During every family vacation Shelly and I took with our kids I would keep a travel log of where we went, the route we drove, what we did there and even sometimes what we ate. On this, our second long vacation together (the first one is here) we were driving a 1979 Buick Park Ave. We lived in Des Moines, Iowa and two years earlier we had purchased our first desktop computer for $2,500. It had a 1 GB hard drive that we were told we would never be able to fill up and that our kids would use the computer in college. Most people still did not have cell phones or GPS.

July 18 – Packed up car from 1 – 2 PM. Left dog Belle in care of neighbors with keys to the house and feeding instructions for the dog. Packed just about everything in trunk, the rest in back seat with kids. Ate a quick McDonalds late lunch at the house then hit the highway around 2:30. On 35 North, very hot and humid, car windows down, AC does not work. Everything fine until I noticed a massive cloud of black smoke pouring out of the back of the car. We were close to our exit so I kept on driving. When the exit appeared I turned off and looked in the rear view mirror before stopping and there was no smoke at all! The car was clicking loudly, but no longer smoking. We continued along the local highways until we reached Eldora then Pine Lake State Park, where we had reserved a cabin for a week. We picked up the keys to the cabin (#4, Sandstone Cabin, one of four right along the Iowa River) then used a Radio Flyer wagon provided to move your stuff from the parking lot along a path to the cabins. After four trips we were moved in and began unpacking. Later we checked out our surroundings, wadded in the creek feeding into the river, figured out where the beach was, then settled down to our first evening in our wonderful cabin. Kids played, Shelly and I read, then I wrote this.

July 19 – Everybody lounged around this morning, enjoying the cabin and air conditioning. Into town for groceries around noon then to “Places” a discount store where the kids bought a few things (colors, coloring books, toys) with the money they have been saving for our trip. Unpacked the groceries and hauled them to our cabin in our wagon. Cooked lunch and ate then Shelly and the kids were off to the beach while I stayed behind to read the paper and nap. When they returned we hiked the trail closest to our cabin (hot and humid and lots of mosquitos) then back to cool off again. We decided to drive into Eldora and stopped at the city park right next to the speedway. The cars were roaring around the track while the kids played at the playground. There is a deer pen in the park, made up of a big chain link fence with some goats and a big hairy thing we could not identify. Back to the cabin, the kids showered and ate and we all relaxed in the coolness again. Shelly and the kids played some cards, we all read and listened to music, then the kids were asleep while Shelly and I ate our late supper, talking about what we would do tomorrow.

July 20 – (Shelly writing) I was up at 8:30, made coffee and went outside to enjoy the cool breeze and the birds singing. Having one hour alone outside was too much to pass up, especially knowing the the heat was coming. The rest of the family got up and we went into Eldora for a newspaper, bait and fishing licenses and to ask if there was a riding stable nearby. No licenses or stables so we drove to Steamboat Rock for the licenses and another dozen worms. Back to the cabin for mac and cheese. Then I took a nap and David read the paper. The kids were outside watching a woman clean her fish. After I woke up we went to the beach and swam from 4 – 6 pm. While we were gone David cleaned up the fishing poles and organized the tackle box. When we got back the kids practiced their casting. Back in the cabin we were cooling off when I saw a movement among the rocks of the fireplace chimney. David said it was a bat so I went to get the park attendant. He brought a fish net to catch it and then showed it to us. He said it was a box bat and let it go. We stepped outside and listened to the night and saw a raccoon in the bushes. The kids were kind of scared so David sent them on a couple of missions into the night to show them there was nothing to be scared of. We went back inside and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

Continued Next Month