Hypocrite Seis

When, I was about 11 or 12 my Mom took me on one of my most favorite childhood vacations to Nags Head, NC and the Great Smokey Mountains. It was great because my Dad wasn't there, and my mom let us eat chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.

There were downsides to the vacation. For instance, a seagull pooped in my hair on a ferry to an outer bank island. This was the eighties friends, and I had big poofy hair. Plus, this was an uninhabited island which meant I had to suck up the poop and try to get it out with a towel and be happy with the crust that was much stiffer than the aquanet I was using. Not a great moment for a tween. The tide was so fierce we could hardly swim in the ocean, and my brothers whined all the way up the sand dune at Kitty hawk. BTW, if you throw a tantrum or cry on any vacation or holidayin my family, my mom made sure to take pictures of you. This just made you more pissed off and want to cry more.

As an adult, I berated my Mom about this vacations. Why would she let us feed marshmallows to caged black bears in cages? She had our pictures taken with Cherokee Indians in full head dresses outside of staged tee pees (fyi- the Cherokee neither wore these costumes or lived in tee pees until tourism). Wasn't she politically correct? Wasn't she worried about scarring us?

Nah, it was fun for us, and that is all she cared about. She did later admit feeling sorry for the black bears, but she said that was my brothers favorite part. Now, I realize how hard of a vacation that must have been for her to take, with three kids by herself. How thankful I am to have those memories. I too, have started the cliche tourist trend with my kids. I let them stop by a petting zoo in Gadsden that was in a Food Lion parking Lot on our way to Nocculula Falls (really Peta should have been there it was horrendous and Chato and I felt dirty when we left). We went to the underground lake tour in Tennessee (might as well set that 50 dollars on fire), and this year will venture to the dreaded Alabama State Fair. I am sure the people watching will be great, and the kids will love it, but I might be emotionally scarred afterward. But that my friend is what a Mother does.