July 4th Day Trip, Part II
(nablopomo day 5)
Funny, a day after our day trip to that mountain town to see fireworks, I am still tired. Traveling with a bunch of people (as opposed to a group of bananas) including two inquisitive, active kids with minds of their own and a baby who needs almost constant attention--let alone the parents--is exhausting work. And lots of FUN!
But it shows me how my energy level has dropped since I was. . .thirty! Believe it or not, the friends we went with are around that age. You might consider it strange, but I get along with all age groups. Another good friend of mine is 79 (as you probably surmised, my age is somewhere between those two friends'...go ahead, start guessing...). I can't help comparing my situation when I was that age, to my friend's: when I was thirty, I had just had another child, making our number 2. Our friends (The Shreimels) already have three!
Do you remember what is was like to travel with kids? Multiples of them? You need a truck, nay--I veritable caravan, with equipment-laden horses and camels plodding along one behind the other (Maestro, may we have some Middle Eastern music, please!).
Remember, one of them is a baby, another still in diapers, and a third, a skinny (pants keep falling down) bright, inquisitive four-year-old. They need diapers. Change of clothing. Their own personalized water bottles. Snacks. Sweaters and hoodies (it was 50 degrees up there, and raining). And the baby?! The baby comes with his own STORE, for gosh sakes: stroller, BABY K'TAN baby carrier (-and mom and baby love it. really!), blankets, diapers, hats, car seat-cum-baby seat to put on blanket, sweaters, rain sleeper with hood, and change-of-outfit, change-of-outfit and--a change of outfit! And I'm sure there is something I've left out. One thing they didn't have to bring for the baby, was baby food: he is a completely nursing baby. How convenient!
Anyway, considering we're a lot older than baby, we also came with a plethora of. . .things!
We brought along a travel BBQ grill, three coolers, three camping chairs a blanket, giant thermos filled with homemade lemonade (thank you, D.H.--next time can you go a little easy on the sugar, eh?), sodas and sports drinks, water bottles, paper towels, cloth towel, cups. Our friends brought paper goods: plates, utensils, napkins and more cups. They also brought two flavors of potato chips and a few other things I can't remember. By the time we were finished packing we were considering hiring a bus.
We brought enough food for two meals for six people (four adults, two eating kids): lox and bagels and cream cheese for lunch, and salami, hot dogs, salads, corn-on-the-cob and cantaloupe for supper.
It was sun showering on and off, and a lot cooler than we thought it would be. My D. H. and I were prepared (sort of): we had brought our parkas, just in case. Of course, I was wearing skirt, so my legs were...freezing. But whatever.
Right after we started dinner it started raining in earnest, and we hastily started throwing stuff into the tush (cargo end) of the minivan. I mean, I didn't even have a chance to put mustard and ketchup on my hot dog! I was dreading the municipality canceling the fireworks, but I needn't have worried: the rain stopped in time, also cooling the temperature down another five to ten degrees.
We opened the chairs on the grassy south side of the lake, wrapped the two toddlers in blankets on top of their sweaters (their parents didn't think to bring winter coats for the kids; normally this late in the season it isn't this cold at night, but for the rain), they sat in my D.H.'s and their father's laps, and waited.
Where was their mom and I, you ask (well, you didn't, but that's irrelevant)? We were in the minivan, trying to keep warm, nurse (-well, not me, his mom) and calm a fussy baby, who was too excited to go to sleep. It was way past his bedtime, and everyone else's, too.
The fireworks were held, and they were beautiful. And scary: at one point the wind changed, and they started landing on our side of the lake, and people in front of us starting screaming and backing up. That was exciting. Sort of. D.H. almost jumped into a foxhole.
All in all, it was a tiring but beautiful day. What was really nice, was when we pulled up to enter the parking area where they charged a fee, they saw my D. H.'s hat and asked if he was a Veteran. When he answered in the affirmative, they waved us in free, and said, "thank you for your service!"
