Family vacations were a given. Dad usually had a 10-day vacation every summer and the only question was where we would go for the best fishing.
For years we went to Northern Wisconsin, but then Dad decided that those lakes were “all fished out” and we began an annual trek to Northern Minnesota. Naturally a lake which still boasted lots of fish did not have a world-class hotel on its banks. Our home away from home was a rustic cabin minus indoor plumbing, running water or electricity.
Ed’s job was to fill a pail with water several times a day while my job involved cleaning the soot off the glass chimneys of kerosene lamps. We both spent endless hours marooned in a boat while Dad lured fish.
Then, one year, Dad asked if our preference would be to vacation on the East Coast or the West Coast. Excited about the prospect of no water buckets or oil lamps, Ed and I voted enthusiastically for the East Coast. By evening he announced that we would be leaving in 48 hours. It is only with the benefit of my own advancing years that I can begin to appreciate the pressure this put on Mom, but we were on the road as forecast.
There were no water buckets or oil lamps, but we did carry a tent, a cot (for Mom), a charcoal grill (also for Mom) and lots of quilts and comforters for Dad and Ed and me to curl up in. If they had sleeping bags back then, we didn’t have any on that trip.
Dad wanted to return to Virginia, specifically to Norfolk and Newport News from which he had sailed for France during World War I. Ed and I each got to pick one thing we especially wanted to see and do.
Ed picked a visit to Yorktown. He had read there was a house there which had survived the Revolutionary War with a cannon ball (British) still lodged in the eaves. There was. My pick was Mount Vernon which was still undergoing restoration, but was on a beautiful overlook of the Potomac. I don’t remember Mom’s choice, but I’d bet it was finding the shortest and fastest way home.
It was the camping trip from hell! It didn’t rain every night, but there were those nights. Try to find a sheltered place to set up a charcoal grill. Sometimes supper was thinned with rain water. Mom was particularly colorful remembering one night when we camped in Ohio. We were too close to a railroad track which must have been on an hourly schedule, and to a honky tonk where the juke box ground out “Down By the O-hi-O” as the revelers’ song of choice far into the night. Mom could hear that song for years afterward and fight down hysteria.
But I remember the trip and fondly. We were all together. I do know that my idea of roughing it includes a clean bed, a shower, a restaurant and only a reasonable proximity to wilderness.
Liz Ciancone is a retired Tribune-Star reporter.
Liz Ciancone
LIZ CIANCONE: Grueling trips, but we were together
- Liz Ciancone
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LIZ CIANCONE: Courts see a different appearance than cops
Have you ever noticed the transformation between the arrest of an accused lawbreaker and the first appearance in court?
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LIZ CIANCONE: We always want more than we need
Washington seems more preoccupied with the unemployment rate than they are about the constant stalemate. Still with thousands out of work and the unemployment rate hovering somewhere between 7 percent and 9 percent, it does deserve more than a passing nod.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Old age is in email of the beholder
My Best Friend isn’t much for writing letters, so email has opened a new world for him. He can dash off a few words to a high school friend or his college roommate — now living in Florida and Washington State,
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LIZ CIANCONE: A memory test from the oldtime radio days
For some reason, I seem to be the go-to source for all sorts of obscure information out at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Friskey no doubt was in favor of gun control
I once owned a gun. Actually, it was Dad’s gun and I was allowed to use it. He bought an air gun which shot BB’s to protect our home — in a way.
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LIZ CIANCONE: A robin stops to welcome the spring
I saw a robin the other morning. It was not the first robin of spring, of course. A few of the more daring robins had opted to spend the winter and, although they looked pretty sorry about it on a few occasions, it was a fairly mild winter.
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LIZ CIANCONE: The mystery of the small animal mascot
I hope you won’t think I’m picking on small animals, but I’ve been thinking about Easter and the Easter bunny.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Rising up to defend the poor groundhog
I read in the newspaper the other morning that Punxsatawney Phil is being hauled into court and charged with falsely predicting an early spring. I am volunteering my services as counsel for the defense.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Keeping eye out for signs of spring
The problem with expecting a groundhog to predict the arrival of spring is that there are groundhogs scattered all over the country. The Pennsylvania groundhog may not see the same kind of weather as the groundhog out here in Dobbs Park. In this way, false hopes are roused and the groundhog loses credibility as a meteorologist.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Not every other name smells sweet as a rose
It was either Romeo or Juliet who said, “What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
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LIZ CIANCONE: Innocence appreciated when you’re growing up
I grew up rather stupid. I didn’t realize it at the time. Neither did my teachers who seemed to think I had “promise.”
