I keep seeing the trailer for the new movie called The Way Way Back, a coming of age story that takes place during a teenager’s summer vacation and it’s taking me way, way back to one of my family trips as a teen…
Why do parents always think road trips are going to be fun? It’s like they have this dreamy idea of how a family vacation is going to be without thinking logically about the reality of it until they are smack in the middle of nowhere trapped in a car full of cranky family members.
My mother, like any hopeful parent, had this very idea, and in the Summer of 1987, packed us up in the car and headed to the Oregon coast.
Except that we lived in California, so a road trip to Oregon was about two full days in the car. And this particular car was carrying me, about 12 years old at the time and already angsty, my 6 year old brother who never managed a car trip even thirty minutes without puking, my 70 year old Nana, with a 3-pack a day smoking habit, and my mom’s boyfriend at the time, who of course, I despised {though in all honesty I quite liked and respected, but I didn’t want anyone to know that of course, I was 12}.
The car, a small sedan, was not even close to big enough for all the personalities within it, and there were no smart phones or devices to keep us from killing each other.
my mom’s boyfriend and I
And we were off. And about 45mins into the trip we had to pull over to let my brother projectile vomit his two bowls of cereal while Nana took a smoke break. Nana had shotgun privileges most of the time while my mom’s boyfriend drove, sharing his vast knowledge of anything he may have seen along the way, as if we cared. My mom sat in the backseat with my brother and I, who had only travel Checkers and a few travel style board games to keep us busy, but they weren’t enough.
After what seemed like a week of driving in the car, we finally pulled into a cheap motel for the night with two adjoining rooms. One room for Nana and another room for the rest of us. Except Nana wasn’t happy and would sneak cigarettes in her non-smoking room, as if no one could smell it. Needless to say, none of us got enough sleep to keep us bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for another day-long car ride the following day to the Oregon coast.
the always stylish Nana, in a foul mood, smoking
But we finally made it. And as we arrived, realized my uncle and aunt, their two boys and infant daughter had already set up home on the campground with their RV and tents. This was going to be interesting. We all embraced and said our hellos and then got busy setting up our own sleeping stations. Oh camping. I can’t remember if I shared a tent with my mom or my grandma but all I can remember is that I wanted to go home.
Of all the places I could have imagined going that Summer as a know-it-all bratty tween, a family vacation that consisted of sleeping in tents and hanging out with my mom’s boyfriend, my Nana, and my Uncle and a bunch of little kids, was not my idea of a fun Summer. I was cranky and bored and wanted to see my friends, or at least people my own age to have fun with.
Uncle Bob
And then someone mentioned there was some sort of communal recreation room on the camp ground… so I wandered over. And when I opened the door, it was like my Summer vacation dreams had come true. The room was filled with girls and boys between the ages of 11-14 playing pool and ping pong, and just doing what young adults do, chatting and acting like they’re grown-ups.
I was thrilled. I had found my people! And by the end of the day, left the rec room with a major crush on one of the boys. This vacation just went from horrible to fantastic in a matter of hours. I spent the rest of the trip getting “cute” and hanging out in the rec room to spend time with my new crush. Of course nothing happened because we were only 12 and only there for a few days but that rec room and that boy turned my frown upside down. And as we were packing up to leave, I didn’t want to go. And not just because of the thought of that two-day car ride again, I was actually having fun.
Road trips still aren’t my cup of tea, but I think on this awkward family Summer vacation I learned to just sit back and enjoy the ride because there is always some kind of a silver lining on the other side.
Note: my mom sent me all these photos via text last night 😉
THE WAY WAY BACK opens July 5 in select theaters!
* Official website | The Way Way Back movie
* Like The Way, Way Back on Facebook
* Follow @TheWayWayBack on Twitter #TheWayWayBack
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