Monday, August 8, 2011

Jumping in a Lake: Family Vacation

I don't want to share with you the day-to-day, minute-by-minute, picture-by-picture account of our family vacation this year. That would be pretty boring for you the viewer/reader except for the part where we all agree that my kids are the coolest. No I won't do that to you. However being that this was my family's first real family vacation in 3 years, its worthy of writing a summary of the learning experience I've had over the past weekend. So here's my list of crap to think about next time you are planning a family vacation. I am going to base this assessment with the disclaimer that my kids are younger and have the attention span of most 3 & 5 year olds. In other words they get bored with stuff fast. Also I am assuming you don't have money you can burn on purpose.

  1. Go somewhere you can drive - Flying is expensive and while it can open endless possibilities to where you can go, I really don't find the reward of any destination worth the cost and the stress of packing all the stuff in your house for a short period of time. Also in a car, its only you that have to deal with your kids. Its probably not worth angering strangers because your kid all of a sudden doesn't like her headband.

  2. Go somewhere with water - A body of water to a kid is like a babysitter you don't have to pay (assuming your kids can swim or have a flotation device - Safety First). This vacation we went down to Southern Missouri around a national hub of washed up Country & Western stars, Branson, MO. Around Branson however, there are several large lakes perfect for all ages. We opted for what is arguably the nicest of them all, Table Rock Lake. By nice I mean a couple things: Clear Water & not a lot of boaters. Is perfect for families who don't want to be around a bunch hoosiers. We also visited White Water in Branson. This was probably the worst body(s) of water we visited. It was expensive and there were way to many people in bikini's that should have been wearing camping tarps instead. The rides were fun but my kids just weren't into them that much so we didn't go on too many of them. Finally, the hidden gem of the water this weekend was the community pool we had access to in our rental house. If we got bored we just packed up the kids and went swimming.

    [caption id="attachment_767" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="This is as good as it gets."][/caption]

  3. Go with some other families in the same situation - Kids like to play with other kids and adults like to booze with other adults. As long as you can remotely stand the family and their kids, you are golden. The water will fill in the gaps. Luckily we went with 2 other families both with 2 children a piece. It worked out great. The adults we went with are normal people who don't let their kids go bat crap everywhere and the kids are kids that are as socially normal as our kids. It was great. (if you are one of said families reading this, this is how I compliment people. Not the most flattering way I know, but hey be happy you were even mentioned).

  4. Stay in one house/condo/structure - This is mostly for the adults. With everyone under one roof, sure you have to live in everyone life, but the boozing when all the kids are asleep is worth it.

    [caption id="attachment_768" align="alignnone" width="195" caption="Adult beverages rule!"][/caption]


That's the down and dirty of how to have a fun family vacation. Now go get one in before Summer if over!!!! So like this weekend...

2 comments:

  1. Don't forget about the part where the guys kick off the vacation by playing golf and it's viewed by the wives as a good thing because of that wonderful pool...and b/c we go grocery shopping afterwards.

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  2. Most of the details you pointed out on this post are accurate, and i also agree with them. Concurrently there are just a few that i've to argue with you on. Both way, I do recognize you writing this informative article.

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