Upon Further Review: Family fun better than a quick nine
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Most good Americans enjoyed a well-deserved three-day weekend thanks to Memorial Day. It’s a time to honor those who served our country in the military but it’s also the first true little vacation to spend time with friends and family.
Hoping to spend the day with my family, we made plans to head to Fall Creek Falls. Monday started out a little overcast and a slight chill in the air. But that wasn’t going to stop the Stubblefields from loading up the car with enough food to feed the people of Spencer. There was bottled water, cold drinks, blankets, lawn chairs and umbrellas. Nothing was going to get in the way of having a little fun.
There were balls gloves, soccer balls, Frisbees and yes, I even threw in my golf clubs just in case old dad could sneak off from the family for a couple of hours.
Hoping to get an early start and get on the road by 10:30, we shoved everything in the car and rounded up the kids to head to the great outdoors.
As usual, stops had to be made to pick up a few more things my family thought we might need. I still had high hopes of making my rounds on the links, but as time started to tick away and we still hadn’t left McMinnville at 11:30, I didn’t let it get me down and still figured I could get in nine holes.
Finally we were on our way with everything but the kitchen sink hanging out of the car, on a mission to enjoy ourselves and just relax. I proceeded up highway 8 at a fair rate of speed trying to make up for some lost time — not speeding, but let’s just say I was gaining ground.
As we entered Fall Creek Falls we meet several vehicles leaving the park and I thought to myself maybe it wasn’t going to be as crowded as I had anticipated. It was around 12:30, so I figured we would fine a place to set up our one-day campsite and eat a bite. Golf was still on my agenda.
So we drove around and drove around and I finally figured out why we met so many cars leaving the park. It was full, with people everywhere grilling, playing ball and just taking a nap. So after several laps through the park we finally found and open picnic table with enough space for the Stubblefields to lay out their spread.
By now playing a round of golf wasn’t looking too good, as time was against me. So I said to myself, if I can’t play, I’ll go get a little time in on the driving range.
We unloaded the car, set our chairs up and started to feast on sandwiches, chips and homemade brownies. After stuffing myself with all that food I settled back in my chair and just enjoyed the beauty of the park.
The kids finally got me out of the chair to throw some ball and then talked me into making the rounds to the Falls, horse stables and the ever-popular nature center. I knew I had to do these things; after all, this entire trip was about being with the family. But golf was still in the back of my mind.
After we made our rounds and had enjoyed all that Fall Creek Falls had to offer. I looked down at my watch and it was going on 5 p.m.
Even though I had intended on hitting a few golf balls to fulfill my day, I never made it.
It really didn’t matter, I had spent the day laughing and having fun with my family. And that’s good enough for me.