That made my day. Will post pics later...gotta go!
Funny, a day after our day trip to that mountain town to see fireworks, I am still tired. Traveling with a bunch of people (as opposed to a group of bananas) including two inquisitive, active kids with minds of their own and a baby who needs almost constant attention--let alone the parents--is exhausting work. And lots of FUN!
But it shows me how my energy level has dropped since I was. . .thirty! Believe it or not, the friends we went with are around that age. You might consider it strange, but I get along with all age groups. Another good friend of mine is 79 (as you probably surmised, my age is somewhere between those two friends'...go ahead, start guessing...). I can't help comparing my situation when I was that age, to my friend's: when I was thirty, I had just had another child, making our number 2. Our friends (The Shreimels) already have three!
Do you remember what is was like to travel with kids? Multiples of them? You need a truck, nay--I veritable caravan, with equipment-laden horses and camels plodding along one behind the other (Maestro, may we have some Middle Eastern music, please!).
Remember, one of them is a baby, another still in diapers, and a third, a skinny (pants keep falling down) bright, inquisitive four-year-old. They need diapers. Change of clothing. Their own personalized water bottles. Snacks. Sweaters and hoodies (it was 50 degrees up there, and raining). And the baby?! The baby comes with his own STORE, for gosh sakes: stroller, BABY K'TAN baby carrier (-and mom and baby love it. really!), blankets, diapers, hats, car seat-cum-baby seat to put on blanket, sweaters, rain sleeper with hood, and change-of-outfit, change-of-outfit and--a change of outfit! And I'm sure there is something I've left out. One thing they didn't have to bring for the baby, was baby food: he is a completely nursing baby. How convenient!
Anyway, considering we're a lot older than baby, we also came with a plethora of. . .things!
We brought along a travel BBQ grill, three coolers, three camping chairs a blanket, giant thermos filled with homemade lemonade (thank you, D.H.--next time can you go a little easy on the sugar, eh?), sodas and sports drinks, water bottles, paper towels, cloth towel, cups. Our friends brought paper goods: plates, utensils, napkins and more cups. They also brought two flavors of potato chips and a few other things I can't remember. By the time we were finished packing we were considering hiring a bus.
We brought enough food for two meals for six people (four adults, two eating kids): lox and bagels and cream cheese for lunch, and salami, hot dogs, salads, corn-on-the-cob and cantaloupe for supper.
It was sun showering on and off, and a lot cooler than we thought it would be. My D. H. and I were prepared (sort of): we had brought our parkas, just in case. Of course, I was wearing skirt, so my legs were...freezing. But whatever.
Right after we started dinner it started raining in earnest, and we hastily started throwing stuff into the tush (cargo end) of the minivan. I mean, I didn't even have a chance to put mustard and ketchup on my hot dog! I was dreading the municipality canceling the fireworks, but I needn't have worried: the rain stopped in time, also cooling the temperature down another five to ten degrees.
We opened the chairs on the grassy south side of the lake, wrapped the two toddlers in blankets on top of their sweaters (their parents didn't think to bring winter coats for the kids; normally this late in the season it isn't this cold at night, but for the rain), they sat in my D.H.'s and their father's laps, and waited.
Where was their mom and I, you ask (well, you didn't, but that's irrelevant)? We were in the minivan, trying to keep warm, nurse (-well, not me, his mom) and calm a fussy baby, who was too excited to go to sleep. It was way past his bedtime, and everyone else's, too.
The fireworks were held, and they were beautiful. And scary: at one point the wind changed, and they started landing on our side of the lake, and people in front of us starting screaming and backing up. That was exciting. Sort of. D.H. almost jumped into a foxhole.
All in all, it was a tiring but beautiful day. What was really nice, was when we pulled up to enter the parking area where they charged a fee, they saw my D. H.'s hat and asked if he was a Veteran. When he answered in the affirmative, they waved us in free, and said, "thank you for your service!"
That made my day. Will post pics later...gotta go!
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