Unexotic Family Vacation

I've had a bunch of friends take their kids to California lately.  Lego land, Disney Land, Harry Potter Land. The beach land.  You know, awesome vacation stuff. I am a little jealous. Ok. I am totally jealous. I want to be you. But, I am me. 

Me right now means we took our four kids to Farmington, NM.  Ian works long days, travels a lot, and can't take vacation 9 months out of the year.  So, we get our vacations in when and where we can. Last week it was an overnighter to Farmington, since Ian had to go there for work for a couple of days. Rental car...oh, yeah.

The night before we left, my kindergartner prayed. "We are grateful we can go to Washington, or Farmington, or wherever and go swimming." Oh you sweet, sweet girl.

Many of you may not know much about Farmington.  Let me tell you what I know. Don't get excited, you aren't going to learn much. Farmington: it is about a 3 hour drive from where I live.  It is bigger than the town I grew up in.  When I was in high school the Farmington girls were way better than us at every sport except track. I am pretty sure their high school colors are green and yellow. Ian stays at a great motel with a little kitchen inside of it so we can make our own macaroni and cheese. There is a Costa Vida there.

So, off we went for our family vacation.  It started off with a rental car.  That is a huge luxury for us because it means we have air conditioning that works on every single number.  This rental car even had two temperature controls in the front.  I could turn mine to a cozy 74 and Ian could set his to 68 or whatever freezing temperature he wanted. Fancy. Ian and I got to talk for a solid 2.5 hours, no distractions, unless you count Bob Clark, the local talk radio guy who told us about Frito pies being sold in downtown Santa Fe.  They make their own chile for the Fritos, guys.  It's not canned Hormel. My kids got to listen to the "Royals" song over and over again in the car. Then we took Ian to work.

Once Ian was at work, I took the girls to the park. I accidentally figured out the park where the jobless people of Farmington smoke their cigarettes.  Unfortunately, I figured it out after my two year old child was sleeping in the shade by the picnic tables. In the shade by the picnic tables is also where the jobless people smoke their cigarettes. Cigarettes are my arch nemesis.  I really, really, really hate them. I don't mean to hate the people that smoke them.  I try really hard not to. I accidentally do sometimes. Sorry smokers. I know you are not bad people. My brain knows it.  My heart is having a hard time. Give me time, and maybe you could all try to quit? 

I spent a few hours here, trying not to be judgey, and talk to these people.  We are all people right? One of the men needed money for laundry. Then he went to the store and bought cigarettes and beer. I don't think it occurred to him that cigarette and beer money could also be used for laundry. I got to talk with one of the ladies there for awhile.  She was talking about her mom dying a year ago.  It was obvious to me that her life was one of addiction, and perhaps how she dealt with sadness that was beyond her control.  I liked talking to her until she and another guy decided to do a deal right in front of my face underneath a sweater at the table. Where is the line between not being judgey and not being an idiot?  I don't know. I think I may have danced along the line a little. I am not a very good dancer. 

Later we checked into the hotel, walked to the Wendy's since it was close, picked up some snacks at Albertson's, and watched a bunch of cartoons in the hotel room.  Once Ian got back, we went swimming. This was the highlight of the trip.  The girls couldn't wait to go swimming!

This is what excited for swimming looks like.

This is what having a blast with your dad looks like.

This is what being the cutest two year old on the planet looks like.

In the morning we tried out a new park.  We found one close to the river that didn't have playground equipment, but it had some trails. Perfect.

We love hiking. We saw a super skinny deer.

There were some kids and parents and a teacher doing something, and we invaded. It was a Parents as Teachers class and got to do a scavenger hunt, eat snacks, do art work, hear a story, and sing a fun fall song. It was awesome. 

So, even  though it wasn't exotic-this vacation of ours- Hollywood was filming a movie and we think Michael Douglass was staying in our motel, on our floor. We didn't see him, but Ian thought he heard his voice.  Every time we drove along main street we saw movie stuff like cop cars stopping traffic, trailers for actors. Once, there was a helicopter in the middle of the street, and that thing was loud. Thrilling.

Plus, here is a cool tree we stopped to take a picture of on the way back. Guys, I freaking love this tree.

So, I guess what I wanted to say, was even though it wasn't a family vacation that will make anyone jealous, it was perfect for us, right now.  We needed time to be together and talk and not have the daily stressess. We got that. No homework, no internet (we purposefully left that behind), no laundry or dishes. Just us. And Farmington. We had an adventure together.  I will take it.  I will take it with its imperfect parks, and long car rides, and imaginings of Michael Douglass's voice, and baby crying motel rooms. 

I'll take it.