As a kid, fun was always spontaneous. Kids walk into a room, see other kids, and they become fast friends. Then they’re off playing make-believe and having a blast. Most of my childhood was spent playing outdoors. My friend and I would start a game of kickball or HORSE, and kids would just come and go and join in when they wanted. Play was free.
Nowadays, I still play, but if I want to play with my friends, it has to be planned. We usually have to book a reservation, put it on our calendars, hire a babysitter (unless the activity is kid-friendly), think about carpooling, and there’s almost always a fee just to participate. There’s a red wine I enjoy, and its cork reads, “Plan some spontaneity.” That cracks me up! But that’s what play has become as an adult; organized fun.
But thankfully, there’s a whole market out there for entertaining adults (I’m referring to the G-rated market!). My friends and I booked reservations to complete a treetop ropes course, escape a room, a zip line adventure through the Appalachians, and pottery painting at a local studio. This past Friday we booked an hour of axe throwing. It was so fun! Now I’m trying to talk my friends into doing one of those ‘drink wine and everybody paint the same thing’ events.
No, fun isn’t as free and spontaneous as it used to be, but it’s good to know that there are people out there who love to play, and are creating opportunities for you to join in the fun. This past year of stay-at-home orders, quarantining, and social distancing has not made fun easy, but don’t get stuck in a boring routine of sitting in front of your television. Free yourself from the confines of a boring adulthood! Do a search, call some friends, and plan some organized fun!
What’s an activity you loved to participate in as a kid? Can you plan to do it with some friends?
Back in middle and high school, my church youth group took an annual trip to Camp Squanto in New Hampshire for a Winter Retreat. The recent weather impacts across the country have me thinking an awful lot about that trip. You see, growing up in the Northeast, we expect bad winter weather so much, that it’s never really bad, because we’re prepared. We can appreciate and enjoy the beauty of snow because, for one thing, when it arrives, it sticks around for awhile. Secondly, we know how to manage it efficiently, leaving time for play. So regardless of the weather, we’d still make the trip further north to camp, where we’d retreat from the stress of school, and play with our friends in the seclusion and serenity of a Winter Wonderland.
In the north there were 10’ snow banks on which we were kings. Sledding hills were covered in enough snow to ensure a smooth ride and cushion at the bottom. We would build snow forts, dig tunnel mazes, and have massive snowball fights. We could snow shoe and cross-country ski our way to the store. And the ice actually froze thick enough that we could fish, skate, or play hockey without worrying (too much!) about falling through.
Snow much fun!
One of my favorites memories of the Winter Retreat was playing Broom Hockey. We’d sweep off the outline of a large square on the surface of the lake. Everyone had a broom, and there was one ball. The game was won when one of the teams swept the ball all the way around the square one time. Sounds easy enough until you consider that everyone is slipping in their winter boots, and the other team is trying to steal the ball and move it in the opposite direction around the square. The games would go on late into the night. Then we’d tiptoe into the Dining Hall and warm up with hot cocoa before collapsing into bed.
I have so many sweet memories of the beauty and fun of my childhood winters, that living in the south in the winter leaves me feeling rather rueful. The winters down here are cold with little to no snow. Lately we’ve had rain, freezing rain, ice, and more rain; not much to enjoy about that. Ironically, when most people move south to retreat from winter, I’d rather retreat to winter!
Thanks to my friend’s family plan, I’ve been enjoying a lot of Spotify’s playlists lately. The Classic Road Trip Songs playlist is a great one, and it got me thinking about road trips I’ve taken. My daughter and I have been on countless road trips together, many to the beach, but few to the same place twice. Growing up in a house with seven people did not make packing up and taking off easy to do. Nevertheless, we did manage to pile into the Suburban and get out of dodge once in awhile.
The earliest family road trip that I can remember was to Prince Edward Island, a province of Canada. It is an 11-hour drive from our hometown. My brother had been at band camp in Maine, so we picked him up and continued on to PEI. I was only 5 years old, so my memories are faint. I do remember that it was absolutely beautiful there. I remember steep red cliffs and splashing about in shallow tide pools. I watched my brother pull a large crab out of the water with his bare hands. He also sat on my teddy bear’s head causing her eye to pop off. That led to the first of several eye surgeries for her. He’s also the one who won her for me at a carnival when I was two, so I can’t be too upset with him. One night the wind blew my bedroom window open, knocking over a bedside lamp. It scared the bejeezus out of me, but my sister rushed in and put everything back in place, including my nerves. One of the days I was outside playing with a dog. I have no idea who it belonged to, but I was chasing it around and playing with it. Then it took a break and lied down, but I wanted to keep playing, so I kicked it in the ribs thinking that would get it back up again (little kids aren’t the smartest). The next thing I saw was its uvula as it latched onto my face. I was relayed from one brother to the other, and was held over the kitchen sink while I rinsed the blood from my face and mouth. Funny are the things that stand out.
Her eyes were orange, originally.
In April of 1987 we took another vacation, but this one did not include my brothers, and instead of hitting the road, we hit the rails. For spring break my parents gifted us with a trip to Disney World. We rode the Amtrak from Connecticut to Florida. We cracked Easter eggs on our foreheads and ate Kentucky Fried Chicken from a bucket. How did we have those on the train? It’s a mystery. Yes, my memories are faint, but I remember Chip and Dale joining us at breakfast and seeing Tinker Bell fly down from the castle tower during the evening fireworks. I remember some of the attractions: Mad Tea Party, Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, It’s a Small World, and the Country Bear Jamboree. Everything was fun and magical, but I was sad we left without taking Peter Pan’s Flight and meeting Mickey Mouse. Fast-forward about 30 years to when I took my daughter to the Magic Kingdom and guess who was more excited about checking both of those things off the list?!
What tickets looked like before the digital days.
Another road trip we took was up to Wells, Maine in the summer. We went a couple of times and stayed in the New Harbor View Cottages off Route 1, conveniently located across from Congdon’s Donuts. Maine is such a beautiful place, but the water is freezing! It didn’t phase me as a child, but my body felt otherwise when I moved there in my 20s. But really, the lobster, the scenery, the quaint little shops… If the winters didn’t last as long as they did, I’d have stayed living there much longer.
Michigan was a destination for a couple of other trips we took. My dad grew up in Allegan, so we traveled to visit with his parents there. I remember going to Lake Michigan and thinking we were at the ocean. On one of those trips we drove to Niagara Falls on the way. Majestic!
Lake Michigan
Road trips are a great way to be with family away from the daily grind. No chores and no to-dos, other than sightseeing and memory making. Families need a break to reconnect. I’m grateful that my parents took us on road trips. They helped to pave the way for me and my daughter to reconnect when adventure calls.
Juvenescent Junkets 