“Change of Vacation  Plans”

 

 

By

 

 

 

Gerry Niskern

 

 

 

Everyone is thinking the same thing right about now, ‘Where will we go  on vacation this summer?’ In this land where we are free to vacation anywhere and with whomever we choose, have you thought of going some place different or taking a new person with you?

I’m reminded of many summers ago watching our great-grandson and a new friend building a sandcastle on the beach. After a while, the girl asked,  “Are you his grandparents?”

“No,” I replied. “ We’re his great-grandparents.”

“Whoa” she said,  “Well, isn’t  anyone else here with you all?”

“No, he’s just here with us.” I answered.

“Whoa”

That had been my reaction exactly back then when someone in our family asked our nine- year- old great-grandson if he wanted to go with my husband and I on our annual trip to California. His parents were expecting a new baby and I confess it took a while for the idea to grow on me, then I got busy and changed hotel and plane reservations to include a great-grandchild.

His Daddy delivered the youngster on our doorstep the evening before our flight.  My husband tried to lift his backpack. He couldn’t.  “What on earth do you have in here?”

“Some trail mix, an electronic fishing game, a gum making kit, three shell reference books, five story books, cookies (all melted together) and my world map.”

The trail mix, one shell book, and the world map were allowed to stay.

He played in the surf with a little boy from Russia. We had a world geography lesson back in the room while his great-grandfather helped him locate Russia on the world map. We were used to hearing different dialects spoken on the boardwalk, but our great-grandson was fascinated with the many languages he heard. One evening he saw a large group of women wearing beautiful long dresses with scarves covering their hair and part of their face. He asked their guide and learned they were from Jordan.  When we got back to the hotel that evening, out came the map again.

 

He persuaded us to try different ethnic restaurants that we had always passed by.  He was willing to order and finish exotic new dishes. We found we all enjoyed the variety. Looking at familiar sights through the fresh eyes of a nine year old brought exhilarating sparkle to our yearly trip. We didn’t have our romantic get away, but we had lots of fun.

We explored the tide pools in early light of dawn.  We learned to chase the surf and quickly gather shells before another wave came crashing in. Our paddle ball skills were honed to perfection.  Luckily, I only had to explain once that each person washed the sand out of his own swimsuit and hung it out to dry. Best of all, we had someone always willing to go after ice!

The trail mix in his backpack came in handy when our return flight was canceled and we stood in line at the airport for two hours and missed lunch.

On the trip home I knew we had passed a kind of milestone when my great-grandson turned to me and asked, “Grandma, could we go to the Grand Canyon next July?”

“Well, maybe so. Haven’t you been there?”

“No, then we could take the trip.”

“What trip is that, Honey?”

“You know, the mule ride to the bottom.”

Lucky for me his family went on vacation the next summer