The Great Northern Vacation

We’re back in Texas and survived our first family expedition north since our move to Texas last November. But, it wasn’t a trip without plenty of excitement! We left in the middle of the night in an attempt to avoid major traffic AND give me time to listen to whatever I wanted on the radio/CD/mp3 player! Worked out pretty well.
Rockhome Gardens
We hit Little Rock, Arkansas around daybreak and found a McDonalds with an ambulance out front. Well, that was enough of an endorsement for me. So, we wobbled in (I did have to wake everyone up) as they wheeled some guy out into the ambulance. I looked at the employee and said, “I’ll take two of whatever that guy had. If it’s gonna hurt that much I don’t want to live through it.” (I’ve learned the morning shift at McDonald’s don’t really have much of a sense of humor. Neither does my family when they’ve just woken up after riding overnight in the van.)

We arrived in Moweaqua in time for supper at the Pow Wow. Except me. I went to bed while mom, dad, Deana and the kids walked to block to the park for the festivities. I was told I missed some good food, a carnival ride or two, and the opportunity to see some high school friends. But, I was wiped after having driven most of the way from Texas to Illinois, and slept pretty much to the next morning. Having made the previous statement, let me be clear that Deana did step up and drive at intervals to allow me to nap. But, after more than 20 years of marriage we’ve learned that long-distance driving isn’t her strength. Her natural tendancy is to fall asleep while a vehicle is moving. (It’s a gift, but not one you want in the person behind the wheel.)

Deana-Dad-GmpaRay
We spent time with the Rays and Dentons while in central Illinois and had plenty of fun. Deana’s parents took us to a wonderful Amish restaurant over in Arthur or Arcola – delicious. We left and drove out past Rockhome Gardens. I wanted the kids to see this place that we’d always gone as kids. (That was pretty standard if you lived in the area.) The only way to explain Rockhome Gardens is…it’s Six Flags for the Amish. There’s a blacksmith, barber, gardens with walls made out of stone, horse & buggy rides, etc. It was closed on a Monday, but the gates were open and we drove in. We took the above picture in front of the map. I tried to get the kids to walk through the gate and have their picture taken in the huge, oversize rocking chair. (Everyone takes their picture in this chair. Deana & I have pictures in this chair.) The kids screamed it would be breaking the law, “and you can’t make us do that,” and ran back to the van. Times like this remind me our kids were raised as “city kids” for the first 10-12 years of their life.

We spent the second week up in the Chicago area. Leading up to vacation I had been a little concerned about how my family members would handle visiting back home, having just left at Thanksgiving after basically 20 years in the Elgin/South Elgin area. It turned out to be very positive. The kids got to see many of theri friends and just hang out and have a great time.

Kotschi Denton Kids
One of the treats was being able to maintain our traditional trip to Six Flags with the Kotschi family. It was a great day. Most of the kids are big enough to ride almost anything. My policy continues to be that my kids must ride a new ride every year. It’s part of my parenting philosophy to help overcome fears in a healthy way. They did, and really enjoyed their new rides. In fact, there are very few rides they haven’t gone on at this point. Extra kudos to Jacob Kotschi who rode the Raging Bull with his dad and I. It’s the tallest coaster at Six Flags Chicago, with a 200+ foot drop. He rode it and loved it.

I love the extreme rides, but I also enjoy the slower-paced rides with my buddy, Michael. We rode a few of the tamer rides together. We rode a few rides in “Wiggles’ World.” I really enjoyed the airplane ride, but the worker kept yelling something as we went by each rotation. I finally realized she was trying to tell me how to get the plane to fly. She’d showed all the kids in the other planes when she checked buckles, but assumed I would figure it out. Guess again!

That same weekend was the 25th Anniversary Celebration for Highland Christian Academy – where Deana taught for several years, and the kids went to school in Illinois. Due to our busy schedule, the only thing we were able to make was the Sunday afternoon picnic. So, after worshiping with our Grace Church family we hustled over to HCA for a great time seeing family and friends.

We ate some wonderful food, got to see many friends, and purchased some fundraiser auction items. Not that we needed anything, but my wife convinced me it was a good cause. One of Deana’s former students wanted to know if she had moved to Texas to teach the people English.

We returned to central Illinois for another day of rest…actually of doing laundry. Deana hates to return home with dirty laundry, so she always makes of point of getting it washed somewhere before our return. Plus, this extra day gave us another opportunity to eat at Monical’s Pizza. Deana & the kids ate there three times during our vacation.

We left early the next morning in an attempt to driving the trip straight through. We left early enough that I anticipated arriving home before midnight. But, we got a little side-tracked in Arkansas.

Thanks to my constant Twitter updates during vacation, we were able to connect with our favorite missionaries with FamilyLife (a ministry of Campus Crusade) – Rick & Susie Maupin (and Tonya). We met at Larry’s Pizza in Little Rock and spent the evening hanging out, eating and talking. It put us behind schedule, but we wouldn’t have traded that time for anything.

We finally made it back home to Texas around 3 am. I got everyone inside and the van unloaded by 3:30. It was a great vacation. We had a wonderful time with wonderful family and friends. But it’s nice to be back home.

What have we learned? Friends are always friends. You can get together after being apart and it’s like you just left yesterday. AND Monical’s is still the best pizza around!

The Unexamined Life and All
Jeff

Posted: June 23, 2009 
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Tagged: Family
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