The Vacation Diaries, Part 2

Day Two: “It’s Vacation. Where’s the Fudge?”

After showers, Jak-El and I go down to the lobby to scavenge the free buffet and get breakfast to take back to the room for everyone. Then, we’re off to what is big excitement for the kids: A playground. Nothing special about it, just a playground, which is the perfect start for the day.

Then we roam around Jackson Hole, trying to figure out where would be a good place to take the kids for lunch. We need basic food, with not a long wait, since Dan-El does not like to sit still for more than, oh, 3 seconds. We settle on Billy’s Burgers, which got high marks from the Frommers guide.

Dan-El jumps around and screams like a maniac the entire time we’re there. Husband and I want to crawl under the table and hide, while Jak-El wonders why he isn’t allowed to behave like an infant as well. It’s not fair, really. The burgers were good, but we’re relieved when it’s over.

We wander into the town square, and do the touristy thing of having our picture taken under one of the antler trellises. So nice of all these elk to give up their horns for art, isn’t it?


Then, we go look about the shops. To meet our quota of silly vacation photos taken with odd statues and objects, Dan-El was photographed with a bison, while Jak-El avails himself of a big wooden bear chair.


We stop in a candy store pick up some fudge (one of our vacation traditions), and head back to the room for naps (Dan-El and I) and TV (Husband and Jak-El).

The rest of the day is pretty low key. We splash around in the pool, and then pick up take-out from a nearby Italian place. Jak-El falls asleep before I can even make his dinner of choice, a bagel with peanut butter.

Day Three: “We’re Driving. We’re Driving. Crap. We’re Still Driving, Aren’t We?”

After a quick dip in the pool, we pack up and hit the road. Jak-El is again mesmerized by the portable DVD player (who needs mountains when you’ve got Batman cartoons?), while Dan-El is asleep before we even pull out of the hotel parking lot.

The drive through the Tetons is beautiful, and we see our first wildlife of the journey, some bison by the side of the road. We’re moving right along, as Fozzie and Kermit sang, until…we’re not. A bad motorcycle accident has closed the road, and we’re detoured into a rest area, which thankfully has food. A quick lunch won’t hurt.

A quick lunch turns into two hours of waiting. Finally, the road opens and we’re on our way to Powell, WY, where my family lives.

The drive is beautiful. We drive through the Tetons into Yellowstone and see more bison (or are they buffalo?), waterfalls and a deer. The kids sleep off and on, and we’re making good time until…we’re not. Traffic is stopped because of construction in a quarry they’re blasting because…who knows why? This is insane….road work, in YELLOWSTONE? This is a park? Did bears approve this or something?

















Speaking of bears….should you ever venture into Yellowstone, do not use bear pepper spray as bear repellant. It won’t work. You’ve been warned. Also, don't taunt the buffalo.

We take a detour to see Old Faithful, since we're in the neighborhood. It's….well, it's a geyser. You wait around, water comes up, and then it stops. Worth seeing so you can say you've seen it, but not all that spectacular. The children were more interested in poking at the ground with sticks.


We finally get through Yellowstone, and then Buffalo Bill State Park and then eventually into Powell, WY around 8 pm. The kids are both cranky and tired, Jak-El has a nose bleed and Dan-El is out of sorts. We check into our room at the motel, which told us we had reserved a room with a sitting room and two separate bedrooms. Perfect….except what is really is is an insanely huge one room suite with two double beds, a bar, and two bathrooms, one with a urinal. Yuck. The place is more appropriate for a stag party than a family vacation. We complain and are told we can switch to a regular room in the morning.

It's a good thing, as Dan-El quickly learns how to climb up on to bar, which we were using to store diapers, sippy cups and the like. Yeah, we're party people

Next…meet the family, drinking and things go boom!