Family reunions. This is the time of year for get-togethers, and my family just had ours in North Dakota. Yep, you betcha, North Dakota – the motherland of the mid-west. It was a miraculous, magical, fun, eventful and engaging time!
Below is a quick bullet of the families that came and their round trip mileage:
Sacramento, CA to Dickinson, ND ………..
3,210 miles
Seattle, WA to Dickinson, ND……………2,074 miles x 3 trips
Chicago, IL to Dickinson, ND……………..1,946 miles x 2 trips
Colorado Springs, CO to Dickinson, ND…...1,362 miles
Fayetteville, AR to Dickinson. ND…………..2,236 miles
Highmore, SD to Dickinson, ND……………642 miles
Pittsburgh, PA to Dickinson. ND…………....2,798 miles
Kalamazoo, MI to Dickinson, ND…………..2,150 miles
Killdeer, ND to Dickinson, ND …………….34 miles x 62 trips
That, and more, totaled our family reunion – the getting there, the in-between, and the going home. Over 25,600 miles and $5,255 in gasoline costs. It took something for the entire family to be there; and I am grateful that all could afford the trip as so many families are cutting back or creating new-close-to-home family vacations this year due to such high gas prices. Throw in the lodging, meals, entertainment – ok, we didn’t have to pay for entertainment as going to The Farm had no entry fee whatsoever. Who cares that my grandparents sold their farmland 30 years ago and they themselves “transitioned” in 1986? We all showed up and pulled into that scoria covered driveway and walked through many of the old 160 acre homestead, just as we had when we were kids. Possession is 9/10’s of the law indeed. (Show up, and if the current owners raise a ruckas, why, a girl just simply asks for forgiveness.)
Here is to cursing gas prices teetering at $4 a gallon. On the other hand, here is to the gas which propels the vehicles in getting the entire family together again for a great time of love and laughter!
Be in the Driver’s seat,
Anne
