Family Vacation

Boy, it's been a long time since I wrote. I've been out of town on a vacation with the family for a while. We went to Las Vegas and Los Angeles, accompanying my husband on a business trip. It was fun, but traveling with kids is hard: eating in restaurants 3 times a day, the constant fighting between the 2 of them, the crankiness because they haven't gotten their full 10 hours of sleep, etc. I find traveling with children a bit of a tease; there is so much to do and see, but it's hard to enjoy it because of all the distractions. The best vacations we have are when we plop down for a few weeks in some fun place, rent a cabin or something like that (with a kitchen) and just take day trips from home base. It doesn't feel as stressful.

Anyway, all and all we had a good time. We were in Las Vegas for 24 hours, and let me tell you that was about all I could take. It was quite a spectacle - the ultimate bastion of Americana. The place has turned into a giant shopping mall. One casino after the next had these endless indoor mazes of high end shops and restaurants. The actual betting parlors seemed almost secondary. And there are no windows or clocks, which is obviously designed so people get lost in the void of loosing their money. But it's so crazy because all the ceilings are painting like the sky! Anyway, the kids liked it for a while, but there is only so many stores little boys can take.

After our day in Vegas we drove through the dessert to Los Angeles and stayed in Santa Monica. LA was much better this time then the previous times I had been there. Being an East Coast girl, I always cringed at the West Coast life, particularly Southern California. I always balked at the laid back attitude, and found the pace frustrating. Being born and raised in New York City (yep, the upper west side of Manhattan!) gives one an edge they just can't shake. I used to feel Southern CA was unsophisticated and shallow, and was driven by appearance and performers, where NY was a place where people aspired to be cultural, intellectual and worldly.

However, I have to admit this time around I appreciated the Southern California life much more. As I'm getting older, I like slowing down a bit, 'smelling the roses' so to speak, and living more in the present. What's the rush? So much is missed. Especially having kids, every once and a while I realize that this time is so fleeting. Sooner then I want to admit my kids will be grown up, and their childhood will be over. I want to savor these moments, and often wish I did a better job of it.

Anyway, we had a good time hiking in the Hollywood Hills, walking down the boardwalk at Venice Beach, shopping at the 3ed street promenade. It was fun, though too many homeless. To amuse the kids on the long drives across town (Jesus, there is a lot of driving there!) we would play a game we invented call 'The Bulldog Game'. This game is a bit mean, and completely NOT politically correct (my fellow social workers would banish me if they knew) but kept us endlessly amused. There were so many homeless around, that we all began to feel bad when the kids would shout 'look Mom, another bum!', so I asked my little one to come up with a code name so we wouldn't hurt their feelings. He came up with 'Bulldog'. Then we added a point system; a bum sighting was worth 10 points, a bum sighting with a shopping cart was 20 points, a sighting of a 'bum campsite' as we called it was 30 points, and all three was the jackpot - 50 points. In an unfortunate irony, this lent to hours of fun.

The vacation was a nice break from the routine, and we came back all fairly refreshed. Going back to school tomorrow is going to be hard; we're still sleeping until 10:00. But we all better get with the program; I don't want my kids turning into Bulldogs.