The "Getting the most out of Vacation" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just got back from another successful vacation at the beach with the family.  

Front: Carol, Camille, LDub, Middle: Barb, Caden,
Courtney, Brynn, Back: Derek, Tad, Dave

The "family" would be my wife Carol and myself, our oldest son Derek and his wife Barb and their son Caden, our daughter Brynn and her husband Dave and daughters Courtney and Camille, and our youngest son Paul, known to everyone as Tad.  This year was probably the 5th or 6th year we taveled together to Ocean City, NJ during the last week of June to a condo on 9th Street, one half block from the boardwalk.  Perfect time of the year and perfect location.  No high humidity and no streets to cross to get to the beach or boardwalk.  Everything is a win-win situation so far.  Now is where the differences begin.  Everyone enjoys something different during their vacation and that is what is expected when you get ten different people together.  As the families grow older you can see changes in what they enjoy to do during their vacation.  The grandchildren no longer want to dig tunnels in the sand and make sand castles as they once did.  Our children and their spouses enjoy eating out more now that their children are growing older and can sit for longer periods of time without crayons and multiple trips to the bathroom.  Most like to stay in bed longer in the morning than they used to with the exception of LDub who still has to walk to the boardwalk early in the morning for a newspaper and to take a few photos of those who also enjoy the early morning hours.  Tastes change from year to year and the toppings we used to get on the pizzas are not good enough anymore.  Evening hours seem to get later every year and naps aren't a needed requirement anymore, except for LDub and Carol that is.  The bi-daily Bingo games went by the wayside this year.  Year after year we would buy inexpensive prizes and make sure that everyone of the grandkids would win an equal amount of gifts such as gum, tick-tacks, cookies, crayons, tablets, etc.  I believe it did teach them their letters (B,I,N,G and O) and their numbers.  This year no one asked about playing ..... luckily, since we forgot to bring the game.  Barb and Tad put their yearly jig-saw puzzle together on the living room coffee table and this year had all the pieces when they were done.  Everyone is more willing to take out the trash, help prepare the meals, clean up after themselves and be more considerate of others as the years go by.  My grandkids and I enjoy our late afternoons, after beach time and showers, sitting on the small second-floor balcony watching events unfold in the parking lot next to our condo and laughing and laughing about what we see.  Everyone enjoys dessert on the boardwalk in the evening, but the desserts differ as much as the people eating them.  As for my wife and me, we still enjoy our day-off from all the commotion for time to travel the half-hour to Cape May for shopping at our favorite shops on the downtown streets, a lunch date at The Lobster House, and a walk through Stone Harbor on our way home in the late afternoon.  For me, I enjoy the evening Phils games on the TV and yelling with my grandkids "It's Out Of There" when a Phillie hits a home run, which doesn't seem to happen very often this year.  I also enjoy the quiet mornings by myself and the sun and sand at the beach.  But I find it harder to walk and walk the boards as I once did and to stay up with the children and grandchildren as they head from one store or amusement park to the next.  Carol and I follow them around and watch them enjoying themselves for an hour or so, then treat ourselves at Dairy Queen and then it's off to home for quiet time before they return.  Still enjoy walking hand in hand with my wife and pointing out the differences in the people we see on the boardwalk.  But, most of all, we all love the morning trips to Browns or Oves for a breakfast of home-made cake donuts.  We can put away four dozen in a sitting.  My one regret this year was that I didn't get a chance to ride the Ferriswheel with my granddaughters.  Put if off too many evenings and then the weather shut the ride our last night.  Oh well, there's always next year and we already have it planned.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.