Sarah Too

Sunset from our cottage deck

This month, The Mister, Bman, and I experienced our first full-on family vacation. It was a learning experience, to say the least. On the whole, the trip went well and we made some wonderful memories in one of my most favorite places on Earth.

For 8 days, our little family played and explored in a region of Upstate New York known as the 1000 Islands, where Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River meet and make the northern border of New York State with Canada. My Dad's side of the family has vacationed here for now 4 generations. It is a beautiful area filled with granite outcroppings, sandy coves, old castles, grand vacation homes, legends, myths, and more than 1000 islands.

The yellow shaded box is the 1000 Islands Region

It took us two short flights to get to Syracuse. I was thankful for a connection through O'Hare in Chicago because it gave us time to decompress, eat, and let the munchkin run off some energy. Bman did really well on the flights. The flights were short enough that I never felt the need to bust out the DVDs I packed. I kept Bman occupied with "candy" (a.k.a., fruit snacks), stickers, and lollipops during take off and landing. We weathered a few meltdowns that resulted from trying to discipline him ("No kicking or pushing the seat in front of you with your feet.") or from getting to where we needed to go before he was ready (i.e., finding our gate vs. pushing his stroller, eating vs. riding through the terminal, getting onto the plane vs. playing with his cars). These meltdowns were short-lived and by no means the worst screams I experienced as the loving mother of my little toddler monster :)

We stayed overnight in Syracuse after landing around 9:30 PM. The next day, after leisurely morning that included a visit to the best goddamn grocery store ever, WEGMANS, we drove 90 minutes to our final destination for the week. The rest of my family -- my parents, brothers and their partners and kids -- arrived throughout the day. We could not have had better weather for the whole week. Cool, clear evenings, nights, and mornings, and sunny, hot days perfect for swimming in the refreshingly cool, clear water of the St. Lawrence.

The lowlights of the trip included learning the following lesson: going on vacation with a toddler (or a child of any age) does not mean a vacation from parenting. Laugh it up, experienced parents. We all get smacked with this lesson hard ONLY via hands-on experience.

• Bman was up right at 6 AM every. single. morning. and RARIN' to go. Skip right past breakfast and take me to the sandbox, Mom!! Boy, Mama needs her coffee. Watch some dang cartoons and eat your oatmeal. PLEASE. 
• All expectations for a routine nap were shattered. I finally figured out by day 3 that we would take them where we could get them -- mostly in moving vehicles -- and not worry if they didn't happen.
• Infinite is the number of times Bman needed to be reminded that rocks may only be thrown into the River and sand may never be thrown, particularly when his 1-year old cousin is present. Or his mother. Ain't nobody got time for sand in the eyes or a rock in the leg.

The highlights of the trip included showing my little family many of my favorite haunts and spending quality time with my parents, brothers, and their partners and kids. It is not often that we are ALL together in the same place at the same time. It is so rare, in fact, that we hired a photographer for some family photos. The Mister and I agreed that our top 3 moments from the trip were:

1. Our boat ride and swimming excursion in a sandy cove of one of the islands. Lil' Bman was a champ on the boat and in the water. He even napped on the way back into port.
2. An adults-only dinner out on the second to last night. My brother, his wife, his mother-in-law, my Mister, and I shared an amazing meal at The Johnston House in Clayton, NY. We ordered a whole bunch of tapas off the menu -- lobster bites, grilled lamb, bacon-wrapped scallops, baked avocado, and a meat and cheese platter -- to share. We capped it off with a HUGE serving of chocolate cake, and the slightly more tasty slice of Key Lime cheesecake. 
3. Any time we got to swim in the water. The Mister would jump in after going for a run each day. I jumped off the rock of my Uncle's parent's island and practiced treading water like I so often did during many a summer during my childhood and 20s.
4. I'll add #4, which is all the sunsets I watched from the decks of cottages. I don't often get to do this at home after a full day spent at work and with the kiddo, and it was wonderful to sit with friends and family as the light slowly dimmed and the stars appeared.

By the time we had to pack up and leave, I was ready to go home to our routine and very sad to leave such a big piece of my heart behind. I love this place and I was so happy to share it with my Mister, my lil' Bman, and our bun in the oven :) While there were times of impatience and shortness with each other, there were so many good memories made in the pool, the sandbox, along the banks of the River, and with cherished friends and family. That is what family vacation is all about and I am so happy to be creating the stories our kids will tell their friends and families.