Pre-2014 Vacation Thoughts



Note:  I wrote most of these vacation posts on paper either on the day of or a day or two after to preserve my "in the moment" thoughts.  I'm transcribing them with any additional thoughts that might pop in my head as I type. :)

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This blog of mine found its genesis at the conclusion of our family vacation last year.  In some ways, it's a bit difficult to believe nearly one year has passed since then.  Last year's trip was quite the undertaking.  The planning, logistics, itinerary and everything else needed to be started months in advance and continually honed and tweaked right down to the day before we packed up the rented Optima and drove away from our home.  We were blessed to have a successful journey and to learn much about each other and the places we visited along the way.  My random musings on cyberspace was an unexpected outgrowth of the journey.

 

This year, vacation plans have been different.  I started with an idea of going to visit my parents in Cokeville and then making a quick visit with my brothers and sisters (2, 3, 4, 5 & 7 of 8--see my "about me" for the reference) who live in Utah before racing off to spend a day in a couple of National Parks on the way home.  It seemed like a good idea at first, but the more I tried to put the plan into motion, the less interested I became in actually executing the idea.  While I am very glad we took the trip that we did last year, it was a bit taxing at times.  Four days of all day driving to get to New Jersey and 4 or 5 hours stretches here and there to get to the Church site destinations, topped off with 2 more days of 10 hours of driving to return home.  Don't misunderstand, the trip was definitely worth the travel, but as I think back on it a year later, the whole idea seems a bit crazy as well.  This year, the more I thought about it, the more a desire to just slow down and take things easy settled into my brain.  Also, with the physical limitations Ben is experiencing at the moment due to his new condition, I thought it best to scrap the whole idea and rethink my goals.  After due consideration, I came away realizing that the best thing we could do for ourselves this year was to just take it easy; relax; watch the clouds go by.

 

After talking it over with Jen and the boys and gaining a full agreement of my new outlook from everyone, I made a phone call to Cokeville to tell my parents we wanted to stay longer with them then I originally indicated--9 days instead of a week.  Originally we had planned to leave May 30th and return home June 14th, but then we remembered Ben was scheduled to take the SAT test on June 7th (good thing, *sheepish grin*).  I explained we would now be leaving around noon on Saturday the 7th because of Ben's test and our plan was to drive all the way to their house because I wasn't interested in getting a motel and felt it would be easier to make the trip in one shot.  If Ben's condition made it impossible to accomplish this desire, we'd let them know, otherwise, we'd arrive early Sunday morning.  Next, I called my sister Joanna (who had graciously said we could stay with her family while we were in Utah) to let her know we planned to spend 3 days with them before leaving to return home.  With those arrangements finalized, I felt impressed to call my sister Sandra (8 of 8), who lives on the east side of Wyoming.  During the course of our conversation, we talked about the possibilities of her family coming to Cokeville for one of the two weekends we'd be there.  She said she'd talk to Keith about it and hopefully they all could come.  After those conversations, I felt quite pleased with myself and re-energized at the idea of a nice, relaxing time with family with a side trip up to Jackson Hole to visit the Tetons and Yellowstone.

Last year, I called my vacation blog posts: The Great 2013 Vacation.  This year, I think I'll call our vacation: The Relaxing 2014 Vacation.  I'm looking forward to it. :)