Cursed!

Most anyone reading this will know that we decided to load the kids in the car and head off for a family vacation last weekend. This had all the makings of a Griswold style trip -- minus the 8-headlight Family Truckster. The wife and I both rationally thought that the vacation would be a pain during the 20+ hour car trip, but that once we arrived -- everything would be just like at home, except with cooler temperatures and better scenery. As a friend told me the other day, "a vacation doesn't quite mean the same thing after you have kids." Never were truer words spoken. So far, this trip has included:

• A 23 1/2 hour car ride -- straight through.
• 30 miles in 3 1/2 hours to start off the trip
  
• A flakey DVD entertainment system which had to be unscrewed from the roof of the car in a McDonald's parking lot to get working
• An ambulance ride to the hospital at 3am
• 5 total hours of sleep during a 60 hour period
• 6 pairs of pee-soaked pants, including one while on my lap
• Two kids with mild intestinal issues

And that was only halfway through the trip. Yesterday, we loaded the kids in the car to head into town for a little sightseeing and lunch, and lo and behold I found this:

Are you kidding me? So my question is, what's next? Dysentery, locusts, not having a camera when I spot bigfoot? Thank goodness for Honda's Tire Pressure Monitoring System, otherwise, I probably wouldn't have noticed and the tire would've exploded in the middle of nowhere at 3am on the trip back.

Granted, a bolt in the tire isn't that big of a deal -- but it's a hassle on a trip already filled to the brim with hassles, and like I mentioned, we're only halfway through. There are probably plenty of people thinking, "I told you so." It could be worse though, my wonderful octogenarian Grandparents had to buy a new car during their trip up last year -- so at least it isn't that bad.

For all of my tongue-in-cheek griping, this trip has had lots of very enjoyable moments. The weather has been outstanding and the scenery is always beautiful. The kids seem to be enjoying themselves, so we'll call it a mitigated success -- still with the possibility for it to end in complete disaster.

At least we've managed to avoid hurricane coverage for a week.