There were many things I disliked about my summer screwing up.

Mom and dad seemed to have direct connection to some reserve of wanderlust that motivated

them to constantly be in the move every free moment they got.

Being in only child with not much else in the way of family, I was dragged along in

every trip.

Every world largest whatever, you'll ride down the Grand Canyon when one thong crews

that caught their eye.

I'd have to go along.

One of the many anoints that came with these trips was a lack of self-intertainment.

I mean, this was the mid 80s, Nintendo hadn't released the game boy yet, and even if they

had, there's no way Mom and dad would have ever let me have one.

They didn't even like television.

Nothing new to be discovered on the screen, they can't be explored in the real world.

Dad would often say, Mom nodding along with him.

This saw was never failed to produce an irritated sigh or eye roll from little me.

It wasn't until a cruise ship when I was 11, but they finally stopped pressuring me to

tag along on every trip.

At the time, I'd become pretty independent, even to the point where I'd be allowed

to wander a little on my own any time we'd port.

Perhaps in retrospect, allowing me to do so wasn't the wisest choice.

I never paid attention to important details, even when my parents expressed how important

it was to know these things.

...