My Family and our Summer Road Trip

School is over and we needed a vacation. We travel as often as we can. Wife and I love to do it, but children tend to make it a little more challenging. School tends to do that. Vacation time is limited to certain times of the year.

Planning our trip at the end of the school year seemed like the perfect time to do it. The Oppressed and The Boy would be going to camp soon. Lovie has work. Traveling in June would allow us to hit the road and celebrate the academic accomplishments and spend some time together as a family, much to the delight of our teenage cherubs.

As usual, nothing here really happens as planned. Wife and I were hoping to be out the door and on the road by 5 a.m. It was more like 7:00 when we finally got going. Wife and I got coffee for us and some breakfast for the children. Soon, we were on Interstate 90 heading west.

We were on the road for a while. Massachusetts isn't the biggest state in the Union, but the kids didn't realize how big it was going from east to west. Entering Western Massachusetts, the cherubs were asking if we were still in the Bay State. We were, but we weren't far from the state line.

Niagara Falls

Wife is our activities coordinator. She always comes up with great ideas.

Grateful tourists getting sprayed by
Niagara Falls on a hot, summer day.

It wasn't long (for Wife and me) before we were out of  Massachusetts and into our first state of the journey, New York. Wife thought it would be a great idea if we stop for the night and see Niagara Falls. Wife is our activities coordinator for our trips. She always comes up with great ideas.

We walked around the Falls the next morning and checked out The Cave of the Winds. It was a hot day, so it felt nice to feel the mist from Niagara Falls. There were a lot of stairs to climb. Wife and I were happy to get some exercise. The stairs were a little challenging for our little cherubs.

This was my second time seeing Niagara Falls. I first saw it six years ago while visiting friends in Toronto, and I don't think I did as much walking as I did this day with my family. That's alright, though, because it's a road trip and I'm sure there will be all kinds of unhealthy food choices made.

Lovie checking out
Niagara Falls during the day.

I have an overage of t-shirts I've been trying to deal with, so maybe next time.

Ponchos were removed and we continued on to the hotel. We laid down for a bit before heading out to dinner. Everyone needed to rest. When we were ready to go back out, The Boy wasn't feeling well. Wife stayed behind with him. Lovie, Slugger, The Oppressed, and I continued on to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. This was the third Hard Rock I had visited (Heidelberg, Germany and Tampa were the previous.), but I didn't get a t-shirt to commemorate it. I have an overage of t-shirts I've been trying to deal with, so maybe next time. Walking back to the hotel after dinner, I marveled at the Falls and how they had changed color while we were gone. Niagara Falls was now a beautiful red. I wondered why they couldn't do that during the day when more people were around to see it. The Oppressed rolled her eyes and told me red lights were shining on the water to give it that hue. That's nice, but I know it was the color of the water that really changed. My youngest daughter just did that thing where she rolls her eyes and walks away fast with her head down, shaking.

Niagara Falls at night.

This is wrong.

The next morning, we got ready for the next leg of the tour. Before hitting the road again, children removed their trash and put it in its proper place. I thanked the children for doing their part to keep America beautiful. The family continued on to Pennsylvania. Always a good time, especially for Wife, whose family comes from the Keystone State. We stopped a a Krispy Kreme for some snacks. I noticed Boston Creme Donuts being sold as "Chocolate Iced Custard Filled". I looked for an employee so this blatant mistake could be rectified, and that was when Wife suddenly needed everyone to get back in the car and continue our way. I was upset with Wife for not properly representing Boston, Massachusetts.

While I was hastily writing up an email before the Wi-Fi gave out, sabotaging my efforts to straighten out the misguided chain. Wife said don't worry about it. I was disappointed in her failing to see the gravity of the situation.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Our trip commenced on Father's Day Weekend. Lovie had given me her gift before we left. I had another gift coming my way from Wife and all of the children. We stopped in Cleveland and went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This was a big trip for The Oppressed, who is a Queen fan, and me, who is a rock fan all-around.

There was plenty to see at the Hall of Fame. Lovie, a Nirvana fan, enjoyed walking through the exhibits. There were larger exhibits dedicated to the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix. I tried to drag The Boy through the Hendrix exhibit. He declined.

As usual, The Oppressed and I took the longest walking through the multiple exhibits. I got some pictures to send back to my father, who appreciates classic rock bands. I told him of the Stones exhibit. My father is a Rolling Stones fan, although he doesn't recognize anything released after "Steel Wheels"

Wife pimpin' our ride.

We needed to wrap things up in Cleveland. We still had more driving to do. Everyone hustled through the rest of the museum, including the gift shop. I got a sweatshirt to commemorate the visit and Wife made me a sticker to put on our own touring van. I proudly put the sticker on the window to let everyone know about the "G Team Roadsters".

We piled back into the van. Everyone helped take trash out and put it in its proper place, and soon we were off again and leaving Cleveland, but not before passing by Progressive Field. I pointed out the convenient location of the baseball stadium to Wife in addition to the spacious parking lots. It was amazing to be able to drive by the stadium and see the ample parking. I hope the Red Sox will soon follow suit with a stadium that won't hurt your knees and legs. Wife told me Fenway Park is just fine. She's weird, but I still love her.

My book, "A Collection of Short Stories" is now available for purchase on Amazon Kindle.