The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation - 4. Together Again

Once the weekend of the Fourth was behind us, the rest of July began to pass in anonymity. Frankie’s birthday was coming up at the end of the month, but he was reluctant about having the family come to his place to celebrate it with him. He told me that he was scheduled to work that weekend and wouldn’t be able to spend much time with us, so he suggested an alternative. He said he would be off from work the second weekend in August and would come home at that time, so we could celebrate his birthday then. This way, he’d also be able to spend time with his older siblings, their spouses and his nieces and nephews, before they returned home from vacation. That’s because once our trip was concluded, my older children were going to stay at the house with us for a few more days, so I thought Frankie’s idea would work splendidly and agreed we’d see him then.

As the rest of us awaited the arrival of my oldest children and their families, we finished our preparations for their visit and our upcoming trip. Since I generally only have the opportunity to get together with them during the holidays, taking these vacations together provides me with another chance to enjoy their company. I’m eagerly looking forward to being with them again and spending some time with my grandchildren.

I have been keeping in touch with them and am happy to report that they are all doing fine. My two oldest grandsons are in high school now, with Jordan set to be a sophomore in the fall and Nicky a freshman. Jordan is currently about six feet tall, has jet-black hair, hazel eyes and is doing very well with his schoolwork. He also plays football, basketball and baseball, and will be trying out for the J.V. teams this year. Nicky is slightly shorter, at 5’ 10”, and has blond hair and blue eyes, although his hair is starting to darken slightly. He is also doing well with his class work and will be trying out for the soccer and lacrosse squads this year.

It is sometimes difficult for me to appreciate that these two are growing up, because there are moments when I still think of them as the little boys who spent so much time with us when they were younger. However, during the intervening years, each one has developed into a fine young man, which makes me very proud. I know they will both do well in life, no matter what careers they decide to pursue.

My other grandchildren are also doing well. Megan will be in fifth grade, Kylie in first and Lucas in pre-school. He won’t be old enough to start kindergarten for another year. I do have some regrets that I haven’t been able to spend as much time with them, as I had with the older pair, but this was partially due to the temporary estrangement I endured with their parents. It was unfortunate that my older children overreacted and refused to have anything more to do with us after they discovered Jake and I were together. This kept me from seeing my grandchildren until their parents were willing to accept me for who I am. Since we’ve reconciled, the situation has improved greatly, so I will now be doing my best to make it up to my grandchildren, especially the three younger ones. They were either too young or not yet born when Jordan and Nicky would spend part of their summers with us, but I hope I’ll be able to rectify that situation and do the same with them now.

Since I’ve gotten to know the three younger ones better, I’ve discovered that Megan is an intriguing young lady. She is petite, like her mother, but inherited her ebony hair and brown eyes from her father. I can also tell that she has recently begun her trek through puberty, since her breasts are starting to develop and her body is beginning to take on more womanly curves. I’m certain this development will keep her parents busy, especially her father. He will be doing all he can to keep one eye on her, so he can hold the young men at bay. I suspect he will allow her to have some contact with the opposite sex, but will restrict these encounters to supervised functions. This will be his attempt to prevent her from being placed in circumstances where she might be tempted to make questionable decisions, which could affect the rest of her life.

Kylie is also adorable, with light-brown hair and very pale blue eyes, but she is still a little girl. She is extremely energetic, which means she is already quite a handful, as her parents, brother and cousins will attest. She is also very outgoing and not shy about joining in activities with the older ones, no matter if they’re just playing a game or engaged in some rough and tumble activity. I have noticed that Kylie is quite tough and unlikely to cry if she gets banged up slightly or even hurt worse than that. I would venture to guess that she’ll eventually end up being an athlete, following in the footsteps of her brother and cousin.

Last, but certainly not least, is Lucas. He is currently the baby of the family, but only in years. He has raven hair and hazel eyes, like his father, and is built more broadly than Joshie. I really get a kick out of watching those two when they go outside to shoot hoops, play catch or just roughhouse with each other. The best part, however, is that they are also becoming very good friends.

