My sister-in-law’s suffering through a week-long camping trip in a pop-up camper (mosquitoes are probably harvesting her hemoglobin in their diabolical scheme to take over the world as I type), reminds me of the Lucy/Dezi film The Long, Long Trailer where newlyweds forgo a honeymoon in a hotel for what they believe will be a less expensive option: purchasing an oversized trailer and traveling across the country. It’s a funny movie.
My sister-in-law has red hair, like Lucille Ball. I can only hope that she is laughing as she recalls the film while her red hair is whipping wildly around her head as she dodges bears, bats, and blood-sucking insects (deer ticks, spiders, etc.) on her way to the overflowing port-a-potty at 3:00 am. (Again, why can’t I stop giggling when I think of her out there in the wilderness??)
Family skeletons have a tendency to come out of the closet during times of extreme stress because psychological filters fall away when humans are placed under duress. As my sister-in-law and her family travel into their own savage Heart of Darkness, I wonder what bones my nephews will uncover during this vacation. What family secrets will be revealed, perhaps, when the pop-up camper refuses to pop-up during torrential rains, or when Michelle realizes that Marty forgot to pack the matches and they have 20 pounds of raw hamburger approaching dangerous levels of Salmonella bacteria in a rapidly warming cooler?
I remember traveling to Alabama for my husband’s cousin’s wedding. My in-laws decided to drive from Chicago to Huntsville with their keeshond barking in the backseat the whole way. (Imagine this in your rearview mirror for 48 hours: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By6rI5Ps_60. By the way, “Little Blue” isn’t “smiling” as the title of the video suggests, lady….) They met us for lunch in Huntsville and when the server asked if Pepsi was okay instead of Coke, my mother-in-law suddenly turned to my father-in-law and blurted, “This never would have happened if you hadn’t smoked pot in high school.” See? Family secrets have a way of slipping out when things get dicey.
I am keeping my cell phone at my bedside and the car fully gassed in case I get a call from Michelle asking me to help her bury Marty.
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4 comments:
our honeymoon consisted of traveling to Germany and then staying with friends for most of it...except for the part where my husband decided it would be much more fun to go camping in Switzerland. The campground was flooding, there was no electricity in the village, and we were soaked for 3 days. AND we couldn't leave because the only way out was to take the trains, and all the tracks were flooded.
My favorite picture from our honeymoon incidentally is the one where it shows our little tent being rained upon, and me trying to sop up as much water as possible with the caption of "Yes it was raining. Yes we're still married"
Katina,
A. PLEASE post that picture. I have to see it.
B. If you made it throught that, you will make it through anything. Perhaps all honeymoons ought to be like that: instead of a vacation, you participate in an extreme sport. If you still love each other at the end of the week, you get to stay married.
http://www.lucidrealms.com/photos/honeymoon/Switzerland/pages/img_4642.jpg.jpg.html
I hope that link works. And I guess I should clarify--that is my favorite picture that has one of us in it (well, the Giant Lederhosen one in the Germany Album is also very good)... I really like the church pictures the best I think.
Oh, and yes the tent is a backpacking tent so it's ultra-light-weight AND it sits UP off the ground, so the entire area around the tent is open to the elements. Great times when it's raining.
I'm back in Illinois, thank goodness. I survived camping, but I have been promised that this abberation will NEVER take place again!
Trish, I will give you the gory details (and there are many) and you can post a second part.
Michelle, long suffering sil
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