We had a lot of family summer vacations like this growing up, where things went spectacularly wrong in ways we couldn’t have imagined. We named them Engeldorf vacations, and the Engeldorf family became our vacation alter egos. Even as adults we call all family trips Engeldorf vacations, and printed that on our matching tees when we spent a fortune on a trip to Disney World last Christmas. And those childhood Engeldorf trips are some of our favorite memories! Now we laugh at the questionable campsites, the hotel room in Virginia Beach with mold and no running water, the dog escapes (so many), the variety of weird people we encountered, the many misadventures in Canada… I am sure there are some people who have perfect vacations and lead perfect lives, but that’s not for us. I’d rather be interesting and have an adventure any day.
One of my favorite/worst vacation memories as a kid was what we called the "half vacation..." it was inexpensive, my parents said, so we'd ended up paying for only half a vacation. The roof leaked, the boat had a hole in it, and we discovered a gas leak in the stove. Oh, and I think it rained all week too. It all makes for good stories and memories for sure!!!
I relate to this SO hard. I am struggling to tell you a story of when I did the same, because I think I am perpetually in a state of doing this. Not necessarily hating a particular vacation, but forgetting that bad/annoying/dirty things will end. The realization that the thing will not be for eternity is like an instant eject button, if I can manage to conjure it. Glad you were able to find some positives along the way!
Why is this so hard? Also this is the theme of this week's post too, I just realized... nothing is forever... is that the whole lesson we need to learn about life?!!?
This essay was so delightfully sticky. I’m sorry it went down this way but also could just put myself exactly in that spot with the inner monologue about the chair and the guys and the water...
I will enthusiastically recommend Carey's Lakeside Cottages in Bolton Landing if you ever want to try again- authentically rustic but CLEAN and with a tiny sandy beach that is delightful. And Bolton Landing is a bit more blue than Lake George Village I think?
We had a lot of family summer vacations like this growing up, where things went spectacularly wrong in ways we couldn’t have imagined. We named them Engeldorf vacations, and the Engeldorf family became our vacation alter egos. Even as adults we call all family trips Engeldorf vacations, and printed that on our matching tees when we spent a fortune on a trip to Disney World last Christmas. And those childhood Engeldorf trips are some of our favorite memories! Now we laugh at the questionable campsites, the hotel room in Virginia Beach with mold and no running water, the dog escapes (so many), the variety of weird people we encountered, the many misadventures in Canada… I am sure there are some people who have perfect vacations and lead perfect lives, but that’s not for us. I’d rather be interesting and have an adventure any day.
One of my favorite/worst vacation memories as a kid was what we called the "half vacation..." it was inexpensive, my parents said, so we'd ended up paying for only half a vacation. The roof leaked, the boat had a hole in it, and we discovered a gas leak in the stove. Oh, and I think it rained all week too. It all makes for good stories and memories for sure!!!
I relate to this SO hard. I am struggling to tell you a story of when I did the same, because I think I am perpetually in a state of doing this. Not necessarily hating a particular vacation, but forgetting that bad/annoying/dirty things will end. The realization that the thing will not be for eternity is like an instant eject button, if I can manage to conjure it. Glad you were able to find some positives along the way!
Why is this so hard? Also this is the theme of this week's post too, I just realized... nothing is forever... is that the whole lesson we need to learn about life?!!?
This essay was so delightfully sticky. I’m sorry it went down this way but also could just put myself exactly in that spot with the inner monologue about the chair and the guys and the water...
I will enthusiastically recommend Carey's Lakeside Cottages in Bolton Landing if you ever want to try again- authentically rustic but CLEAN and with a tiny sandy beach that is delightful. And Bolton Landing is a bit more blue than Lake George Village I think?
THANK YOU