains.    Now, Larry and I are used to vacations where we drive someplace cheap (usually some military recreational base), cook our own food, drag our offspring to local historical sites and natural wonders, and occasionally find some water to swim in.  The afternoons are spent watching the kids play with other children who are staying near us while we lie around and try to recover from the morning's outing.

So non-stop entertainment of children is not our norm.  Not that we didn't have fun, but it was a hectic sort of fun - we needed a schedule.  Boats on the lake in the morning, swimming in the afternoon.  No opportunity for naps.  I mean, my nap - the kids don't need them anymore.  It was exhausting.

One day it rained; in desperation,  I introduced Susie and Rachel to the joys of BINGO.  The game appealed to them, which is no surprise, given their natural gambling proclivities.  Then we visited the HUGE indoor playground, where - wonder of wonders - there was a vending machine which sold socks.

Striped socks.  Pink socks.  All sorts of socks to wear in the playland...we had never seen the like.  We gazed upon this marvelous machine like noble savages catching our first glimpse of modernity.

Oh!  But the best part?  There were bars at the pool.  Bars at the lakefront.  Everywhere I turned, fancy summer drinks were being sold.  Now, I am not a drinker.  The taste of alcohol holds no appeal for me.  But that first day, when we went down to the splash pool where a big sign advertised the "Drink of the Day" - a Caribbean Cooler, if memory serves me correctly - I had a sudden urge to lounge elegantly by the pool, sipping my glass of cranberry and orange juice with a dash of vodka, while my children played in the water.

I had no idea people did that anymore - I mean, it is just so Mad Men, isn't it?  Is this how the rich still live?



And do you think Larry and I could pull it off?


[HappyRoadTrip image: carandcaboodle.com]

[Sock picture: picturesdepot.com]

14 comments:

  1. Absolutely. You could lounge poolside with a cocktail. But it might make your response time slower in case of vomit or rodents.

    Glad you're back.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nah--you're too happy to be the Drapers!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Absolutely, you could. And, ahave the drink. It will make that 6 hour ride much more manageable. Trust me, I know.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Of course you can pull it off! You just need to be lacking the children on the trip. Who knows what might go on if they WEREN'T along.

    Glad you had fun...though for me, six hours in the car either way might just undo it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I dunno, SC. I've never seen any of those pictures of elegantly lounging women with a five-year-old beside them, saying, "Mommy? What are you doing? What's in the glass? Can I have some? Why not? Aren't you bored? Can we go swimming now?"

    However, I would not care to underestimate the capabilities of a woman who could survive six hours in a car with said five-year-old! Go for it--at the very least it should provide blog fodder. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have a 6yo like that, who never shuts up. I'm dreading the 9 1/2 hours in the car each way. Of course, the way he's been behaving lately, he'll be lucky if I don't just leave him at the border... (am I allowed the type that in jest? um, in sorta jest?)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I can totally see you lounging by a pool with a refreshing drink in hand. And a glamorous pool outfit. In fact, I think you should do it more often.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Let's see, you're nice to your children, seem to love your husband, and don't have a stick stuck somewhere it doesn't belong. Nope. You can't pull it off. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've never seen the show, but I do know that I find my kids ever so much more delightful after I've had a drink on a hot day. Of course, fans and air-conditioning help, too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousJuly 28, 2010

    In theory, I love the idea of a cocktail while on vacation with my kids. In reality, that is a tricky thing to pull off because I'm never THAT relaxed on vacation with my kids! But I'm glad you endured the experience--especially that car ride!

    ReplyDelete
  11. The only thing that helps a trip with kids become a vacation is the occasional cocktail by the pool, lake, patio, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Okay, you had me at vending machine socks, and then the cocktails are such a bonus!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I agree with you! Traveling with kids is NOT for the week. You know sometimes you really want to take a break from them calling your name over and over! But what can I say, you survived and you deserve a very relaxing bubble bath! :D

    ReplyDelete