Finally a Trip for Summer Vacation
This summer we finally got to go on a vacation and leave our small little village we call home. Between work complications and Covid restrictions, my family hasn’t gotten to take our annual vacation in 3 years!!!
This year we decided to go camping for a week at the place my husband called home while he grew up. This Vacation had a few firsts for my husband and myself but a TON of them for my two boys. None of us have camped for a week before, we rented paddle boards for us all to try and we got to explore all new places with hiking and even seeing a bear! But this story is going to be about a 2 firsts for the kids.
Boating and Tubing
On our side of the lake, we had the campground, town amenities, lots of housing and the popular beach, so we were excited to rent a boat to be able to see the other half of the lake that we were unable to explore. The boys were pretty nervous to go on a boat since they haven’t before. One gets motion sickness so he was afraid of that, and the other was just afraid because he didn’t want to fall in the water. We rented a pontoon boat, so how fast could it really go?
Getting on the boat was the easy part. Once the boat started, now that was where we didn’t know what to expect or how they would react. My youngest was the most nervous and took a bit of time to be ok with not holding on to the edge of the boat, while my oldest had no fear at all once we started to go. They each got a turn to drive after a little bit of time relaxing, which lucky for us was not a busy lake at the time. However, they did a great job and gave them a boost of confidence. Our boat rental came with a tube which we did not expect. It made the trip even more exciting and a second first for them. We picked out a 2 seater so they could have fun together, but again, me being worried on if they will like it or if they would be scared to do it again in the future. We got them in the tube and slowly floated out to begin. With tight grips and scared faces, the boat slowly pulled away.
We started out slow so that they would just have the feel of the tube and the speed. Gradually we increased the speed without them really noticing. After some time they were having a blast and waving at everyone! They just wanted to go faster and faster!! We all enjoyed seeing their smiles and laughs as we spent time driving around the whole lake. Our time was about up to return the boat, so we pulled them in and headed back to the docks. They were a little sad that the excursion was over but as we headed back to shore, with our surprise, they told us that this was the BEST part of the trip!!
For the fun story and images, check out below….
For my twitter story telling I used the 8 point story arc.
- Stasis: Family with 2 kids on a summer Vacation
- Trigger: Renting a boat for the first time
- Quest: Going on the boat and how they will react
- Surprise: Getting a tube we didn’t expect
- Critical Choice: To try to tube or not
- Climax: How are they going to do once they try it
- Reversal: How much they enjoyed tubing
- Resolution: The boys learned that they love to go on boats and tube on the lake
To help create and visualize the story, I added images to help show expressions and emotions that the kids were having. This helps the audience feel or see how they are reacting to each event. This huge event in our lives is something I feel is relatable to all. Maybe not the exact event that we experienced, but EVERYONE goes through having to try new things in their life. I am so happy we got to participate in this super fun activity on our Summer Vacation!!
EXSM 3989 - Digital Storytelling Class Blog 