Family

Family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. Throw the word vacation behind it and you realize why Mom and Dad always made such a big deal about the experience.

In July, our party of 3 added several items to the first time list. Beginning with the first family road trip (pause for side bar)-

Side bar- this road trip encompassed 1900 miles of travel. Interstate 10 was the route and the family SUV was our vessel. We found a midway stop at the Embassy Suites, Baton Rouge to rest the weary. Along the way there were laughs, there were cries, there were moments when we cursed the traffic, and there were times where we imagined LB’s first words would come out “are we there yet?”

Back to the story- 7 days of enjoying the Florida sun helped us come to the following realizations:
1. Vacations are never long enough. There were at least a dozen conversations that considered ways to relocate to somewhere with sand and palm trees. With each conversation ending after someone said- “do you want LB saying (with a strong southern accent) – Paww, is it time fer supper?”
2. When you have children, vacations are all about them. Gone are the days where we would sip libations till 4am and sleep till noon. Gone.
3. Vacations increase peril (excuse the insurance terminology). But it is the truth; more fun+ more people = trouble.
4. Portable DVD players will buy you an extra 15 minutes of travel time per hour. Everyone should have one. Or two.
5. Grocery shopping on the first Saturday of vacation is a spectacle. I don’t know if it is the $400 average bill, or the bumper carts by the checkout line, or the abundance of sugary snacks in every ones carts, or how all guys can be found stationed the beer aisle. They could turn this event into a movie. And for the record, I did not lose my shopping cart. Someone took it.
6. If the grocery store is main event, the ice cream parlor is the after party. Hard to say who enjoys this most- the hopped up parents or the over sugared kids. Regardless, it is all about finding that secret flavor that gives street cred for the rest of the trip. In our case, it was birthday cake flavored ice cream…A color explosion on a cone!

All in all, Sea Side delivered. LB enjoyed her first swim in the ocean (Gulf), buried her feet in the sand and rocked her first bikini. With some in-between time in/by the pool, this was a stimulating trip for the little one. Can’t wait for the next trip in Jersey.