Imagine the people who are not blessed to have a family or come from a broken home. Think of this when you hear about a family vacation that you don't want to go on because your family is way too embarrassing. I thought going on vacations with grandparents or family was just unnecessary until I went on one this past August with my whole family from my dads side.
It was just us a lake and some down right fun activities. First was the car ride (the test to see how this vacation is actually going to go). It was my dad, step-mom, sister, and I. The thing about my step-mom is she is hands down hilarious, you know that wherever she is is a party. The first stop was crucial the bonding moment as we rolled up at Mars cheese castle on the way there. Grabbed even more snacks than we already had. After our must needed pit stop we were back on the road.
GPS: "you have arrived at your destination." We pulled into the resort at Elkhart Lake Wisconsin. I was pumped. We had dinner planned that night and we were already to go. My cousin and I always had a tight bond so I was excited to have her there. We set down are things popped open the beer and wine. The great part is just sitting around laughing about some old stories.
After the large crew sat down for dinner everyone pretty much ran out the door considering we had 15 people. In Wisconsin it's legal to drink under supervision of a parent. I had forgotten my I.D. so the waiter just needed a guardian to confirm my birth date. My step-mom was sitting next to me so I was like she knows.. Or so I thought. "uhhhh May 9th something 1990." Oh great here we go she doesn't know my birthday. My sister chimes in May 1996. Remind you I'm 19 not 20 and was born in 1997. I gave them a hard time awhile after that.
The second day was upon us and my cousin and I were the last ones up. We ate our breakfast and everyone wanted to go to the pool. I was still pretty tired so my cousin and I went back to her room and slept for a good couple of hours. My cousin and I find bonding through sleeping or taking naps. We finally woke up and decided we should probably go be social. We went down to the tiki bar where everyone was and ate some food.
The activity was to go tubing together. I am not one to be a risk taker and go on adventures. It's lame I know. My family convinced me to go on. I did it for all of about 5 minutes and then I screamed because my life jacket was coming off. Serious stuff here. I did accomplish it though which made me proud.
The next was our very classy dinner. My step mom had bought us matching ugly button down beach shirts. We were told prior to bring them for a family photo. My sister of course forgot hers and the tye die! It was a big family let down. Dinner was great.
The last exciting adventure was a bonfire and smore's. For some reason a man had told my younger cousin how there is a haunted cemetery. Nobody would let this go. We finally decided to go in my aunts mini van aka the swag mobile. I was the only one sober enough to drive of course. So it was me, my step-mom, my two cousin, my sister, and my uncle. This was probably a terrible mistake. Actually it was. We start driving down some pitch black two lane roads. I felt a little more comforted when we got into a neighborhood. I was so scared, when I mad a turn and I saw that I had to go down a one lane dirt road with forest on both sides and a no trespassing zone. I immediately stopped the car and said I'm not going in there, my cousin screaming in the back turn around hannah turn around, my uncle yelling Hannah just go just go! My step mom finally said I'll drive. Mistake number 5. We pull in there and hands down this was so scary everybody's screaming and my step mom has no clue what she's doing. She makes a wrong turn and head back into the cemetery. Luckily we make it out of there alive. Definitely believe it brought us closer together.
Your family vacations may go a little different than mine. I have a pretty odd family. We bond in so many ways. This vacation could have not gone better. So next time you dread that family vacation remember it's for the best.
