Our 'Griswold's Family Vacation' - Truth Not Fiction

Our ‘Griswold’s family vacation’ started out like any other normal vacation with two grandparents and three grandchildren about to embark on a three week trip. Some might say, “Three grandchildren; are you crazy?” Well there’s crazy and then there’s crazy.

We drove four long, hot days with no air conditioning in our hottest weather. I know what you’re thinking. I thought so too. It took us one day to drive through Washington, one day through Oregon and two days through California. It was not until we had almost reached Palm Springs before a little voice asked, “Are we almost there yet?” The first leg of our trip was over and we were welcomed at our destination with cold drinks and a refreshingly cool swimming pool. We weren’t crazy.

We spent two days in Palm Springs and then drove to Anaheim for four lovely, hot, fun-filled days of walking around Disneyland fighting the crowds. Some again might say we were crazy but it all depends how you look at it. If you love Space Mountain or the Hollywood Tower, you’re crazy. I’m not one of them but I did get conned by one of my sons who joined us there into going on Thunder Mountain. I should have been suspicious because last time we were there he told me Space Mountain wasn’t a roller coaster ride; it was only a ‘roller coaster-type ride’ and I fell for it. Uhmm.

From there we returned to Palm Springs late in the evening. As we drove up to my brother’s place – tired, hot and sticky – my husband misjudged the outside overhang of our motorhome and knocked their mailbox over. The cement base lay in crumbling little pieces on the ground while the children and I carefully stepped over it. I won’t say crazy but my husband spent two days rebuilding the cement base to its ‘almost’ original state while the children and I enjoyed the swimming pool.

After a four day rest from Disneyland, we decided to set off for Arizona in 48 degree weather with, like I mentioned, no air conditioner. But like troopers we persevered because we had promised the children a visit to the Grand Canyon. Through deserts and over mountains we travelled until finally we stopped near a small town, hoping to find a campsite. The funny or not so funny thing was that once we stopped, the motorhome wouldn’t start again. I laughed. Really what else was there to do?

“It’s our lucky day,” I declared.

“How so?” my husband asked grumpily.

“Well, we could’ve broken down in the middle of nowhere.”

“We are in the middle of nowhere,” one grandson pointed out.

“But it’s not as ‘nowhere’ as it could’ve been,” I told him logically. “We’re very, very close to a campsite.” Now who was crazy?

However, we did make it to the Grand Canyon and what an awesome sight that was! There is nothing to compare to it. But while we were leaving our campsite the following morning my husband failed to notice a tree stump and tore the corner out of our motorhome. It was the corner that housed the secondary battery that the fridge ran on while we were driving. Well what the heck - warm drinks, melted freezies and canned meals are better than nothing. One mustn’t quibble about the little things.

Then we stopped at Bryce Canyon in Utah – another unbelievable sight and one we were glad we had not missed. But when we arrived at our campsite that night and hooked up our water supply, we ended up with water all over the bathroom floor – a loose connection and not the appropriate tools to fix it with. So we used pots and kettles to bring water into the motorhome. It was just like camping in the ‘good old days’ only better because we didn’t have to sleep on the ground.

From there we travelled to Nevada where we stopped at Virginia City. Another great place to visit and one I’d like to go back to again when our motorhome is in a little better shape. When we went to our campsite, I asked my husband if he would like me to direct him while he backed up.

“No,” he said, “it’ll be fine.”

I shouldn’t have listened. I should have risked life and limb and jumped out of our moving RV because within minutes he had ‘somehow’ attached himself to a metal fence post. That wasn’t too bad though. The problem was when he tried to pull away and the bumper and part of the back wall of the motorhome came away also. Have you got a clear picture of our holiday yet?

So back to two grandparents and three grandchildren – the children were fabulous; they weren’t an ounce of trouble. I would take them anywhere again. The husband I’m not so sure about.