As I was sat in the family room and awaited their arrival, I spotted the first car pulling into our driveway. It was shortly before noon, on the first Saturday in August, when I recognized Michael and his clan getting out of their vehicle. Elizabeth and her family showed up a couple of hours later, with Marie’s brood arriving about an hour after that, and then our straggler, Robert, joined us shortly before dinner.

Once we’d had a chance to greet everyone and get caught up on what they’d been up to, I took them out to eat. When we returned home after our meal, we settled in and spent the rest of the evening just chatting, relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.

While the older group was in the family room talking, the younger ones were finding other places to congregate - where they could do their own thing. In particular, I noticed that Jordan and Nicky went off to spend their time with Jesse, Andrew and Little Ricky, while Joshie was having a ball playing with Megan, Kylie and Lucas. I was pleased to see they had each found someone they could relate too and were getting along so well. This is how it stayed until their parents sent them off to bed, but they would be able to pick up where they left off tomorrow.

After getting a good night’s sleep, I took everyone to church the following morning. This is a longstanding family tradition that everyone is used to taking part in. I believe that most of them actually look forward to doing this, because it gives those returning home a chance to see and talk to members of the congregation that they have known for years. It also provides them with an opportunity to show off their families, but I think they look forward to and enjoy attending the service as a family, as well.

Once the final benediction had been given, we made our rounds quickly, so we could head home. We weren’t going out for brunch today, as we normally would, because we were having a cookout at the house. This little gathering was planned to serve two purposes. First, I had invited the extended family to join us, so they could also get to spend time with my older children and grandchildren. Second, we were going to use this little get together to celebrate Kevin’s twenty-sixth birthday, which just happens to be today.

Shortly after we arrived at the house, Jake and I began getting everything ready, with the assistance of several of the others. While Jake fired up the grills, the rest of us carried the other items out to the picnic tables. Before long, everything was set up and the meat was beginning to sizzle above the open flames

While we were getting things ready, the younger group was busily organizing a kickball game. Andrew had dug out an old playground ball from one of the closets and then made certain it was inflated properly. After he was convinced it was going to hold up, he took it outside to begin their game. The boys had decided to play kickball, instead of football, so even the younger kids could participate. After quickly dividing up into teams, they started their game, while the rest of us watched. They were really getting into this activity and having a great time, but we had to make them stop when Jake started taking the meat off the grill. Knowing it was time to eat, they all rushed toward the picnic tables and started filling up their plates.

“Papa, did you watch us?” Lucas asked, as he approached my location.

Since he had just turned four in May, this was his first opportunity to play in one of the family games.

“Indeed I did, little guy, and it looked as if you were doing very well,” I replied.

“Yeah, and it was fun playing with the big kids,” Lucas added, beaming.

Seeing this made some of the others chuckle slightly.

“I’m sure it was and I think you’ll probably be doing a lot more things like this in the future,” I agreed.

“I got on base every time,” Lucas boasted.

However, the rest of us knew it was only because the older ones had intentionally missed when they threw the ball, when attempting to get him out.

“I saw that and was very impressed,” I confirmed.

My comment brought a huge grin to Lucas’ face and it was nice to see him so pleased about being included and doing so well.

Throughout the meal, I got to chat with my other grandchildren too and they were also eager to tell me about the game.

“We took it easy on the little kids,” Jordan informed me, when he and Nicky came over to chat.

“Yeah, it is only fair, since our uncles used to do that for us too, when we were younger,” Nicky added.

“So you finally figured that out, did you?” I teased, which brought grins to both of their faces.

“Not at first,” Jordan confirmed, “but we did when we got older. It made us feel really good competing with the bigger guys, but we ended up paying for it later.”

I made a face, which was meant to indicate that I didn’t understand what he was referring to.

“Once they knew we understood what they were doing,” Nicky added, “they stopped giving us any breaks and treated us just like the others. Sometimes it really stung when they’d hit us with the ball.”

