The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation Book 3 - 46. Driving Lessons

When Brandon and I got home from work on Saturday, we changed quickly and went down to have lunch with the rest of the family. While we were eating, I decided to inform the boys about what we were going to do.

“As soon as you finish your lunch we’re going to do something a little different, and I think you’ll enjoy it.”

“Why? What are we doing?” Benny wanted to know.

“We’re going to a go-kart track, and they have four-wheelers there as well.”

“You mean we’re gonna get to drive them?” Hunter followed.

“Unfortunately, you, your brother, and Wyatt are too young and short to ride the go-karts alone, but you can ride with one of us and we’ll let you do some of the driving.”

“Then I want to ride with you,” Hayden quickly shouted.

“And I’ll ride with Dad Brandon,” Hunter added.

“Who am I gonna ride with?” Wyatt wanted to know.

“You’ll ride with me,” Dion responded.

“What about Tristan? He’s not here,” Joshie wondered.

“We’re going to stop and get Tristan and Revin before we go there.”

“Oh, ok.”

“And we’ve also decided on which of you will ride there with Dion and Trey, and who will ride with Brandon and me.”

“So are Grandpa Josh and Grandpa Jake going?” Holly wanted to know.

“No, they’re staying here to take care of Dobby and Flash, because we might be gone for quite a while, and they’ll have dinner ready when we get back. I promised to call and let them know when we were just about ready to head home.”

“So who do we ride with?” Ryan asked.

“You, Owen, Holly, and Noah will ride with Brandon and me, and Wyatt, Hayden, Hunter, Benny, and Joshie will ride with Dion and Trey. Elliot’s going to drive too, and he’ll take Ian with him and they’ll pick up Tristan and Revin along the way.”

No one objected to my announcement, but I could tell Ryan and Noah were slightly conflicted. They were happy that they’d be riding with Holly, but they weren’t happy that the other one was going to be there as well. I guess it’s similar to what some judges and arbitrators say after issuing a tough ruling: “You know you made a good call when neither side is completely happy.”

“Just make sure you’re wearing comfortable clothing and you aren’t wearing open-toed footwear if you want to do this,” I said as a final instruction. “We want you to have fun, but we don’t want anyone to lose a toe while we’re doing this.”

“Ok,” they all agreed.

As soon as everyone had finished eating and the kids were getting ready, I gave Becky a quick call to let her know we’d be leaving soon. A short time later we went outside, loaded into the various vehicles, and headed to our destination. Dion had urged me to take the lead, since I knew how to get there, and Elliot said he would follow me, and Dion offered to bring up the rear. I drove to Becky’s house first and explained to Tristan and Revin that they were going to ride with Elliot, and as soon as I saw them get into his car and buckle up, we started out again.

When we got to our destination we discovered the place had a fairly large parking lot and there were two buildings directly across from the main entrance. One of the buildings was for those going karting, and the other for those who preferred four-wheeling. The buildings were back-to-back, with about ten yards (9.1 m) in between, and they were facing in opposite directions. I led everyone to the karting area first and asked the man behind the counter a question.

“We’ve got three youngsters who are shorter than the four-foot (1.2 m) minimum, so is there a way they can ride with one of the adults?” Hayden and Hunter were about an inch (2.5 cm) too short, while Wyatt missed the height requirement by three inches (7.5 cm).

“You’re in luck. We’ve got some two-seat karts you can use, and the adult sits on the right while the child uses the seat on the left. The adult controls the gas and brake pedals, but there’s a steering wheel on either side and each is capable of controlling the kart.”

“It sounds perfect, so we’ll need three of those. Do you have that many?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Great and how many karts are allowed on the track at one time?”

“That would be eight to ten, depending on the level of the drivers. We limit it to eight for beginners and when the two-seaters are being used, but ten for everyone else.”

I did a quick count. “Then we’ll need to go in two groups. We have seven younger drivers, including those who will be in the two-seat karts, and there is one father who wants to go in the same group as his son. Will he be able to go with that group?”

“Certainly, we can arrange that?”

“And then the other six can go with any additional customers you have.”

After we paid the required fees, we were provided with helmets and shown to a go-kart. These weren’t the same type I rode when I was younger, with a metal frame, plywood floor, a plastic or metal seat, and an exposed engine in the rear. These actually looked like small race cars that had a painted, fiberglass exterior. Although the two-seaters were wider and not quite as sporty looking, they were still a huge step up from the ones I remembered.

As soon as we saw the two-seaters and learned how they operated, Dion, Brandon, and I agreed to drive the first lap, with our young passenger holding on to his steering wheel to see how it’s done. After that we would gradually allow them to take over the driving, although we’d be prepared to step in if they got into trouble, but we’d still have to operate the gas and brake pedals.

