A Long Family Errand: The Trip Waaay Past Bountiful - Part I

I was given the task of coordinating the Family Reunion for summer of 2010. Many have said it would be fun to have it at Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake; we have done this several times through the last 35 or so years, so it was agreed that it would be nostalgic and fun to have it there again. The last time we did my Grandson Joshua was a baby, and he turned 12 in April. The family was a whole lot smaller 12 years ago - the people who were teens or just coming into adulthood then are now full adults and most are parents several times over. I don’t know how many we have in our family, but it is said to be in the neighborhood of 200. (If anyone has this completely figured out, please bring us up to date). And this is just for the offspring of Victor and Elinor!

First of all we had to decide on a date. I forgot to bring along my dentist pliers so the pulling teeth thing to get preferences was out; but I finally got a smidgen of agreement. Someone said not before June 20 – too cold, I think; and several of us were concerned about sweltering heat, but this year has not been too bad. Grandma Nor was worried about being cold – at 93, she doesn’t stay as warm as she used to. So, it looked like it would be between June 20-ish and the middle of September. That’s a lot of wiggle room. Oh, and it had to be a Saturday. Sunday doesn’t work for many because of their church, and many work weekdays. So, Saturday works, I guess. But since no one else stood up and said, “I want it on THIS DATE”, and I was the one doing the ‘planning,’ I got to choose. And I chose August 14. Whew! OK, that was pretty easy. Kinda.

I was cautioned to hurry up and make the reservations as early in the year as possible, as the spots fill up quickly. So, I started on the Internet about the second week of January. I can create blogs, I can work a spreadsheet, presentations, and even a little bit of database. I can even poke around a bit on Facebook, but when it comes to a new site, I stab around and get frustrated and it isn’t a pleasant time. I also usually swear several times. So, in my inept way I made 2 or 3 attempts at the Internet. I didn’t know what I was even looking for.

But Eureka! I finally found a phone number. There was a bit of waiting in queue, so I decided to call back later. Then I promptly forgot for a few days. I finally remembered to call again, waited in the queue, and it wasn’t too bad. The person was friendly, but kept talking about camping, camping. I told her we don’t want to camp, we just want to reserve a space for a day – in the daytime - for a family reunion. She didn’t quite understand what I needed and I didn’t know what she was talking about. Finally, she said she thought she knew what I wanted, and said there was another number I needed to call that took care of the area I was talking about.

So I called the number she gave me and I got a recorded message. The message said if I was interested in reserving a spot, I should leave my information, and they would call back “when possible.” What does that mean?

So, I left my name and number, sending out positive vibes that they would find it ‘possible’ to call me back. I waited a week and had no return call, so I called again, got the same voicemail, left a similar message. Again no return call. Again I waited. I called a week or so later, left the message; same result. This was clearly not working. And Gayle (Maynard) told me she had been out there and things were very different than when we were last there, and the water is way low. I decided I needed to see it and maybe go to the visitors’ center or something, see if I could make arrangements while there. I could see that Roni and I would need to go out on another adventure! (I have learned that just going to the store with Roni is an adventure. We still connect on the same giggly level that we did when she was four and I was seven, or when she was 13 and I was 16).

Love you all

Victoria

Next time: The Adventure: Or, how not to drive 30 miles away from home.