After he said that, he thought back to one of those times and instinctively rubbed a spot on his rear. Jordan and I both laughed at his impromptu reaction, before the two boys went back to rejoin the others.

The girls were sticking close to each other as well and came over to speak with me a short time later.

“I see my two princesses had a good time playing kickball with the boys,” I began, when they got close enough.

“Yes, it was fun,” Megan responded, “but I think Kylie and I are just going to spend the rest of the day together. We have to be around our brothers enough at home, so we’re just going to hang out without them.” Kylie nodded in agreement.

“That sounds fine to me,” I confirmed. “Joshie can entertain Lucas, so the two of you can go off and do whatever you want.”

The two girls smiled and thanked me for agreeing to this, and then quickly ran into the house, so they could get away from the others.

While the younger ones had been playing their game, and even while we ate, their parents and older uncles were spending their time chatting with their aunts and Uncle Steve. I was pleased that my older children were also referring to Mark’s mother as Aunt Susan and Jesse’s mother as Aunt Alice. This made each of the women feel special and brought them even closer to those they haven’t previously had an opportunity to spend much time with.

Of course, the eldest group didn’t ignore Aunt Mary or Aunt Sally when they did this. Instead, they went out of their way to make certain each of them was included in the things they were discussing as well, so no one felt slighted.

As the afternoon progressed, I felt it was time for us to acknowledge this was Kevin’s special day too. After bringing out his cake, we sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and he blew out the candles. Once that was out of the way, we all enjoyed a piece of his cake, along with a scoop or two of ice cream. As Kevin’s party began to wind down, it was apparent my grandchildren were growing bored, so I thought we should do something to correct this situation.

“Okay, I think it’s time we showed you kids some of the games we used to play when we were younger,” I said, as I swept my arm around to point at Jake, Steve, Mary, Sally, Susan and Alice.

“Oh, this is gonna be lame,” I heard Jordan whisper to Nicky.

“What are we going to do? There aren’t any dinosaurs around for us to ride on or play with,” Nicky teased in response.

“I heard that and we’re not that old,” I chided, in a half-hearted manner, which caused both boys to giggle.

“The games we used to play might be simpler, but they can be fun too,” I told them, as the others nodded. We then proceeded to play Simon Says, Red Rover, Red light – Green light and Duck, Duck, Goose with the kids, before we got tired and quit. Even though these activities were throwbacks to an earlier time, the younger ones seemed to enjoy playing them. Even Jordan and Nicky were okay with what we did and seemed to relish the opportunity of ganging up on us old farts in the process. Besides, they knew if they didn’t gripe about what we were doing now, then we’d find other things to do later in the week, which would be more fun for them. In the end, we all got plenty of exercise, while making certain that a different grandchild won each of the activities.

Once the extended family had departed, I encouraged the others to get some sleep. I informed them that we’d be leaving early the following morning and I wanted them to be well rested, so they’d be able to enjoy the things we were going to do. Although I’m not sure they would all be going to sleep right away, everyone eventually said good night and settled in to his room.

As soon as we were alone, I went over the details of the trip with Jake, one more time, to make certain we hadn’t forgotten anything. The idea for this year’s vacation came from Jordan and Nicky’s parents, although I also shared this information with Jake, Dion and Trey. I wanted to be certain this was something they’d be interested in doing as well, and after getting their input and approval, I made the necessary arrangements. Unfortunately, Kevin, Danny and Brandon won’t be going with us, because they all have to work, and Vinnie didn’t want to go without Kevin.

Now, after a few minutes of careful consideration, Jake and I concluded that everything was set, including our transportation. You see, we had previously spent quite a bit of time debating about how we were going to get to our destination this year. This was due to the fact that the only large vehicle we still owned was the new Suburban, which I had traded the old one in for a few months before. I felt it was important we kept one large vehicle, so we could accommodate the boys when they returned home. For the most part though, we don’t use the Suburban very often and mainly rely on the cars.

