http://www.algomacentralrailway.com/

megram - Index

megram - desummer - Index

“Moooom! What are we going to do?
“Chrissy and Bailey are going to the cottage
and Jessica and Sam are going to camp for
three whole weeks. And guess what? Tyler and
Jeremy get to go see Tyler’s grandma and
grandpa on the farm.They’ve got cows and pigs
and chickens and kitties and Tyler says they get
to milk the cows.
“Everybody in my class is going somewhere
awesome this summer. Where are we going to
go mommy? What are we going to do?
“Mom?”
Oh boy.
The countdown is on and the clock is ticking.
Mere days from now it will stretch out before
us – as vast and wide and seemingly endless as
the Canadian prairies. That’s right. Summer
vacation is almost here. In the blink of an eye,
there’ll be no more pencils and no more books.
Parents will be officially on the hook – for 10plus
weeks of fun, entertainment and quality
chill-out time.
Since every single person on Planet Earth –
or at least in your kids’ classrooms – is going
somewhere spectacular, there’s a perennial
obligation to plan a family getaway that’s
equally dazzling. That way, when September
rolls around, your little darling will have something
to write for the annual, back-to-school
essay entitled How I Spent My Summer Vacation.
And while Little Miss’s idea of the perfect
holiday is a grand, cross-continental tour of
suburban malls and all Junior wants to do is sit
in the basement in the dark and play Guitar
Hero 3, the secret to any successful summer
getaway involves choosing a destination with
broad, cross-generational appeal. (At the very
least, don’t spend a week in the basement.)
Choose a destination or activity
everybody will like.
Even if you can’t rent a medieval castle and
a voyage aboard the space shuttle is not in the
budget, you do have tons of choices. Whether
you have several weeks available to spend with
the family unit or a few shorter getaways suit
the schedule better, there’s no end of fun things
to do. All you need is a little imagination and a
positive attitude – along with the organizational
skills of Martha Stewart.
Fact is, it takes a whack of managerial work
to enjoy good times away.
While you’ve probably heard wonderful stories
about incredible, once-in-a-lifetime holidays
that just happened spontaneously, out of
the blue, with a little good luck and timing,
remember this. For every one of those tales,
there are probably a thousand or three stories of
abject misery and the family version of World
War III, thanks to vacationers who skipped the
planning part and flew by the seat of their pants
– only to land on their heads.
Want to sleep in your car by the side of the
road?
Don’t make advance reservations at a hotel.
All aboard for an incredible rail
adventure over towering trestles,
alongside pristine lakes and rivers
and through the same rugged rock
formations and mixed forests that
inspired the group of seven.
Mid-JUNE Mid-JUNE to Mid-OCTOBER
Want to experience your own, personal horror
movie – rated 14-A, complete with scary
sound effects and bone-tingling fear?
Grab the sleeping bags, the container that’s
supposed to have the tent in it, load the kids
in the car and head out at dusk, hoping to find
a campsite with vacancies.
That’s not a rain cloud is it? Nah.
Every family has at least one vacation horror
story. Some folks seem bent on repeating
the same nail-biter performance each and
every summer. A note to those brave, delusional
souls who embark on an annual cross-
Canada trek to the west coast in a 12-year-old
compact car with three kids, a dog and a cat in
the back seat:
A. There is probably medication for that.
B. It might be easier on your family’s collective
nervous system if you rented a couple of
the Chevy Chase Vacation movies, stayed
home and laughed while watching somebody
else’s vacation disaster unfold.
Although there are certain merits to “winging
it” occasionally in life, it’s a risky way to go
on a holiday with your nearest and dearest.
Careful planning makes for happy
vacation memories.
The fabulous, fun getaways you talk about
for years to come may have seemed carefree
and spur-of-the-moment, but odds are those
memorable times were carefully orchestrated
or came about thanks to lots of groundwork.
Preparation is the basis for a happy summer
getaway.
How do you get prepared?
For starters, timing is everything.
If you have some special getaways in mind
for this summer, get planning right now – or
sooner. The first thing you need to do is consult
the calendar.
What weeks and days do you have off?
What about your other half? How much
“together time” do you have?
Next, take a look at the kids’ schedules.
What weekends are booked for Junior’s soccer
tournaments? When is he away at overnight
camp? What are the dates for Little Miss’s
taekwondo competitions? What weeks is she
in day camp?
Mark up the calendar, do the math and,
through a process of elimination, you’ll come
up with some travel times that will work for all.
Ah, but what about that other beloved
member of the family? Fido. Is he coming
with you on this excellent adventure or staying
behind?
That’s something you have to sort out
ASAP. If you plan to take your canine companion
along, you’d better start searching for petfriendly
hotels and venues. Where can you
take the dog? If you plan to take him across
the border, what documentation do you need?
Ottawa Page 16 Due West/Due East Magazine • Summer 2008