Vacation Time!

Good news! Today starts what can probably be considered the best week of the summer. It's McCall vacation week! In just a couple of hours my family and I will be headed to our family cabin in the beautiful town of McCall, Idaho. My mom's grandparents bought this cute little cabin in McCall so that they and their children could have a nice little getaway in the summer. My grandpa spent a lot of time at the cabin when he was young, and when he had his own children, he took them to the cabin every summer. My mom says that she can't remember a summer that she didn't go to the cabin in McCall with her family. Now, three generations later, my siblings and I have never had a summer without the family trip to McCall. It is probably the biggest tradition in my family. There are also lots of little traditions within the tradition of going to McCall. Every time we go to McCall we lay on the dock, build sandcastles, attempt to catch minnows, go hiking, go for drives around the lake, eat breakfast at The Pancake House (best place ever!!), go kayaking/canoeing, eat dinner at Toll Station or Lardo's, drive to Sharley's Point to watch the sunset, take pictures of the view from Sharley's Point, and spend the evenings watching movies and eating ice cream. Going to the cabin isn't what I would call a luxurious getaway. As I said, it's been around for a while. Lots of people in McCall have cabins and they are constantly renovating and making them nicer and more high class. Not the Smith cabin. It's little and old. The hot water doesn't last long and you can't drink the tap water. We have a TV but it's pretty fuzzy and doesn't have too many channels. It smells the same as it probably did when my great-grandparents bought it, and there is no wi-fi to speak of. I think that all of these things make me love the cabin even more. It's like taking a step back to a simpler time where all that really mattered is the people that you were with. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that we abandon our cell phones, lap tops, digital cameras, DVDs, and ipods. We don't. I do feel like they become less important when we are there though. No one has places to go or things that they need to do. We are just there. Together. And for a week, that's all that matters. Just being with the people that we love. My great-grandparents and my grandpa have now passed away, but being at the cabin that they spent so much time at helps me feel like they are a part of the family vacation every year. The cabin is full of pictures, books, certificates, newspapers, paintings, toys, and even clothes that used to be theirs. I never got the chance to really get to know those relatives while they were living, but going to the cabin helps me to feel like I know them on a very personal level. I have come to really appreciate all of the old things in the cabin, and I can't get enough of that old, musty, woodsy smell. The Smith family cabin in McCall is really heaven on earth for me. (I also love it because I can sleep in and I don't have to mow a single lawn) I am so excited for this week!

P.S. Remember how there's no wi-fi? I will get back to you in a week. :)

View from Sharley's Point

Mom and Sam in Great Grandma and Grandpa's hats