DADDY'S GIRL: First family vacation leaves all with warm feeling

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August 29, 2008

By Paul Lane<br><a href="mailto:lanep@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Paul</a> The Niagara Gazette Fri Aug 29, 2008, 02:46 PM EDT

SANDUSKY, Ohio — After five days spent mainly in the sun, it became quite evident once again Penny is her mother’s daughter.

A recent camping excursion we took to northern Ohio allowed her — and us — to spend a lot more time than usual in the great outdoors. With the assistance of heavy doses of sunscreen — I think it was rated SPF X-Ray Shield — Penny got quite a nice tan.

I was happy to see this, seeing as the Irish blood that occupies my veins and arteries only gives me the skin tone options of Casper or Clifford. The quality tan means that Penny inherited the Italian skin traits of her mother, which will come in handy should Penny ever want to spend more than 10 minutes outside in the future.

Such was one of several revelations I had while on vacation at Cedar Point, our first substantial family vacation with Penny. We camped for five days with family members and actually survived being away from the computer for nearly a week.

Penny took well to camping, eating up the freedom the outdoors provided. She would spend hours on end wandering around the campsite trying to raid the various burn pits and mud piles, forcing us to race in pursuit like the handlers for the Tasmanian Devil if he downed a 12-pack of Red Bull.

She was also a trooper in the heat, which despite topping 90 degrees some days did not prevent her from taking a single nap. She is like her dad, however, in that most of her sleep sessions ended with the sheets having to be pulled off her sweaty skin.

The car rides there and back proved a bit of a challenge, as Penny didn’t quite understand why she just had to sit there in those restraints for four hours or more. If I remembered the games I invented while keeping her occupied in the back seat, I’d have filed about 25 patents this past week, but overall she did a great job.

One thing I learned during the car rides: No matter how many toys you bring, nothing will replace the amusement your baby gets from the simplest of things. My sunglasses offered endless entertainment as she continuously tested their flexibility, and it was worth the 12 phone calls she made to Pakistan on my cell phone for the joy the phone’s noises provided her.

The theme park didn’t offer many rides Penny could use, but she got a big thrill out of the merry-go-round and antique cars (she would have enjoyed the Snoopy train more, but I was required to seat her next to me as opposed to hold her).

She also got a big kick out the water park, but her favorite part seemed to be meeting the mascots. As I held her between the giant Charlie Brown and Lucy figures, Penny continually tried to climb onto them and pull their masks off while giving them kisses. That offered just the invigoration we needed to get through another physically taxing afternoon.

And the days were tiring — not, I’d like to think, merely because I just turned 30. Penny was incredibly well-behaved throughout the park, but she preferred not to always sit in her stroller, so we spent good portions of the days with her in my arms. The park was great this time, so I can’t imagine how much fun it will provide should we go back in a few years with her little brother or sister.

All in all, Penny’s first big-time vacation was a big success; whether from the sun or any other circumstances, we never once got burned.

Contact editor Paul Laneat 693-1000, ext. 116,or lanep@gnnewspaper.com.

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