Family Vacation

Sorry for the radio silence the last few days. We returned yesterday from our family vacation. We traveled down to Gulf Shores for a family reunion and had a grand time. We caravanned with Kadie’s sister and my brother-in-law and attended a family reunion.

I note the following things:

A caravan can only travel as far as its tiniest bladder. Squealer and his cousin Grace (Grace is the same age as Squealer, and vastly advanced in all manner of things, potty training among them) made constant stops a necessity. This constant stopping goes against the natural inclination of man, dating back, no doubt, to our hunter-gatherer days. I like to travel far distances between stops, but with a potty training Squealer, that was not possible. Or it was possible, but there would be a substantial mess as a consequence. I like my brother-in-law’s dictum: "One stop per state." That seems about right.

I don’t often think of Alabama and apocalyptic literature, but everywhere we traveled throughout the state I saw the license plate that reads: "The Stars fell on Alabama." Isn’t that a bad thing?

Not everyone looks good in a bikini.

There are many teaching opportunities for you and your kids at the beach. "Don't dress like her, don't act like him."

Sand gets everywhere in the condo. When you are chewing gritty gum, you know that it’s time to leave.

Here was an unexpected question. After passing by a Civil War marker, I explained that the North won this particular battle. Skeeter responded by asking "Is it good that the North won?" Boy, what a hard question for a Southerner! Yes, I replied though it was harder to admit than I had expected.

The three greatest devices in the history of humanity are: fire, the wheel, and the portable DVD players.

If your kids climb all over your back while you are wrestling on the beach, You will need to reapply sun screen, or else your shoulders will burn…bad.

Gas is expensive.