Once the staff went over the basic operation of the karts, they gave a brief safety lecture and issued a stern warning about actions that were forbidden. Once that had been taken care of, we were directed to get in the karts and start the engines, and then we were led onto the track, lined up, and eventually allowed to take off.

The track wasn’t a simple circular or oval in shape. It consisted of multiple turns and connecting straight-aways that varied in length, so it was fairly challenging. We were told that we’d have eight to ten minutes to go around as many times as we could before a red light indicated it was time for us to stop. The red light would come on after eight minutes, but if you were driving faster and had passed it already then you were allowed to finish the lap.

I got a kick out of watching Hayden slowly get the feel of how this was done, and I eventually permitted him to control the go-kart with hardly any interference on my part. When the red light came on indicating we had to exit the track, we pulled over, stopped the kart, and got out. Hayden was grinning from ear to ear when he took off his helmet.

“That was wicked. Can we do it again?”

“Let’s check with the others in our group first, and then we’ll watch the next group take their turn, but I think we can probably do this again.”

The other boys were just as thrilled as Hayden about driving the go-karts, and the adults were happy to do it a second time. “That was a blast,” Revin told me while we were watching the other group take their turn. “Thanks for lettin’ me come with you guys.”

“You’re very welcome and I’m glad you liked doing this.”

“It was incredible,” Tristan added. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“And now you have,” I teased.

We had to wait until the other customers that arrived after us to take their turns first, and then we went again. This time I allowed Hayden to do all of the driving, and if he’d been tall enough to reach the pedals I would probably have let him do that too.

Once both groups had finished their second run, we left the kart area and headed over to the other building, the one with the four-wheelers. When we arrived there, we quickly learned that this facility had an entirely different set of rules. First of all, there was a sign stating that drivers had to be at least sixteen-years-old, and anyone taking a passenger had to be eighteen or older. I quickly did some mental calculations before we proceeded.

As soon as I was convinced that we’d be able to do this, I went up to speak to with the man at the counter. “How long is the course and are the four-wheelers automatic or manual?”

“The trail loops around and covers a little over ten miles (16.1 km), and all of our ATVs are automatic, because we mostly get first timers and those who don’t have a lot of experience.”

“That sounds perfect for our purposes, so we’ll need four-wheelers for seven doubles and three singles.”

After taking care of the appropriate fees, we were taken to get our helmets and goggles next, and then we were shown to the four-wheelers. They were all fairly basic looking and came in different colors, so I prepared to announce to the others how we were going to pair up, but Hunter beat me to the punch.

“Me and Hayden want to switch this time, so I’ll go with you.”

“That’s fine. Then Hayden will go with Brandon, and Wyatt you’ll be with your dad again. Trey, I want Joshie to ride with you, and I’m going to recruit Elliot, Ian, and Noah to take one of the younger boys with them. Tristan, you can ride with Elliot, Revin will go with Ian, and Benny will ride with Noah. Ryan, Holly, and Owen will ride alone, because they aren’t old enough to have a passenger. Does anyone have a problem with any of this?”

They all shook their heads or said no in response, so we went to select the ATV we were going to use. Once again we had a brief training session first, followed by a safety lesson, and then I, as well as the other drivers, studied the map of the trail before we started out. I was urged to go first again, and Trey and Dion offered to go last so they could make sure that no one got into trouble. We warned everyone that there would be no passing or speeding allowed, but there would be times when I’d go faster and they’d have to keep up with me, but I’d only do that if the trail was fairly flat and straight.

“Are we supposed to ride in front of you guys or behind you?” Joshie wanted to know, but he was most likely speaking for each of the other passengers as well. I decided to address my response to the other drivers, but it would answer Joshie’s question at the same time.

“I suppose we could do it either way, but I think it would be more fun for the younger boys if they rode in front of us. Do any of you drivers have a problem with doing it that way?” I looked at Elliot, Ian, and Noah to see how they answered.

“No, that’s fine,” Elliot responded.

“Yeah, I’m good doing it that way too,” Ian agreed.

“Hey, I’ve done it with a rider in front of me on a bike, so I should be able to do it on this as well,” Noah answered.

“Ryan, Holly, and Owen, are the three of you ok with doing this alone?”

“Yeah, so let’s get going,” Ryan replied.

“I’m looking forward to trying this,” Holly confirmed.

“I’m ready to do it too,” Owen concurred.

Since everyone seemed eager to get going, we started the ATVs and took off. Most of the trail was anything but flat and we traveled over rolling hills, into open valleys, and we even wound our way beside a stream. There were a few trees along the way, but the trail didn’t go through any heavily wooded areas. It was likely designed this way to prevent reckless, adventurous, or inebriated drivers from going too fast and accidentally crashing into a tree. It was fine for us, though, and it was still a fairly exhilarating and challenging outing, because there were times when we had to lean to one side and struggle to keep the ATV from tipping over.