Dion and Trey have their own automobile, which they use it to get back and forth to work and to go places with Joshie. Danny, Brandon, Kevin and Vinnie also have their own vehicles, because their work schedules don’t match, or they don’t work near any of the others, so they each need a way to get back and forth as well. Jake and I also have our own car, which Jake uses to drive back and forth to work, but we also uses it when just the two of us are going somewhere or when only Jesse and Joshie are with us.

Since we no longer have the types of vehicles that would be appropriate to transport such a huge group in, we decided to rent a large passenger van and use it in conjunction with the Suburban. In fact, it was already parked in the driveway, because Jake had dropped me off to pick it up after church, earlier in the day. Now, we could go to sleep, secure in the knowledge that everything had been taken care of.

The following morning, once everyone was up and ready, we loaded into the two vehicles. Jake and I offered to take all of the younger ones with us in the Suburban, so their parents could have some time away from them and be able to enjoy some peace and quiet. We also had a DVD player in the Suburban, which the kids could use to entertain themselves, so the others quickly agreed with our suggestion, with one exception. Robert, the biggest kid and my only unmarried biological child, quickly announced that he wanted to ride with us, so he could spend time with his nieces and nephews. When none of the others objected, we agreed and divided up accordingly.

Jake offered to drive the first leg of the trip, so I could make sure everyone was settled in. I really didn’t have to do very much, since Robert was taking care of most of it for us, such as getting them to agree on what they were going to do first. The younger ones wanted to watch a movie, so Jordan, Nicky, Jesse, Andrew and Little Ricky agreed that would be fine with them too. The younger ones chose ‘Cars’ from our collection and were now glued to the screen.

The older boys quickly became bored watching the movie and came up with their own activity to help them pass the time. It was a little game we used to call ‘punch bug,’ but since there aren’t as many VW beetles on the road now, the game is now played using any VW model. The game works like this. You get to punch one of the others in the arm anytime you see a VW and all you have to do is call out the color, so it can be verified. If you’re wrong, then the recipient gets to hit you twice, for mistakenly hitting him once. It’s not the best of games, because it can lead to some overzealous punching, which can then result in even more energetic retribution. However, it did keep the boys from whining about being bored.

Although Robert tried to distribute his punches evenly amongst the five boys, Little Ricky, Andrew, Jesse, Jordan and Nicky all chose to use Robert as their punching bag. This was fine for a while, until Robert realized what they were doing. After being punched yet again by Jesse, he decided to address his concerns.

“Why are you guys all ganging up on me?” Robert whined.

“Cuz you’re the biggest!” Nicky answered, with a smug expression on his face.

“And because we don’t see you that often,” Jordan added, while trying to suppress a giggle.

“So that’s why you are making me your primary target?” Robert countered.

“That and because Dad said you deserved everything we give you,” Jesse responded.

“What?” Robert screamed.

He then leaned forward and glared at me. Seeing he had reacted so strongly, I thought I should clarify the situation.

“That’s not exactly what I said,” I explained. “I merely told Jake that when you start acting like a little kid, you deserve everything that happens to you.”

I quickly discovered my explanation hadn’t placated him, because Robert was now sticking his tongue out at me. The others merely ignored what Robert was doing, but they were eager to keep him on their hook.

“So this is your punishment for wanting to ride with us,” Andrew concluded, just before he yelled, “Black!” and punched Robert in the arm again.

The six of them continued their game until we stopped for a quick bite to eat. We decided it would be best to do this before we reached our final destination. Once we were inside and our orders had been taken, Jordan and Nicky began to plead with me to tell them where we were going.

“You know I don’t like to do that,” I replied, “but I will say that it’s something your parents suggested.”

My statement confused them momentarily, but then they turned away from me and confronted their mothers and fathers.

“Okay, where are we going?” Jordan asked, somewhat annoyed.

