It’s No Tropical Island, But ...

... when your adult children invite you to go on vacation with them, it doesn't need to be anywhere exotic.

Where to go, then? When our middle daughter Angie proposed the idea earlier this summer, we spent a couple of weeks trying to decide. She and her family live in Des Moines, Iowa; the rest of the family live in and around Chicago. Our top five priorities were:
1) inexpensive,
2) sun,
3) water,
4) family fun, and
5) inexpensive.

Various destinations were considered and rejected: Orlando, been there; Mexico, no passports for the kids; a lake resort in the Midwest within driving distance for everyone, all sold out; everything else, too expensive. Taking another look at numbers 1 and 5 on our Top Five list, the Wisconsin Dells came under consideration, chiefly because of the drivability. Tightwad that I am, I checked eBay. Bingo! A four-day, three-night vacation at a great price, waterpark passes included.

I’ve long been a fan of waterslides, wave pools and such. Put me in a tube (not a tube TOP, thanks anyway) and plop me on the Lazy River ride on a sunny summer day, and I’m good for hours. By all appearances, our daughters and grandchildren have inherited this affinity. Waterparks offer the perfect combination of frenzied activity and inertia—a definite winner for kids, energetic adults and those of the lazier persuasion.

We leave tomorrow, and the nine of us—Curt and I, youngest daughter Christina, 13- and 11-year-old grandkids Jack and Autumn (they belong to oldest daughter Kim, who can’t join us), Angie with husband Dave and their 5- and 3-year-olds Will and Catie—will all be sharing a 3-bedroom condo with full kitchen. Angie and Christina are in charge of meals and snacks, no easy task as there are vegetarians, a gluten-free eater, some picky eaters as well as some unabashed carnivores among us. Angie’s already prepared the monster bars, brownies, trail mix, and by popular request, purchased the Anderson-Erickson French Onion Dip. (If you’re not from Iowa, you must add this to your bucket list. Trust me.) So far, Christina (the single, city girl) is signed up for bringing the Truvia (non-caloric sweetener) packets.

As intelligent as our offspring are (no prejudice there at all), I suspect they exploit their knowledge of our eagerness to spend time with them to their financial advantage. The fact is, I don’t even care. I know we’ll be rewarded with endless laughter (I’m telling you, these kids crack us up), hours of great conversation, and (warning: sappy sentiment approaching) memories to last a lifetime. How can one put a price on that? Dominoes, hikes around the lake, snacking, maybe a movie or two, and undoubtedly some popping of wine corks after the grandkids are in bed will round out our activities.

I’m just hoping that my eBay purchase proves to be all it was represented to be. If there’s any trouble, I’ll have to up the ante or the kids might decide to vacation without Mom and Dad next year. St. Louis? Cleveland? Peoria? Somehow I don’t think those options will pass muster. Better tell them to get their passports in order, just in case. Priorities Number 1 and 5 be damned.