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LIZ CIANCONE: Years along rivers make them feel like home
I’ve been following plans for celebrating “The Year of the River” with interest. Rivers have played such a role in my life that I’ve celebrated a good many rivers. The Wabash River is merely the most recent example.
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LIZ CIANCONE: There are always cat stories to be told
I was asked the other day why I write about dogs I have known, but never about cats. “What’s the matter?” they asked, “Don’t you like cats?”
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LIZ CIANCONE: Sharing the family history
My Grandmother lived with us. Ed and I were eager audiences for her family stories about the Cooks. Mom also shared her memories of growing up with three brothers.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Do we want our privacy or not?
We Americans are a strange bunch. We insist upon our right to privacy, yet we neglect few opportunities to parade our personal business in public.
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LIZ CIANCONE: The low humor of Mickey Mantis
I’m told that a pun is the lowest form of humor. I guess that typecasts me! I love them, but then, I like any type of word play.
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LIZ CIANCONE: For now, justice is served in Bball Hall
News this past week brought justice of a sort. The folks who decide these things have declined to pick anyone to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame this year.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Well, what would you do with only 1 sock?
Let me ask you something.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Movie memories don’t include many of the lengthy variety
There has been lots of reporting lately about how long movies are becoming.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Resist that big ‘let down’ on the day after Christmas
Today is the big day. That makes tomorrow a sort of let down — rather like “What have you done for me lately?”
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LIZ CIANCONE: No thanks to getting mags delivered via the Internet
I am a creature of habit. I like to know what I’m doing and I need to know how to do it. That’s why I am annoyed when corporate America seems determined to drag me, kicking and screaming into the age of Internet.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Everyone has a favorite holiday
I suppose everyone has a favorite holiday. My guess is that, for most of us, that holiday is Christmas. It's a holiday with a miracle no matter how old we get.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Christmas season puts time back into focus
It’s a funny thing about time. It can speed along so that you cannot believe that your kids can possibly be old enough to have good sense, or it can drag its heels while you wait for that first grandchild or while you are saving up for something really special.
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LIZ CIANCONE: The bottom line is what drives ‘Black Friday’ sales
Why is it called "Black Friday"?
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LIZ CIANCONE: Have we lost the meaning of holiday?
I’ve been considering a lost-and-found ad to see if anyone knows what’s happened to Thanksgiving.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Magic is always there with live theater
I’m a pushover for live theater. But movies? Not so much. For me it’s like the difference between canned peas and those picked fresh from the garden. Movies even COME in cans.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Maybe the Cubs will win it all next year
I was relieved to have the World Series ending before the snow flies. Heck, it didn’t even last into November this year.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Holiday decorating better when personal, simple
I fear that I am becoming an old poop!
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LIZ CIANCONE: Surprises from mail worth the extra penny
I understand that the cost of pursuing my hobby will be going up by a penny come the year 2013.
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LIZ CIANCONE: No pet costumes for this Halloween
Ed and I were old enough to know better, but we got our laughs in a rather cruel way. We caused Lady, the family collie, a lot of chagrin by dressing her up in “people clothes.”
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Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
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China, Others Want What's Under the Arctic Ice
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$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
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Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
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Woman tricked into taking abortion pill
Emma Watson Goes Pantless
IRS scandal: Republicans seek to tie Obama to agency's woes
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Top Videos of the Week: Angry Taco Bell Guy, Glacier Moves on House, Dog Hates Baths
Cindy Crawford Stuns At Cannes
Raw: Marines Come to Obama's Aid in the Rain
CUTE: Monkey shares lollipop with dog, then HITS pooch on head with it
Miranda Kerr Looks Sexy in a Bikini Photo Shoot
