There are few things that resonate more with the American spirit than the family vacation.  Though much has changed in the past few decades the theory remains the same: An open road, a full tank of gas and endless opportunities.  I mean who doesn’t have a family vacation story?  A memory of a hot summer day at Colonial Williamsburg learning about skills you will never (ever) use, an intensely boring tour of The Hermitage, or just waiting in line for hours to ride The Pirates of the Caribbean?

This past weekend the babe and I took some time off to partake in a hallowed St. Louis tradition, the Lake.  Of course if you grew up in St. Louis there’s little need to clarify what lake because even the phrase “the lake” brings all kinds of images to mind.  For those who didn’t (weren’t fortunate enough?) grow up in St. Louis, whenever someone mentions a place merely as “the lake” what it translates to is “the Lake of the Ozarks,” a man-made, serpentesque stretch of water that has a surface area of over 1,100 miles and fits somewhere in between Springfield and Branson.  

It exists as a hodgepodge of classic and not so classic Americana, from ten foot tall outdoor statues of indian chiefs to five star lobster tail dinners and of course the infamous “party cove.” Sadly we weren’t able to snap many pictures of the weekend, we don’t carry cameras all that often and left the iPhones at home because experience has taught us that pontoons and electronics don’t mix; not at all.  Some of the more memorable events included the abundance of local television commercials (and their accompanying mullets) and floating, or more accurately, sitting on life preservers in the muddy water and appreciating the finer points of a 104 degree heat index (as I’m writing this the yet-to-peel dry skin on my shoulders is itching like crazy).

So, since I was unable to share the latest of my family vacation adventures I thought I’d share the next best thing with you: someone else’s. I often times find myself navigating the root cellars of the Interwebs, generally wasting several hours of my life and having nothing to show for it, last week I hit pay dirt.  I present to you the Barstow family.  

In 1956 the Barstow family won a trip to Disneyland after entering a a Scotch Tape contest, they filmed it and titled their trip “Disneyland Dream,” some forty years later, it arrives in all it’s glory on the Internet. What could be a good collection of family vacation video from the fifties is turned into Internet gold by the narration of Dr. Robbins Barstow (the Dad) as he recounts adventures and events while inserting his own brand of cheesy oddball comments into the edited(?) 8mm film.  Add to it the fact that the entire trip seems to act simply as scenes in their road trip home video it’s everything that makes family vacations the awkward and amazing animals that they are.  Mix in homemade, matching red “Davy Crockett” jacket (no surrey but plenty of fringe) and children insisting on having particular hats for each park and you have an instant and Library of Congress approved classic.  

Enjoy: Disneyland Dream (1956)

Update:  According to The Disney Blog, Steve Martin (the actor) makes a cameo in the film around 20:20, he was 11 years old and sold guidebooks in the park!

If you have the time and the attention, there’s more to be found here, Apparently the Barstows also made several month long trips visiting all 48 states in the US (Hawaii and Alaska weren’t a part of the USA yet).  If the rest of the film, like 2 hours, is as good as the introduction then it’s worth the watch.