When I was a kid, I thought it was the coolest thing when other families packed up and headed out on a summer vacation. I wanted to do that too, but as grain and cattle farmers there was never time for my family to embark on such adventures. I vowed to myself that when I had a family of my own, we would take those summer vacations.
Thirty years ago I approached another couple and suggested we take a summer vacation together. We each had one young child at the time. I booked us in at a Northern Saskatchewan lake and we headed off on what would turn out to be one of my best schemes yet.
The next year I asked two more families to join in and we continued to take vacations together every summer for years. We started off as a group of six and ended up with eighteen people between the four families, eight adults and ten children.
Each year we chose a different lake to explore or we went back to one we had previously enjoyed. Our travels took us to many Saskatchewan lakes including; Waskesiu, Besnard, Greenwater, Lac des Illes - Meadow Lake, Turtle, Jan, Otter and Iroquois.
We often took day trips to explore the area around where we were staying. We liked to stop on the trail for wiener roasts, but The Hubs was always in a hurry. Sometimes by the time everyone else got to the designated wiener roast spot, he was ready to carry on, so the wiener roast didn’t always happen. The shaky promise of a wiener roast became a running joke.
One of the families in the group named us the Griswold’s in reference to the Chevy Chase comedy movie Vacation. That name has stuck with us to this day. We were like the Griswolds in the movie, there always seemed to be some mishap.
Those were some of the best times of our lives. We laughed so much and the kids ran and played outside until they were exhausted. They had a lot of fun with so many friends to play with. The kids liked to buy candy cigarettes, fake tattoos and caps at the little lake stores.
I am a bit of an organizer. I made detailed lists including exactly what each family was to bring and a travel itinerary. We worked like a well-oiled machine and after a few years, we had it down to a science. We did not pack lightly though, and every vehicle was absolutely jam packed with clothes, toys and food.
We made some of the most amazing camping meals. The food was incredible, and we ate like kings.
We boated, jet skied, tubbed, paddle boated, swam, fished, played in the sand, played games and sat around the campfire in the evenings.
The memories we made on those summer vacations will stay with us for a lifetime. I am so glad that I made good on my childhood vow and that my friends were adventuresome enough to accept my invitation.
Do you have a group of people that you like to do things with, if not don’t be afraid to reach out and start creating memories!
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