When we finished making our way around the entire trail, we drove the ATVs back to the building that we’d started from. After we shut down the engines and hopped off our vehicles, I began to receive a series of comments from the others.

“Man, that was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be,” Owen admitted.

“Yeah, I thought it would be like riding a bike, but these things are a lot heavier and harder to control,” Ryan agreed.

“There were a couple of times when I was afraid my four-wheeler was going to tip over,” Holly confessed.

“Yes, there were some challenging areas while we were doing this,” I agreed.

“That was pretty fun, though,” Revin stated, “but I wish I could have driven one myself.”

“I know, but you have to be sixteen to do that.”

“Then I hope we can do it again when I’m older,” Joshie announced.

“Yeah, me too,” Benny concurred.

I heard more comments as we were turning in our helmets and goggles, and then I pulled Elliot aside before we headed out to the vehicles.

“You’re going to be dropping Tristan and Revin off at Becky’s house on the way back, so will you have any problems finding her house on your own?”

“Of course not. I’ve lived in this area long enough to know my way around, so I’ll be fine.”

“Ok, I just wanted to be sure.”

After I made a quick call to let Dad know that we were heading home, Dion and Elliot basically followed me back again, although Elliot veered off at one point to take the other two back. When we got to the house, Pop greeted us as we came through the door.

“Well how did it go? Did you have fun?” he asked.

“Yeah, you should have come. It was a lot of fun,” Hunter told him.

“We got to drive the go-kart and we rode on a four-wheeler too,” Hayden added, and the others made similar comments to him as they passed by. Each of them was smiling broadly as they did this.

“You’d better go wash up quickly, because some of you have dirty hands and faces and dinner is almost ready,” Pop suggested.

“Ok, we will,” Wyatt agreed and then he and the others took off in different directions.

“So it went without incident?” Dad asked as soon as the others had disappeared.

“Yes, it went fine and I think everyone had a really good time.”

“That’s good, and I gathered as much from what they just said. Why don’t you go wash up too, because you’ve got some dirt on your face as well?”

After we’d all washed up, we gathered in the dining room and sat down to enjoy the wonderful meal Dad and Pop had prepared. After stuffing ourselves and thanking them for their effort, we helped clear the table and loaded the dishwasher. Afterward, the boys fed Dobby and Flash again, and then they took them outside before joining the rest of us in the family room to watch a movie.

When the movie ended, we had the boys take the puppies outside one more time, and then we sent them upstairs to get ready for bed. About twenty minutes later we went up to read the next chapter to them, and then we tucked them in bed and said goodnight. We then made our rounds to do the same with the others, and each one thanked us for taking them go-karting and four-wheeling earlier. Once we’d said goodnight to each of them, Brandon and I called it a night as well.

In the morning we got ready to go to church, and we stopped to pick up Becky, Revin, and Tristan along the way. Once we arrived at the church, everyone headed off to their Sunday school classes, and as soon as they entered their classrooms, Becky spoke to us.

“Revin and Tristan spent most of the night telling me about the things they’d done with you.”

“I’m glad they enjoyed it. It’s not easy for Brandon and me to take more than an extended weekend to do something with the boys, so instead of going on a lengthy vacation we try to find things that will take less time. We take day or weekend trips instead, or we try to plan special activities for them on the holidays, like we did on the Fourth of July.”

“I see, and I’m glad that you include us when you do these things. I want to thank you for taking Revin yesterday, because I never could have given him that experience.”

“You’re welcome, and like we’ve said before, you two are part of our family now, so we’ll include you in everything we do.”

When the Sunday school and church services ended, we headed over to the diner for brunch. After we finished eating, we dropped Becky and Revin off at their house before taking everyone else home. Shortly after we arrived there, Brandon and I had Holly, Hunter, and Hayden hop into the car, and then I drove to the nursing home so they could visit their mother.

As soon as we reached Julie’s room, the three kids began telling her about the things they’d done the day before. “We rode on go-karts yesterday,” Hayden began, “and we got to drive them for a little while too.”

“Yeah, it was wicked fun,” Hunter added, “and I rode on the go-kart with Dad Brandon.”

“And I went with Dad Danny,” Hayden added.

“I rode alone and it was a lot different than driving the car, because it was open and I could actually feel how fast I was going,” Holly offered.

“It sounds… like you… had a… wonderful time,” Julie responded. She seemed to be glowing as she listened to her children.

“And then we went riding on four-wheelers next,” Holly continued.

“Yeah, but me and Hayden couldn’t drive those, cuz we weren’t old enough,” Hunter confessed, “but we got to ride in front and hang onto the handlebars too, and this time I went with Dad Danny.”