“Well,” Michael began, “when I called Marie and Adrian to discuss ideas for our vacation together, I discovered an interesting little tidbit. I found out they had also watched ‘America: The Story of Us’ with Nicky, the same way we had watched it with you. After we talked about how each of you had really shown an interest in the program, we decided to make it part of our plans. We called up your grandfather and made a suggestion. We recommended he should make arrangements for us to visit some very special places, which he had taken the four of us to when we were younger.”

“So we’re going to be going to places that have been around for like fifty years,” Nicky stated.

“Watch your tongue, you little devil,” his mother chided. “Only your grandfather is that old, but it’s been around since he was a boy too.”

“Oh, great!” I complained. “So now I’m as old as our Founding Fathers?”

“Pretty much,” Robert sneered, “and that’s your punishment for what you do to us.”

After saying this, he stuck his tongue out at me again and then laughed, along with the others.

“So where are you taking us?” Jordan pressed, even more annoyed and perplexed. His father merely laughed.

“Dad, was I like this when I was his age?” Michael asked.

“Worse!” I answered, while sticking my tongue out at him.

“Damn! Then I’m surprised you didn’t strangle me,” Michael teased back.

“I can’t say I wasn’t tempted at times,” I joked in return.

“I can see why. I know I’m about ready to kill Jordan, especially when he’s like this,” Michael added, which caused Jordan to punch his father in the arm.

“Just tell me where we’re going,” Jordan pleaded.

“Okay, don’t start crying,” Michael responded, tongue-in-cheek. “We’re going to Valley Forge. Do you guys remember what that is?”

“Yeah, it’s where George Washington spent the winter with his army,” Nicky answered, before Jordan could.

I think that was because Jordan was too busy trying to think of a way to get back at his father instead.

“Yes, it was during the winter of 1777 to 1778,” Michael answered.

“I’m impressed. You did pay attention when we went there before,” I joked.

My comment caused Michael to flick the back of his hand under his chin. I think he wanted to give me the finger, but decided it would be best not to do that in front of the kids.

“Okay, Dad. I’ll let you fill them in on the rest,” he added, while giving me a dirty look.

“Why don’t we wait and do that once we get there,” I offered, while pointing behind them.

This caused the others to look in that direction, where they discovered a small collection of people moving in our direction. It was our servers, along with several reinforcements, carrying out the trays containing our food.

While we were eating, we chatted about many other things, but Jordan and Nicky were busy trying to figure out what we were going to see there. They had the impression there wouldn’t be much there, except snowy fields, but not at this time of year. Once we finished our meals, we loaded back into the vehicles and drove the final leg to our destination.

When we reached Valley Forge, we drove directly to the Visitor Center. There, we saw an audio-visual presentation about the site and we walked around the building after we viewed it, so we could investigate the items they had on display. It is also when I filled the kids in about this stop.

“As you saw on the video, Washington brought his army here after the British took control of Philadelphia. He figured his army could keep the British raiding parties in check and prevent them from carrying out attacks around the countryside. Unfortunately for Washington and his troops, the winter turned out to be much worse than they expected. Since very few of Washington’s soldiers were dressed appropriately for the cold weather and the supplies were inadequate, the winter took its toll. The army eventually used up all the food they had with them and were then forced to cope as best they could. It is rumored that some of the soldiers even roasted their boots or ate bark off of trees, just so their bellies would feel as if they had something in them.”

“Wow, that sucks,” Nicky commented. “You mean they were fighting to free the country, but no one brought them any food to eat or heavy clothes to wear?”

“I’m afraid that’s exactly what happened,” I answered. “You see, not everyone was in favor of the rebellion, so some of the states were slow to contribute their fair share to support the troops. This meant the ones putting their lives on the line to gain independence were also the ones who ended up suffering the most.”

“So not everyone wanted to be free?” Jesse asked, as he got caught up in the discussion as well.

“Many of the colonists still had family members living in England or had other ties to Britain, such as business connections, which they still valued,” I explained. “For those reasons, they didn’t want to take up arms against the British army. Since not everyone was willing to fight for independence, the southern colonies fell very quickly and the northern colonies were left to bear most of the burden of winning the war.”

“So who was that Baron guy they talked about in the movie?” Megan asked next.

