Vacations

It’s August and ‘vacation’ is the operative word. Congress has gone on vacation. Barack Obama, the democratic candidate for President of the United States, is vacationing in Hawaii. Grade school children are still on summer vacation. Friends have been returning from and/or starting vacations.

As a child I loved ‘going’ on family vacations. Dad always chose the month of October for his annual vacation from his job at the Telephone Company, and as the years passed, his vacation time increased from two weeks to three. We children loved October vacations because we got to miss school and never given homework to make up for the missed classes. We always drove to Kentucky to visit grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. During the year we often visited Mom’s people and they often came to visit us, but we only got to see Dad’s people during his vacation.

Dad’s vacations started on Mondays, but on the preceding Friday, when the office closed for the weekend, Mom and we children would be ready to travel to Kentucky when Dad left work at 5 o’clock sharp. At the time I was unaware of it but in looking back, it was a miracle the way Mom always had things organized to the ‘nth’ degree. There were eight of us children and Mom had to supervise all the preparations for the trip. Adeline and I helped to some degree, but Mom actually did most of the work. She made certain all the clothes needed for each of us for three weeks were clean, ironed and packed. On the day of departure, just making sure that each child was bathed was a huge chore by itself.

We did not have running water or inside plumbing on the asparagus farm. We had an outdoor privy that we referred to as the ‘outhouse’. We had well water with the pump a few feet from the kitchen door, but water had to be carried into the house for cooking and cleaning. Two big water reservoirs on the iron cook stove heated the water and a large tea kettle was always kept full and heating on top of the stove. A pail of drinking water and a long handled dipper was kept on a counter by the sink which had a drain, but no faucets.

We bathed in the kitchen which gave some privacy to the older persons. We took baths in a round galvanized tub that was also used to launder clothes. Hot water was cooled to the right bathing temperature by adding pails of cold water. The younger ones shared the same bath water by taking turns, but the tub had to be emptied and fresh water prepared for each of the remaining baths. We older ones had to sit in the water with our knees bent and we tried not to splash water on the floor. It took two people to empty the tub and by the time everyone finished bathing, the floor around the tub was wet with soap suds and had to be mopped.

On the Fridays our vacation trips began, Mom would drive Dad back to the office after lunch so she could keep the car. The boys, Jr. (later known as Mickey), Charles and Elbert had to vacuum the interior of the Terra Plane Hudson and wash the windshields and windows. Adeline and I helped Mom bathe and dress the little ones, Esther, Dick and Jerry. One by one we older ones bathed and dressed, then we all had to help keep the little ones from getting dirty while Mom finally got to take her bath and dress.

Our suitcases were loaded in the trunk of the car along with the jars of honey from our bee hives that would be given as presents. When it was time to pick up Dad, we climbed in the car and off we went. After Mom turned the steering wheel over to Dad, minor shuffling of seats took place and at that moment, we kids became captives of a ‘vacation excitement’ that lasted the full 3 weeks of Dad’s vacation.

Memories of those days are a tonic when Esther and I reminisce about our southern vacations and life on the asparagus farm. Living in the Corn Belt was so different from that of our cousins living in the tobacco belt. Their southern drawl in conversation was a music we only heard on those vacations. To visit Dad’s relatives, we had to drive the back roads and mountains of Kentucky, Tennessee and the Virginias.

I’ve had wonderful vacations, but the best and most memorable one was in Acapulco many years ago. My daughter, Kim and I planned the three day sightseeing trip as a diversion from work, but we spent most of the three days sleeping. We ended up reading and napping during the day, eating all our meals in the hotel dining room, and swimming in the hotel pool after dark. We had morning naps as well as afternoon naps. We did take a drive along the beach once but decided to return to the hotel for another nap. It’s the only vacation I’ve ever had where I really felt rested when it was over.

As Girl Scouts, Adeline and I spent lots of time camping and I have enjoyed many camping vacations over the years. I like camping and have been good at it. I have camped mountains, deserts and beaches. I’ve camped in France, Italy, Mexico and Canada. Of course I’ve camped in many of our American states. I’ve camped with tents and without tents. I know how to rough it. I know how to bake beans in a hole with hot rocks covered over with dirt and how to cook over a bon fire.

It was easy to camp when I had the Corvair van. Kim and I used to invite cousins Donna and Loretta to join us when we camped at the Long Beach pier. We could watch the huge ships as they sailed pass the cement parking area. We used the pier’s public rest rooms and ate at the all night café when ever we felt like walking to it.

One never gets too old for vacations but I no longer ‘rough it’ on camping vacations. Now, I vacation ‘in place’ when the Baton Rouge gang comes to Houston. They vacation ‘away’ from home, and I join them in seeing the usual vacation tourist spots and eating at the trendy restaurants. Nothing compares to having all the creature comforts when on vacation.