2022 Summer Vacation

We are well past the age of those long summer vacations we enjoyed in high school, so now, when we have a week off, we cram three months worth of activities into it! I know some people prefer to relax or hang out at home, but that's not us. We are fun chasers to the max! This year we loaded the bikes & floaties in the toy hauler, the dogs & my parents in the truck, & headed out for fun with family.

“Moochdocking: To park on someone’s driveway or land and camp there. ”

We moochdocked the first half of the week at Denny & Kelly's new property at Sacheen Lake, WA. We all had fun boating, floating, fishing & BBQ'ing as family stopped in to see their new home. Feeling his oats, James(JJ) got up on two skis, dropped one & jumped the wake a couple of times. Then he face-planted in the water & re-pulled his injured hamstring. OUCH! See it all on our video at the end of the blog along with Uncle Denny Kicking JJ’s but in a little fishing derby off the dock!

I also aggravated an old injury & couldn't play on our golf day with the family. Six golfers plus myself met up at Serendipity Golf Course in Ione. Nobody else was on the pay-by-honor course this Monday morning, so after depositing our payments, we debated whether to all golf together or to follow the protocol of only four teeing off at once. I seldom break the rules, but this time would have been feasible! However, my uncle convinced us to golf separately & so we did, but nobody ever showed up behind us to complain. Sometimes the rules are meant to be broken!

On Tuesday, JJ & I escaped the family to ride the bikes on forest service roads over the mountains to Priest Lake, ID. We both love the diversity our adventure bikes allow us on the highways & onto the dirt! He mapped out a beautiful excursion, & I packed us a picnic lunch which we enjoyed at the Lake.

We said goodbye to the Kellers on Wednesday & traveled further East over to Idaho. Time for our annual Sullivan Family Summer Campout! This year the Forest Service closed our campground for construction, so we had to scramble for a place to camp. Thankfully The Hidden Gem Resort had room for us all in at their property right on the river! It worked out great for hanging out with everyone.

We put on our bike gear again on Thursday to ride out from camp on another adventure. My mom saw our new summer riding shirts & pants & got snarky, “More new stuff; how much did you spend on that?” I snapped back at her, “We have full-time jobs, Mom; we pay our bills & are allowed to buy things for ourselves!” I usually ignore her digs but felt defensive in front of the entire family. I should ask her sometime how much she spends on cigarettes. LOL, at least I don’t spend money on that! Does anybody else have to contend with parents criticizing their spending habits?

Of course, I’m the only one allowed to complain about my mom. If anybody else does, my protective claws come out! :-) We jumped on the bikes & I left all my drama back at camp. Motorcycle riding is excellent for that; it’s the road, the bike & you. Following the St Joe River, we rode from Saint Maries, ID, to St Regis, MT. The road is mainly paved but changes to deep gravel eventually. Gravel was a new challenge, but the bikes did great & I went up another notch in my experience level.

The St Regis Travel Center has a tremendous gift shop & more important - delicious huckleberry ice cream! We walked around looking at stuff & laughed at how easier it is not to buy anything when you’re on a motorcycle. I did pick up a small gift for my mom though, in case I hurt her feelings. We then quenched our thirst with a beer at the bar before returning to camp.

There was no easy way to get into the water at camp & the river flows faster here than at our usual spot, but JJ & I got in & tied up for a bit of float time. The family usually goes upriver on Friday to float down, but this year we opted to tour Lake Coeur D’Alene on a Pontoon rented from Harrison ID Water Adventures. JJ was our captain & also in charge of the music. Dad loved the adventure & pointed out the floating green he parred at Hagadone’s Coeur D’Alene Golf Resort.

Saturday, we set up our annual cornhole tournament & drew names for partners. Amazingly Brad & Nancy ended up on the same team after cornholing together all year & they swept through the competition to take home the trophy!

Our nine days of summer vacation were exhausting but deeply satisfying. We packed it full of fun, sun, life & laughter, which is how we strive to spend our free time. Here’s our YouTube video capturing a few of our favorite memories:

We combined some of our interests with planned family time in this adventure. Finding a balance is essential & we try to make time for everyone each year, but it IS a challenge. It all comes down to planning it out & then making it happen. We set a date, time & place, send out invites & then GO DO IT! Plan your adventure today! #JACTventures