Dear Diary

Dear Diary

Day One...

Dear Diary,

Today was the first day of our short vacation; four glorious days in the mountains, fresh air, clear nights and peace. At least that's how Dad sold it to us. It's been a flop though and I'm so pi..., angry.

It started off as normal. All four of us packed into the land cruiser. Dad said it was a four hour drive. I could listen to tunes and spend time with 'facebook' on my phone. My laptop was stowed away in the back and I couldn't wait till we arrived. I could pick up on the live stream game I left off.

Brad, he's such a... jerk, sometimes. He's fifteen now and thinks he so mature. He's only three years older than me but he acts like he's forty the way he treats me. What a... I better not say in case someone else reads this and I get grounded. Brad had his headphones on, he was bopping away and texting Angela, I bet. It makes me want to puke.

Mom had her tablet out and she and Dad were talking as she relayed the news to him. It was nice to see them looking carefree. Usually they're both in their own worlds stuck behind laptops doing their 'work'.

Our journey turned sour, though, when we started to climb in the mountains. I kept loosing connection and I knew I wasn't the only one when Brad ripped of his headphones and threw them onto the seat next to me. He punched me in the arm when I decided to tease him about not being able to talk to Angela.

"You're an annoying little brother," he said. I don't know what hurt more, my arm or my feelings. I stayed quiet and looked out the window to hide my tears.

Mom and Dad were cool about losing connectivity. Mom put up her tablet and Dad told us to settle down. It would only be an hour till we got there.

The rest of the trip was just trees, glimpses of a river and mountains and more trees. Boring!

When we arrived at the cabin, Mom and Dad gushed about how nice it was. I just ran to the room me and Brad were sharing and I tried me laptop.

There was no connection!

When I told Dad he checked, then phoned his friend that let him use the cabin. He hung up the phone looking grim, then informed us there was no network provider in the area. Four days without the internet!

We had dinner, and then sat around staring at each other. Brad went to bed and I followed Mom and Dad when they went out on the porch. Dad tried to sound cheery about the views, but I could tell his heart wasn't in it. I could feel the tension.

Stuff the view!

I went to bed.

Day two...

Dear Diary,

I'm so depressed!

I woke up this morning and went to check my messages before I remembered I was trapped in hell.

Mom came upstairs, flustered, pushing her flaming red hair back from her face. She said we needed to go into town early. We all crammed in the car and Dad drove recklessly for thirty minutes on the bendy mountain roads.

We arrived at this pokey little place. We piled into the general store and Mom pleaded for internet connection. She got access to their 'dial-up connection'. I didn't know what that was but I could tell it wasn't good. I watched her sigh, her long red fingernails drumming on the desk while her face turned redder and redder. She finally stormed off outside and Dad took her place. I ran outside when I heard her scream a blood curdling yell. When I found her she looked embarrassed while people just stared at her. She said she was just letting off steam. I would have been grounded if I had done that. I guess adults can get away with a lot.

We spent the rest of the day hiking around in the woods. It was so hot and boring. We had dinner, tried to play a board game but abandoned it. It was so lame!

Day three...

Dear Diary,

Sunday. Again, I forgot where I was this morning and checked my messages. Nothing. At least there was no panic.

We all went to an old church. The people were really friendly. The pastor was ancient. He and his wife invited us back to their place for a meal. Two of their grandkids came over, Jamie and Kyle. They were the same age as me and Brad. They brought us out on some mountain bike trails. We had a real blast.

When it was dark we drove home and attempted a game of monopoly. This time we got the hang of it and I learned I could be a ruthless property Tycoon.

Tomorrow we go fishing with the Pastor and Jamie and Kyle!

Day 4...

Dear Diary,

What a day!

We went to a fishing spot on the river. The water was so blue and clear right down to the bottom. The trees soared and snow-capped peaks dominated the horizon.

Breath-taking!

It was hot but the river was so cool and refreshing. Kyle spent a long time with me showing me how to fly fish. They were all so surprised how quickly I got the hang of it. By the end of the day I managed to catch a trout. I was so proud of myself. Even Brad seemed impressed. We got home got tired, sore and sun burned but I don't think I've ever felt so alive.

We played another game of monopoly. We have never laughed so much together. Brad is not such a bad brother after all and Mom and Dad look so much more relaxed.

Tomorrow we go home, but I will always remember this time we shared together.