LJ Idol - Week 9 - Marching Orders

[applespice]

Muster is at 8 AM - any later and valuable moments of fun are lost. The very concept, for my father, is absolutely intolerable. Fun is a requirement of vacation, after all, and we are going to have as much of it as humanly possible. Forget sleeping in (not that we could on the sleeper sofa to which we've been relegated, my sister and I) and hurry it up when it comes to getting dressed and brushing your teeth - come on, come on, we're on a strict schedule! Every moment of the day is planned down to the most minute detail - where we'll go, what we'll see, where we'll eat, the photo opportunities we'll experience. Forget leisure, forget lazy days on the beach. There's so much to see!

The truth is, my dad never wanted to go to Hawaii. It was my sister's idea, legitimized by her high school graduation and hours of finely crafted pleading. She gained my mom's support first, and eventually, my mom managed to get my dad on board. Still, it was a grudging acceptance of a terrifying fact - he'd be stuck with us, three women, in an environment that wasn't of his choosing (examples of environments of his choosing: sweltering campgrounds in the dead of summer, train museums, and tightly winding dirt "roads" specially designed to make my motion-sickness-prone sister vomit). The only way to survive it was to make it fit with his preconceived notions of what vacations should be, and the best way to do that was to plan it down to the nanosecond.

And day after day, we do it all. Sightseeing, sports, natural wonders - nothing escapes our notice. There's still the rain to contend with, of course, and the perpetual complaints of one or several members of the party, but no one could say we aren't thorough. We take the Road to Hana, snorkel at Molokini Crater, visit the aquarium, windsurf, shop, take photos of waterfalls and mist-clung mountains, and even rent an enormous Harley on which to tour the narrow winding roads that drop off dizzyingly to a surging sea. And though I long to lie on a sun-drenched beach and read, dabbling my toes in the swirling surf, the memories build despite my cynicism, building a wild world of green and blue and gold. Even now I can perfectly recall the vision of a humpback whale breaching the waves, soaring and crashing in a white spray of water.

So while I hate to admit I'm wrong, and despite the fact that my own vacation schedules are always fast and loose and haphazard, a long exposure of blurry lights and indistinct, rushing figures, I can sort of see the point of schedules, itineraries, and marching orders. Sorting the memories into perfect snapshot moments, glossy and clear, available for nostalgia and escape at any given moment... yeah, I guess I can see the point. Don't tell him I said it, but I guess Dad does know a few things after all.

Comments

[basric.livejournal.com]

A lovely entry. Can't relate but I am envious of your Dad's vacation planning and actually follow through.

[sweeny-todd.livejournal.com]

*nodnodnod* I do not plan holidays, although I have tried in the past!!

[cheshire23.livejournal.com]

I didn't know my father had a twin!

I can relate to this SO much.

[michellerz.livejournal.com]

You just described almost ALL of my family vacations. XD

[stationery.livejournal.com]

I love this!

[applespicy.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

My dad is a master planner, seriously. He's got everything mapped out - including his budget for ten years from now.

[applespicy.livejournal.com]

I am pretty appallingly bad at it. I do my best, but I'm really better off just showing up somewhere and going from there!

[applespicy.livejournal.com]

LOL I knew there'd be others out there!!

[applespicy.livejournal.com]

Hahaa I love that there are others like us, victims of over-obsessive planning!

[applespicy.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :)

[imafarmgirl.livejournal.com]

I loved this entry. I felt like I was right there with you being hurried out of bed for vacation fun.

[applespicy.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I tell you, the hurried-out-of-bed part was definitely the worst. The rest of it was manageable, at least! ;)

[myrna-bird.livejournal.com]

There IS so much to see and do. ..and so little time. Great story.

[liret.livejournal.com]

That is what my mother used to be like on vacation. She could never understand why I'd rather go slowly through a museum then see every single exhibit but go by them so quickly I have no idea what they are.

[so-small.livejournal.com]

I don't think I could ever completely plan a vacation - it just seems so unnatural to me!

[nialyind.livejournal.com]

Haha, I like your last sentence. :) I've definitely been on vacations like this where my dad plans what we're going to do every day as my mom gripes about not wanting to see another museum or another cathedral.

[solstice-singer.livejournal.com]

This reminds me a lot of how my grandparents vacation. You can't sleep in. You must wake up, have breakfast, sight-see, eat lunch, catch a show, sight-see some more, have dinner, and on and on and on it goes. Honestly, it exhausts me, and doesn't end up feeling like much of a vacation.

[redvelvetgrrl.livejournal.com]

I can totally relate to this! Thank you for sharing it

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

Our own vacations are a tad haphazard, whereas a friend of ours does itineraries like your dad, with a "you can sleep when you're dead schedule." Both have their place, IMO. Nicely written (and I won't tell your dad)!

[wyliekat.livejournal.com]

My mother was the same on our trip to England when we were kids. It felt like we saw every old stone building on London. ;-}

I like your take on the prompt!

[pixie117.livejournal.com]

My ex was that way with vacation planning. As was his mom. I prefer to leave some time to just meander and almost forgot I'm a tourist for a bit. But you do get to see a lot, that's for sure!

I can't wait to see Hawaii. Very soon for me, I just know it!

[joeymichaels.livejournal.com]

We take the Road to Hana

and...

tightly winding dirt "roads" specially designed to make my motion-sickness-prone sister vomit

Heh, except for the dirt part, it sounds like your father got his wish!

If you're ever over here again, come on by with no itinerary at all and just enjoy the slow pace. Yeah, there's lots of stuff to do, but there's also sitting around on the beach and forgetting what time it is. :D

[michikatinski.livejournal.com]

I imagine my hubby becoming the dad in this scenario one day. I wonder how he'll cope. :)

Nicely written!