Buckley Blog: "Famcation" vs. "Mancation"
4:44 AM March 28, 2008
Really, there's no contest to me. But after today's show, I'll be heading off for a few days of vacation that will include a bit of "famcation" and a bit of "mancation" and I thought I'd share a bit of both with you.
What's a famcation? I define it as a vacation with one's family resulting in great shared experiences, memories to last a lifetime, lots of laughs, and entailing long hours of travel punctuated by the occasional whine: "Are we there yet?"
What's a mancation? Roughly, this: a vacation with one's male friends (without the adult supervision of their wives) resulting in grown men behaving like boys with lots of laughs, unhealthy food, and entailing long hours of...golf punctuated by the occasional whine: "Who drank the last beer?"
The mancation comes at the end of next week. I'm heading to North Carolina to golf with some old friends, to reset the batteries, to hear some "Old Man Buckley" style jokes, and to watch some NCAA basketball on the tube.
The first half of the vacation is with the family. This afternoon, the Buckleys are bound for Vancouver, British Columbia. From there, we're heading up to Whistler to stay with our friends, the Sterns who've kindly invited us up to their home for a few days of skiing and sledding.
I've always loved Canada (have you ever met an unkind Canadian?). Vancouver is one of North America's great cities and I'm looking forward to seeing it again, this time with my wife and sons who are visiting Canada for the first time. Never been to Whistler, but everyone says great things. Everyone in the family is filled with anticipation.
Watching the kids in their excitement as we prepare to go on a new adventure reminds me of my own childhood vacations.
One vacation in particular sticks in my mind to this day. My dad was stationed in Seattle for a few years, and when I was about seven, we piled into the family Chevrolet and headed to Disneyland. It was days to get there and days to get back.
There was no such thing as a DVD player or an IPOD so the many hours spent driving were spent talking or playing travel games or trying to get truckers to honk. A fan belt or a hose or something broke during the trip which added our only bit of drama during the long journey.
Otherwise, each travel day involved rising before dawn and driving for hours. My dad wasn't one to stop to see the sights on a road trip, so our stops for meals and our final stop to sleep were highlights. We didn't do five-star hotels or Michelin-starred restaurants. We did motels and diners. But to a seven-year-old boy, they were as five-star as they got and they couldn't have been more special.
There'd be a stop at some local diner for breakfast. Denny's for lunch. Then, more driving followed by a stay at a Holiday Inn or a Motel 6. I'd jump into the motel's tiny pool with my dad and I couldn't have been happier. (To this day, the sight of a Denny's along a highway or an iconic Holiday Inn sign reminds me of that wonderful trip).
Eventually, we arrived at Disneyland. Today, as an adult, as a Southern California resident, it's easy to take Disneyland for granted. It's a theme park. But for a seven-year-old who'd just made a pilgrimage to get there, it was heaven. And while I didn't realize it at the time, so was the trip to get there.
We're not going to heaven on this trip. We're going to Whistler. But I hope my kids will remember the moments we share this weekend as warmly as I remember my trip to heaven, to Disneyland, when I was a seven-year-old boy.
As for the mancation, my hopes are a little less lofty. I'm just hoping I'll break 90 on the golf course and make it home without a hangover.
See you at 7.
Posted by Frank Buckley | Permalink | Comments (38) | TrackBack (0)
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Have a wonderful trip Frank!! Canada IS beautiful. My Mom is from Lethbridge, Alberta. Although I still have some family in Alberta, most have since moved to BC, (where there is not as much snow). Whistler is an amazing place!!
Hope you enjoy your “famcation” and “mancation”…see you when you get back!!
Posted by: Laura in Palmdale | March 28, 2008 at 06:05 AM
RFANK, THANKYOU AGAIN FOR YOUR
GREAT INSITE, YOU REALLY HAVE
SO MUCH KNOWLEGE, I THANKYOU
FOR SHARING IT WITH US ALL.
BOB PALMER
Posted by: BOB PALMER | March 28, 2008 at 07:13 AM
Happy vacationing, Frank. Are you actually driving with two active, inquisitive boys? Now that's courageous. :o) Have fun.
Posted by: jozielee | March 28, 2008 at 07:44 AM
Well, if you're going to be gone for a week, there's no reason to even watch between 7 & 9 AM. What a shame that this Morning Show has decided to change so much all at one time. Mark's out today, Jessica's out today, Frank's leaving after next week for awhile. Well it's back to Good Morning America, and Regis! Maybe it's just time to turn the television OFF 3 hours earlier every morning now. I'd rather listen to Ryan Seacrest on KIIS FM than to have to watch the demise of the KTLA Morning Show.