“He was a Prussian military officer, which means he came from Germany,” I explained. “He helped to train and drill the troops, once the weather began to improve. This was very important, because many of the soldiers had never had any training, so in the long run it helped that the army had time to drill here under Baron von Steuben.”

Once we finished our little discussion, we took the bus tour of the area. The first stop was to see some of the re-created huts the soldiers spent the winter in.

“They lived in these, Papa?” Joshie wanted to know. “They’re not very nice and there’s no windows, just a door. “

“They built these huts when they first arrived and only intended for the structures to protect them from the snow and bitter winds,” I answered. “Unfortunately, the winter was much harsher than they had anticipated and they ended up staying here longer than they first intended.”

I could tell the kids were having a hard time believing anyone could live in such simple structures for very long, let alone for several months. However, after talking about this a little longer, they finally were willing to accept this had indeed been the case.

From there, we went to see the National Memorial Arch and the statue of General Anthony Wayne, before stopping to explore General Washington’s Headquarters.

“You mean Washington lived in this house all by himself?” Kylie asked.

“Not by himself,” I told her, “because Mrs. Washington came and joined him while he was here. She helped cook while there was food, but she also cared for the wounded, and her husband’s soldiers loved her for it. I’m sure some of the other officers also lived here with the Washingtons, and possibly even the family that owned the property. I’m not aware if they left beforehand or ended up staying here too.”

“So they had this big stone house, while everyone else lived in those wood cabins,” Megan added.

“Yes, but this house was already here when they arrived,” I told her. “Everything else was built as needed.” This seemed to be sufficient to answer her question, so we quickly moved on.

After we left Washington’s headquarters, we saw a couple of redoubts, which are merely temporary fortifications that protect access to the area. Although there were a couple of cannons on the redoubts, the majority of the cannons were located at Artillery Park, which we visited next.

“So they kept all their cannons in one place?” Jordan inquired.

“Not all, but they kept some here and then just moved them where they were needed most,” I answered.

After leaving there, we viewed another collection of huts, but these overlooked the Grand Parade ground. This was the area where Baron von Steuben drilled the troops. We also went to see the ‘Grave of the Unknown Revolutionary Soldier.’ This location was merely identified by a simple plaque and wasn’t a very elaborate or impressive monument, so it also raised a few questions.

“This can’t mean only one guy died here,” Jesse noted.

“No, it is said that two-thousand soldiers died from disease and hunger that winter,” I replied, “but this particular soldier was never identified.”

“You mean no one knew who he was?” Nicky asked next.

“Either that, or by the time they were able to bury him no one could tell who it was from looking at his remains. It is also possible that those who knew him best had also died and none of the other survivors could remember his name,” I explained.

“Wow, that really sucks,” Jordan added, as we ended the discussion.

Leaving there, we went to see Waterman’s Monument, which is a fifty-foot high granite obelisk that marks the site of the grave of Lieutenant John Waterman of Rhode Island. The Daughters of the American Revolution erected this monument in 1901.

“Papa, why is this one so much nicer than the other one?” Joshie asked.

I knew he was mentally comparing this monument to the plaque at the ‘Grave of the Unknown Revolutionary Soldier.’

“Possibly because this marks the remains of an officer who died here and his body had been positively identified,” I suggested.

“It still doesn’t seem fair,” Nicky protested.

No one else wanted to comment, however, because we pretty much felt he had a point.

Our final stop was at the Washington Memorial Chapel, which is a private facility and home to an active congregation. It is an architecturally exquisite stone structure, with an impressive bell tower on one side. It is also a very fitting and elegant tribute to ‘The Father of Our Country.’

After leaving the park, I made a couple of quick calls on my cell phone to confirm our next activity. Once I’d discovered everything was set, we made the fairly lengthy trip there. Unfortunately, we got caught up in the tail end of rush hour traffic along the way, so this leg of the trip became a bit frustrating. Regardless of how annoying it was, we were still able to arrive there at a decent time.