“Yeah, we switched and I was with Dad Brandon when we did that,” Hayden added. “We followed a dirt path and went all over the place.”

“The ground wasn’t always flat and a couple of times I thought my four-wheeler was going to tip over,” Holly stated.

“I’m glad… that didn’t… happen,” Julie replied.

“Yeah, me too,” Holly concurred.

“Thank you… for doing… so much… for my… children,” Julie added as she turned toward Brandon and me. “They seem… to like… you both… a lot… and they… like living… with you… too.”

“And we enjoy having them as well,” Brandon responded.

“They are indeed very lucky to have both of you,” Alice added. “Julie has told me many times that she’s so pleased that you’re doing so much for her children and that they seem to really love you.”

“They never… really got… to know… their dads… so I’m… glad to… see they… have taken… to you,” Julie added.

“We are too and we love them just as much as we love our other children,” Brandon confirmed.

“I can tell,” Julie responded.

We didn’t take Julie and Alice outdoors this time, because it began to sprinkle just before we got there and we didn’t want them to get wet or caught out in the rain. We apologized for not being able to do that today, but they told us they understood, because we couldn’t control the weather. We chatted with both of them a little longer, but then it was time for us to leave. We said goodbye to each woman and told them we’d see them again the following week, and before we left the three kids gave each one a hug and a kiss. The only difference with how they treated them was that they kissed their mother on the lips and Alice on the cheek.

By the time we got back to the house the rain was coming down in buckets, so we stayed in the car and waited to see if it was going to let up. Before long, Tristan, Benny, and Joshie came outside wearing raincoats and each one was carrying an umbrella. They gave one to Brandon, another to Holly, and the last one to me. I had Hunter join me under my umbrella, and Hayden did the same thing with Holly. Once we got inside, the kids took off to find something to do, seeing it didn’t appear they’d be able to play outside. Even Dobby and Flash refused to go out in the rain when Joshie and Tristan tried to take them out to pee, since the boys were still wearing their raincoats. We merely told them to bring them back inside and they could try again later.

Brandon and I began working on our chores while the kids were entertaining each other, but at one point I stopped to go find Owen. “I just thought of something and decided I should check with you about it. I take it you purchased a roundtrip ticket to come here, so do you know what time you’ll be leaving on Saturday? I want to be sure you have a ride to the bus station, especially if the bus is scheduled to depart while Brandon and I are at work.”

“I’m glad you brought that up, because I wanted to talk to you about this. Would you mind if I stayed another week?”

“No, but what about school? When do your classes start?”

“Not until August 27^th.”

“Then its ok with us, but you’ll have to check with your parents and get their permission.”

“I know, but I wanted to make sure it was ok with you first.”

“You’re more than welcome to stay here longer, but call your parents and see what they think about the idea.”

“Ok, I will.” He then went to do that, and when he returned about twenty minutes later, he told us what they said. “It’s ok with them, as long as you don’t mind.”

“You already know that, but what about your ticket? Are you going to have to buy a new one?”

“My dad asked me about that too, so I called the bus company to find out. They said I could exchange my ticket for a one-way ticket home, but it would probably cost a little more.”

“That figures, so I’ll give you a ride to the bus station after we get home from work tomorrow night. I’ll go in with you to make sure there isn’t a problem with the exchange and that you can afford the added expense.”

“Ok, and thanks for letting me stay longer. I want to do this because I know it’s going to be another year before Ryan and I can visit each other again, so I want this to last as long as possible.”

“We understand and we’re glad we can help out. I’m sure Ryan will be happy about this as well.”

“Damn right,” Ryan said as he came up from behind.

“Where did you come from?” I asked, slightly startled.

“I was in the rec room when Owen came back there to make his call, so I heard everything.”

“You mean you two didn’t talk this over with each other before he did this?”

“No, I forgot all about it until you asked me about my ticket,” Owen confirmed.

“Then I’m glad I thought of it.”

“Yeah, me too,” Ryan agreed.

The rain stopped before we sat down to have dinner, so we had the boys fed the puppies and take them outside first. I was mildly amazed that Dobby and Flash hadn’t had an accident in the interim, at least none that we’d noticed, but I had to laugh as I watched the boys lead them outdoors. Neither Dobby nor Flash was happy about having to walk in the wet grass and balked when the boys tried to coax them away from the sidewalk. When they finally got the puppies to cooperate, they made Dobby and Flash stay there until they did their business. Once they did, Dobby and Flash raced back to the sidewalk and shook their bodies vigorously to get the water off their legs and bellies, and then they headed toward the door to come inside.

After we ate dinner, we watched a movie with the kids before they went to bed. After sending the younger group upstairs to get ready for bed, Brandon and I went up to read the next chapter to them before they went to sleep. It had been a busy weekend, but now it was over and we bid them all goodnight before we also called it a day.