My wife Stephanie and I just got back from a weeklong trip in Minocqua with our kids, Lyndsy and Buck. It was a great trip. We stayed in a beautiful cabin on a picturesque lake. The weather was as perfect as you can get, and we didn’t see a mosquito all week! While there, we did all the usual family stuff including boating, fishing, swimming, shopping, horseback riding, go-carting, treasure hunting, casino hopping and hit just about every attraction that will keep a 3 or 4 year-old’s interest (Lyndsy is 4 and Buck is 3). We must have done a good job at keeping them interested, as they were both extremely disappointed that we had to leave after being there for 7 whole days.
It is so cliché to talk about, but our biggest problem with the kids all week was the five-hour ride up there, and the subsequent return trip home. We have a SUV that has a DVD player in it, and even that couldn’t keep the kids occupied enough not to whine the entire way up. If given a dollar for every time we heard “Are we almost there?” I think we could have easily covered the entire price of the vacation. Luckily, the anticipation of the trip kept everyone in a good mood, so the drive up wasn’t too bad. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same thing about the ride home. Both our kids caught major colds while we were up there, so when it came time to leave, they were both grumpy to begin with. Couple that with them not wanting to leave in the first place, and I can tell you, they were not exactly what you would call “happy campers” when we began our journey home.
Anyone that’s raised children knows that times like these truly test what sort of fortitude you have of trying to be a perfect parent. For instance, after listening to Buck cough and cry for the first two hours of the trip home, we decided the best way to keep our sanity was to pump him full of enough cough syrup to make him a non-factor for the rest of the ride (c’mon…of course we followed the recommended dosage!). While that trick worked well for Buck, Lyndsy was bound and determined to make our entire ride home truly miserable. She whined and cried the entire way, and at some point decided she was going to tell us that she wants to go to Betty Brinn (the children’s museum in Milwaukee). She then proceeded to tell us this over, and over, and over, and over again! Now, between Steph and I, I’m normally the more patient parent, and whining like this normally doesn’t bother me. But after hearing Lyndsy cry out her ten-millionth, “I want to go to Betty Brinn”, I blurted out, “BETTY BRINN IS DEAD!”. Luckily, Lyndsy’s own whining prevented her from hearing me say that, so no harm was done. My comment did however at least give Steph and me a good chuckle for the rest of the way home.
So, all in all, we truly had a great family vacation. We are already talking about doing something similar next year. However, Steph and I both agreed we’d plan it somewhere MUCH closer to home!
A classic Buck moment from our vacation............
G’Night G’Town!
The alternative to a vacation is to stay home and tip every third person you see.
~Author Unknown
