Five Vacations

Random prompt from http://www.writingfix.com/

"Write a list of short, descriptive memories of all the places your family has vacationed together. If you have time, go back and write in detail about the one that calls to you the loudest."

Short vacation with Mother and Jerry to Mendocino:

We rented a house overlooking the ocean. The architecture was distinctly 1970s -- for example, the fireplace was in a sunken conversation area -- but that didn't make it any less pleasant. It had a yard for our dog, and it was perched over a cliff for a perfect view. Looking through the huge picture windows, we used binoculars to watch seagulls and ships on the horizon, and at night, we star-gazed. I particularly remember how cozy the bed was.

Summer trip with Mother and Jerry to friend's ranch in Humbolt:

Our friends stayed in their permanent trailer, but otherwise the place was primitive, with an outhouse and over-the-fire cooking. My parents slept in a tiny camper, while I had a tent all to myself. During the day I played in the shallow river. Jerry and I fished and caught lunch. One night the guys tried to trick me with the old snipe routine.

Driving trip with Daddy, Cindy, and Jared to Colorado:

I was stuck in the back seat with my kid stepbrother, who had the flu. When he threw up, I was not at all happy about having to clean it up. I was still adjusting to having a stepmother and stepbrother. Later, at the big family reunion, nearly everyone caught the flu from him. Most of the family looks green in the reunion photograph.

Whirlwind trip with Wayne to visit his family in England:

We crowded into the family room at his grandparent's house. Grandad told stories about coal mining; Nanan, who was smoking, chattered from the kitchen doorway in her thick Yorkshire dialect that I couldn't understand. Aunts and uncles asked us questions about our trip, while younger cousins bounced around the room. I stared into my barely-touched mug, trying not to nod off. I hadn't recovered from the long flight. Someone offered to fetch another round of the overly milky tea, which everyone drank much faster than me.

Summer trip with Wayne to Aruba, our first real vacation:

We drank endless virgin strawberry or banana daiquiris while lounging beneath the palapas shelters. I read One Hundred Years of Solitude. Sometimes we sunbathed and tried to keep up with the sunscreen, but we still burned. The ocean at our side of the island was calm, so swimming consisted mostly of people floating on mats. Many twenty-something American tourists populated the resort, smoking incessantly and taking full advantage of the all-inclusive bars. The warm trade winds cooled the sticky humidity, but by the last day, the endless winds had become a nuisance.


by Christy Devonport


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