This post is long overdue. We took our first ever family vacation together this July. It was just me, Stu, and the kids. We took a road trip and stayed in hotels. We didn't go to the cabin and stay with my dad; we didn't drive to Quincy and stay with my sister and brother-in-law.
I now
get the humor in all the "Vacation" movies ever made. Vacationing with young children is like childbirth - it's slightly hellish as you are experiencing it but the memories are beautiful.
Here's the high level overview:
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| We spent this much time in the car together over a 6 day period. We destroyed our brakes driving through mountains on our way to Wyoming and had to have them replaced at a mom and pop shop in Thermopolis. Now my brakes squeal horribly but our shop here in good 'ol Roseville says there's nothing wrong with them, just cheap material was used. |
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| We saw tons and tons of cool stuff - reptiles, mountains, wildlife, national monuments, bears, other large mammals and the kids loved everything we saw! |
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| This and all of the above photos were taken in South Dakota. Though we'd chosen Thermopolis, WY as our destination, we quickly learned that South Dakota had more to offer and we cut our stay in Thermopolis short by one day to go back to the South Dakota area where there were more fun, family things to do! |
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| Thermopolis did have a neat Dinosaur Center, stinky natural hot baths, and a pull out couch so questionable that all five of us slept together in a king sized bed for several nights in a row. That was some serious family bonding! |
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| My favorite part of our whole trip was taking the kids golfing in Thermopolis, The course was beautiful, full of wild animals and scenery. We and a threesome of older gentlemen were the only ones using the course on a weekday morning. The kids and I got a huge kick out of riding in carts. It was just so simply enjoyable! |
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| This was our hotel in Thermopolis. It is historic, neat looking, and awful smelling because of the onsite thermal spring. We reeked of sulfur for days after returning home. |
By the time we got home, I swore I'd never do such a long road trip again. But once again, like having babies, the awfulness has worn off and I can see us doing another trip...maybe just not this next summer :)
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