what would you do?

Scene out my front door as I type this -
it was so crazy cold today there was
 talk about closing the schools.
 But then they realized that
it is going to be colder next week.

Recently I started thinking about summer.  I mean, shit, it is crazy cold here in the Windy City and it snows every damn chance it gets - but it usually only starts when I have places to be, so that's cool.  Come on summer, get here . . . but first, I need to devise a final travel plan.

There are just so many damn layers to this travel/vacation/who-should-I-please/who-will-I-upset plan.  My mind keeps tossing the various options around.  Help!  Please!

When I called Yellowstone on May 1st 2018 to reserve cabins for July of 2019, the guy that answered the phone was enjoying his first day on the job.  I was in a hurry.  I didn't want the best cabins to be snatched out from under me and almost lost my mind as the guy was fumbling around and asking his co-workers to help him with my reservation.

I don't remember all of the specifics.  I just know that I grabbed like 3 cabins for one week at Roosevelt and 2 cabins for a week at Canyon.  Then, life as we know it resumed for the next 9 mos.

Last week, I started to try to map out who is going to Yellowstone and when.  My mapping began with the basic FACTS: 

Vancouver look s amazing!

1.  Curly dances in National Championships in Vancouver this year on July 3rd.  (last year that competition was in Orlando - you remember the awesomeness of me leaving a bag in a cab, right?). At one point we considered Curly and I heading to Yellowstone right from Vancouver to meet up with the rest of the family members who would drive there, but that won't work with the dance schedule.  Plus, hello!  MapQuest it - these locations are not close enough to piggyback on each other.  How was this ever a thought?


2.  When the Yellowstone topic arose, Coach told me that he needed to check on his work schedule to see if any of his employees needed the same days off.  Huh?  Apparently he forgot that he swore off this trip. Shhh!  Don't remind him.  I am happy not to have to recruit another driver.

3.   The parish mission trip is July 7-11th.  Unfortunate, but this can be missed.  My kids attend the years that it works.

4.  The dates I was begging for all week finally came in a text from Eddie.  The club invitational where the kids caddy was scheduled for July 11-13th.  This was very, VERY bad news.  The kids not only make bank here, but Coach thinks that the caddy master relies on his caddies and to have 3 of them out of town would not be a good thing (this is assuming that Lad and Ed would stay back and  caddy and Tank, Mini, and Reg would do Yellowstone - Curly would too, but she isn't a caddy.  Yet).

5.  The week we would like to be in Yellowstone is July 10-17th.  Yikes.

6.  Mr. New Kid on the Block who set up my reservation has me staying a week in one place and a week in the other, but July 17th - we stay NO WHERE.  Camping on that one night to bridge the gap would not work because the only campground near Roosevelt does not take reservations.  Wait in line at the campground at 5 am and there are no guarantees.

7.  Laddie is going to be in Yellowstone over spring break as he is going to see his best friend from high school who goes to Montana State.  Lad texted me this week to say that he isn't interested in going back to Yellowstone, why couldn't we just pick another place that we all want to go to?  I texted back and asked him not to think of it as a family vacation.  That was never the plan.  It was a 'who-wants-to-go-can-hop-in-the-great-white-when-it-leaves-on-such-and-such-date' trip.

8.  My dad doesn't want to go if we stay at Canyon.  Staying at Roosevelt is the best spot to stay at if you want to the best hopes of seeing wildlife.

OPTIONS:

1.  Cancel Yellowstone and take all of the kids to Vancouver, July 3rd - 9th.  Call it a family vacation.  I am already buying flights for the girls and I (Mini doesn't dance, but is a fine cheerleader and has proven helpful).  I just checked out some books at the library on things to do/hikes, etc near Vancouver.  This would be more expensive as it is too far too drive, and cabins at Yellowstone are quite reasonable.  Flights are around $386.  Not a place we are likely to travel again.

2.  Have 3 younger kids skip the caddy tournament and go to Yellowstone and stay in Roosevelt.

3.  Go to Yellowstone July 18-24th and just stay in Canyon.  Travel dates would work for the caddies.  Dad might decide not to come.

4.  Reschedule Yellowstone AGAIN.  Hope to get good dates, a good employee reservation-ist, and cabins at Roosevelt.

I have to admit that as much as my father has hurt my feelings lately (oh, this has not even made it to a blog post, but maybe it will at some point), I don't want to disappoint him.  It is an old habit kind of thing.  No matter  how many times I get kicked, I guess I subconsciously keep thinking - this will be the time that we connect, that I do something right, etc.

On the flip side of that, I wonder if I cancel Yellowstone - am I doing it because my dad ticks me off so regularly.  Hard to know what the motivator would be here.

If I wait to do Yellowstone until next year, will Dad be healthy enough to travel.  (He is 78 and he has chronic leukemia).  Will Dad be alive?  Will I be able to get reservations that don't totally suck - worse than the ones we have now?

HELP!!!  PLEASE.  OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.  (Including places to see in Vancouver if you have been there - looking more for outdoorsy stuff vs. museums.  One of the books mentioned whale watching.  How cool would that me?)