My summer vacation

In excruciate detail





We just came home from a five day trip to St. George. Every summer DH takes a three day class to brush up on the core for his teaching job. Usually he takes the class in town or commutes to SLC. But this year he decided to take a road trip so we could visit family and go on vacation.
It turned out to be a pretty good time, in spite of some problems.
DH wanted to go to his classes and visit with family.
I wanted to shop.
DS-L wanted to visit museums.
DS-A wanted to play.
We managed to fit a little bit of everything in, even though none of it was in generous supply ~ unless you count the swimming. We drove to Dixie on Tuesday and as soon as we checked into the motel the boys were in the pool. Next morning DH left for his class and the boys and I walked to a nearby store to buy swimming equipment. Then they swam some more.
I coaxed them out of the pool with the promise of lunch. We walked down to another store to eat (boys were still in their suits) and after I insisted we rest for an hour after we eat. We were back at the pool again.
After DH came back to the room we ate and went for a drive. While passing through the old neighborhood we notices one of my friends was out watering her plants so we stopped and ended up visiting with the family for two hours while our boys played with their boys.
I was supposed to have custody of the car the next morning ~ even though we had arranged for my friend to bring her boys over to the motel to swim that afternoon. DH had me drive the car out to his meeting place because it was an automatic and I’ve been driving a stick for 20 plus years. I only stepped on the clutch instead of the break once during the first test drive through the sleepy streets of Beaver on the way down to St. George.
Anyway, I put a big ol’ shoe on my left foot to remind me not to clutch, and I drove barefoot with my right foot to enforce the message. All was well until we started going over a hilly part of the road and the car wouldn’t shift into third gear. I was a little concerned but didn’t panic. DH was a little more concerned. But we managed to limp into the parking lot of the school. I suggested DH take the car for a drive to see if he could do a better job than I was doing. He did, and he couldn’t. So he went back to the school, told the instructor he was having car trouble, and drove it to his mother’s place where he made phone calls to the car rental place.
Meanwhile, I called the boys on my cell phone (good thing I thought to leave it with them!) and explained the situation. Eventually DH sister drove me back to the motel where we swam and finished of yesterday’s lunch while DH waited for the car company to tow up a new car for us from Vegas.
The fresh car was an Impala, just like the first one …with its own little quirks.
After DH came back to the motel with the new car, and we ate lunch, my friend came with her boys and you guessed it, we did a little more swimming.
That evening DH brother loaded us all in his truck and gave us a scenic tour of all the new building in Southern Utah (Crikey! It’s mind boggling).
Friday I took DH to the school without incident.
The boys and I then visited the new library and the old tabernacle before we went out to eat and I managed to sneak in a little paper shopping. Actually, I didn’t buy paper, but I did pick up a new photo album.
We came back home to swim, again.
DH brothers gave us tickets to the Roadrunners baseball game. They are a very minor league team supported in part by Dixie’s own famous pitcher, Bruce Hurst. It was fun, hot, and pricy. The Roadrunners lost to the outlaws … but we left somewhere in the seventh inning at a little bit past 10 p.m.
We did some more sightseeing on Saturday, including visiting the pioneer museum where a loom donated by DH’s grandfather was on display. DH says he can remember helping his grandma throw the shuttle back and forth. I seem to remember we had a loom very much like this in the church that was used by Relief Society ladies. Or am I just hallucinating?
I think we spent about two hours in the pool on Saturday, too.
We drove home on Sunday. The car made it okay and the cat was alive and happy to see us.
I now have a fresh batch of photos to scrap.