Family Travels - Val's Story, Chap 6, Part 1

Over the years, we went on a few family vacations, but it seemed Val always ended up in one crisis or another.

          When she was much younger, we took a trip to South Dakota. We had a cassette tape of the Peanuts characters singing country-western classics. I had never been a fan of that genre of music, but after days in the car listening to it over and over, the songs actually grew on me. Nick and Val sang their hearts out, and Jim and I often joined in.

          Then there was the episode at a wayside overlooking the Wyoming prairie. Val had a craft box filled with beads for jewelry she was making. When she crawled out of the car with the box on her lap, she biffed the beads all over the parking lot.

          They could hear her wailing all the way to the Mississippi River. We picked up as many beads as we could, but finally had to shove her in the car, still screaming, and get back on the road.

          Another day, while driving through the empty spaces of the Badlands, she had to go to the bathroom. Nearly screaming once again, announcing she had to poop RIGHT NOW.

          Jim pulled the car over, and Val and I walked a short way through the barren landscape and around the backside of a knoll. Yes, she left her mark, as I watched for traffic, reptiles, and tourists out walking among the hills. 

Val left her mark somewhere out there. 

          The following year, we drove to Kentucky on vacation. Val once again had one crisis after another.

          The first day, it was something about her camera. I don’t even know what, and I don’t think she even knew. She was just in a mood.

          The next day, she left her sandals on the picnic table of a wayside when she went to wade in a stream. The only store in the next town – a Dollar General, I believe – only had one style of footwear in her size. Hot pink flipflops it was.

          Her brother, by the way, always had a fantastic time on these trips. They were as different as night and day growing up. It wasn’t until they were young adults that they grew close, much to this mother’s joy.

We sent the kids on an adventure tour of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Luckily, I had made sure she had a pair of old tennies on the trip. Nick had a great time crawling around in the cave. Val did okay; at least she didn't have any meltdowns.