Dells Angels
On Friday, we woke up early, loaded our suitcases into the car and began our vacation. Earlier, when Aaron had asked for a story, I told him of a marvelous place where waterfalls cascaded from giant mushrooms, and swimming pools created waves that let people bounce up and down, and kids could ride tall twisty slides and splash in a big puddle below. It was a wonderful place, a magical place where kids had had a blast.
Then we took him to a countertop shop.
We wandered up and down the aisles of slabs, admiring the granite, soapstone and recycled glass. We admired vanities and countertops and perused samples. We used a wet rag to see the difference between soapstone that has been oiled and soapstone that is au naturel.
Aaron told us he didn't like our vacation.
I tried to get him excited again by showing off that famous Mauston, WI landmark, the Gas Sign That Looks Like A Semi. He was mildly amused, but still not sold on the whole vacation thing. Finally, we pulled into Wisconsin Dells, the place where you can't throw a go-kart without hitting a waterpark, and the very first thing he saw was a minivan with a green alien on the luggage rack. Suddenly, Aaron's interest was picqued. Minutes later, we saw a PT cruiser with a moose on the roof. Plus, we drove right behind it, so you could get a clear view of his moosey hinder.
Suddenly, this was the greatest vacation in the world. All it took was a moose butt, and suddenly my son was transported into the vacation wonderland of his dreams. And then we got to our waterpark.
I've never seen a kid smile so much at a twelve-foot slide. He was beaming. Like, sunshine was actually pouring from his mouth. Then, Grandma and Aunt Katie and Cousin Emily showed up, and let me tell you this, friends, it was a superb vacation. We're already talking about doing it again.
Now granted, there were moments that could have gone better. For example, there was some running in the pool area. There was some climbing under the table at restaurants. There were some moments of sheer terror when we tried a waterslide that was a little too fast. And while everyone else tried to nap, all Aaron and Emily wanted to do was blolw raspberries on the fancy hotel chair. Actually, I found that pretty funny.
Recently I went to a conference, where the speaker told us that those family vacation disasters, the ones where everything seems to go wrong and tempers are high and people suffer until they get back from vacation, that those are the ones that really matter, that bring families together. And maybe it's true.
But I think I'd rather have a fun vacation anyway.
