Family vacations are fun, relaxing and a great way for families to bond with each other and create memories. 

What could be more appealing than a relaxing trip to the beautiful Colorado mountains? Or maybe a trip to the beaches of Florida? 

Time spent with family is never time wasted or forgettable. But is it always a good kind of unforgettable? 

A family from Southwest Louisiana, my family actually, took a family vacation two summers ago. We called it “The Deason Shit Show.”

Side-by-Sides

With the Deason family, there is never a dull moment. 

From the tops of the mountains on side-by-sides in Arkansas to Broken Bow, Oklahoma on horseback, this family vacation was the definition of unforgettable. 

As I examine my memory of riding in the mountains, I have one thought. While the trip was unforgettable, I tried my best to not remember this part. I had my eyes covered with a bandana and was in tears riding up the mountains. I do not remember much since I could not see any of it happening, which I am not complaining about.

Side-by-sides are these 4-wheel, half cars, half 4-wheeler vehicles that are great for off-road riding, but it gets a little scary when you start taking them up to the top of mountains. 

“She’s always been a chicken shit when it comes to things like this,” my brother Jack says. “She would rather roll around with dogs in the mud than do this again, I think.”

The mountain view was beautiful, but the sight was a bit hard to focus on when you can’t think of anything else but, “OH SHIT. Are we going to fall off the edge of the cliff?” 

“Jack is not really the type of person who pays attention to the path in front of him,” says Kasha, our sister. “Even when it was about 2 feet away and the edge of a cliff. Needless to say, I might have said a few choice words along the ride…Within the first 15 minutes.”

But the weather was amazing in both places, although the sights were a bit scary.

Horseback Riding

I love horses and the beautiful places we rode in, but something about the view in front of me will haunt me forever. I was on a horse behind my father, and the only image I can remember when we went through the river was his legs straight up in the air and seeing his ass on both sides of the horse’s head.

“Hell. I don’t know what they expected me to do,” my dad says with a huge smile on his face. “I damn sure was not letting my underwear get soaked in the river, so I did what was necessary. I might have also fractured the horse’s spine, but I stayed dry, so, oh well.”

Needless to say, the aftermath was much worse than actual riding itself. 

“I never thought I could be sore in some of the places I was,” explains my dad.

“It was probably the funniest part of the whole trip to see dad walking like he got something shoved up his ass,” states my brother Bryce.

This vacation for the Deasons was not your typical family trip, but it sure left us with some memories. 

I would never trade that trip for any other one in the world. Those memories are unforgettable and my family and I will relive them for the rest of our lives.

Family vacations do not have to be picture-perfect. Sometimes the craziest times make for the best ones.