VACATIONS FROM MY YOUTH

Yesterday I was headed back into Roseburg to Fred Meyer for a few things and as I am driving my big truck that would easily fit six adults all with seat belts, listening to XM Satellite radio and waiting for OnStar to continue with my turn-by-turn instructions, after I had checked my computer for specials to cook in the microwave while watching cable TV before I went to sleep in my queen size bed, I was struck with how different this trip is from those of my (not so long ago) youth.

Every summer for two weeks the McKinney family would head up to Summerland on Lake Okanagan for our annual vacation. We, like most families, tented during these annual treks. Mom & Dad would get the car, trunk and roof rack loaded the night before to save time in the morning. The kids were awakened at 5am so that we could get on the road before everyone else. Of course, everyone else woke up at 5 am so they could get on the road before everyone else.

Since there was NO STOPPING on the drive, mom made sandwiches for the trip. My mother was one amazing broad but she fell short in the culinary department, way short!! She would make sandwiches with white bread (it came to be known as White Death by Scott but that was years later when we found out that there was such a thing as Whole Wheat). The margarine was too cold and therefore unspeadable but margarine HAD to go on sandwiches so every slice of bread got a lump of margarine, except for Father’s as he got butter! She would then put a slice of bologna on the bread (sometimes she even stopped long enough to remove the wrapping around the slice of bologna) and then a quick swipe of yellow mustard (no Rolls Royce, no Grey Poupon Dijon) and then these culinary delicacies were put into a paper bag that had already been recycled from several other uses. My mother was not an environmentalist ahead of her time, she was raised in the Depression and learned to make due.

Every two years Dad got a new car on lease from the company and they were family sedans but six people in a car was tight hence no need for seat belts because there weren’t any. But at some point in the long drive, someone touched someone and all hell broke loose. Mother would reach around to try and separate us (good luck it was so hot in the car that we had melted together) and if she couldn’t stop it Father would say “Don’t make me come back there”. Yeah right like he would stop the car on the shoulder of the road and straighten us out. That would cut into him trying to best last year’s driving time.

There were very few passing lanes so it was a tough drive trying to get by trucks, trailers and little old men wearing hats and driving at 30 mph! But we finally arrive around noon. The temperature would be in the 80’s but the tent had to go up. Dad and the kids put up the tent and mom’s very, very important job was to have a gin and tonic with ICE ready for dad when the tent was up. Dad did not do another thing but sit in the shade until it was time to reverse the order – drink, take down tent and drive home. Mom on the other hand had just begun her work. Working with a Colman stove, toting water, heating it up to wash and rinse dishes, sweeping out the tent and repeating this process for 14 days. It was like Little House on the Prairies but without Michael Landon!

It was a fun two weeks, nonetheless. We had a great lake to swim in, campfires at night with hot dogs and marshmallows and lots of other kids to play with. We had to blow up the air mattresses every night because they all had small holes in them but the sleeping bags were so cumbersome and hot, that we didn’t even notice that we were sleeping right on the ground. We would have the Coleman lantern at night and would tell ghost stories until an adult would yell – GO TO SLEEP and we were too tired to argue.

When the vacation was over and we were back home, we would lug our suitcases into the basement and dump all the clothes out for mom to wash, we would put the tent and camping gear back in the creepy crawly part of the basement until next year and head out to see which of our friends were around the neighbourhood and stay out until we heard someone’s mom yelling to come home and we all went home.

Summers were perfect back then but only from the perspective of my beautiful travel trailer. Have to end now – the popcorn is ready and the movie is starting!!!