Posted by: Dan | March 28, 2008 at 08:07 AM
Have a wonderful trip. Whistler is one great place to go.
Posted by: Jasmine | March 28, 2008 at 08:15 AM
You are an awesome wordsmith, Frank! I totally enjoy your insightful blogs! As a mom of 2 active boys, I wish you & your wife Godspeed. BC is a beautiful part of Canada! I remember it fondly as my very 1st trip outside of the US. Yes, we, "locals," do take Disneyland for granted. Thanks for your reality check on our current psyche! Have a wonderful famcation & mancation, Frank!
Posted by: M | March 28, 2008 at 08:26 AM
Have a fabulous, restful "famcation" and "mancation" Frank.
Mr. Buckley, your memories of travel trips with your dad as a 7 yr old boy, brought tears to my eyes as I remembered those travel trips with my dad as an 8 yr old girl. Mom didn't want to make the trips so dad, me and some relatives drove to Arizona, where my dad was from. Those trips down the highway, in hot weather, no AC were rough but memorable now. I remember those times I got the truck drivers to honk their horns..thrilling for a kid.
I will miss you for a little while..be safe.
Posted by: Laura | March 28, 2008 at 08:30 AM
what great memories! for your boys, these will be their "good old days". our family leaves on vacation today, too. we've loaded the travel trailer, we're taking the dogs, and are off for 11 days of fun. we can only hope dad catches a fish this time! have a great trip!
Posted by: kathy | March 28, 2008 at 08:46 AM
It's not bad enough they removed the men from the 9 hour, now they've taken the one white female off too? Where's Jessica? One day she's there, one day she's not, then she's back, and now she's not.
I'm surprised the person whose idea this disaster at 9 was, hasn't changed the name of the show to "The Minority Report"!
Posted by: Anoni Moss | March 28, 2008 at 09:44 AM
Have a wonderful well deserved mancation Frank - You will truly be missed during THAT week, believe me! I hope that Eric will be filling in for you while you're gone, because he's the only one that I care to see in your spot! Take care and please, please hurry back - you will be so missed!
Posted by: Sean | March 28, 2008 at 11:03 AM
Frank,
Have a great "Mancation" this weekend. My husband is also off this weekend for his "Mancation"..Las Vegas was his destination..all for the wonderful "March Madness" craziness!! All men love this time of year! I am positive he and his high school basketball friends will be loving their time together.. My husband and I have also expressed the desire to go to "Whistler"!! We have heard that the skiing is a wonderful place for the family...Please let us know all the great local "spots"! Have a great time with your family..your viewers will miss you!!
Posted by: Robin | March 28, 2008 at 12:21 PM
This comment is in response to the "Anoni Moss" comments above. Anoni, your comments are offensive, racist, bigoted and quite frankly, have no place is this forum.
While I am quite aware that racism is still quite prevalent and will probably always be around, this was classless, rude and served no purpose.
I apologize to you Frank for my rant, but I could not hold my tongue. Have a safe and memorable trip.
Posted by: 1buckyfan | March 28, 2008 at 01:14 PM
Hell yeah!
I'm doing a famcation as well. Doing daytrips count for famcation? I have no time for womancation on my part. My girlfriends are all too busy outside doing famcations every damn weekend.
So enjoy your famcation and your mancation.
You deserve it!
Posted by: Volta | March 28, 2008 at 01:50 PM
never met an unkind canadian?! have you ever been to toronto? obviously not. well they're not so much unkind but in a hurry. too busy. i apologize if anyone here is from toronto.
Posted by: no longer watching | March 28, 2008 at 02:00 PM
Hey Frank, Your gonna LOVE Whistler. I'm from the Vancouver area... lived here my whole life. I finally ventured up to Whistler a couple summer's ago for the first time with some friends. stayed for 4 days.... it is beautiful. Make sure you get right to the to of the mountain on the gondola. Pray for good weather... it's gorgeous on a clear day !!
Posted by: Jeff | March 28, 2008 at 02:28 PM
Have a great trip Frank, we miss you already..
As for that rude person Anoni Moss, you should not be in this forum....your comments are very offensive.
Carmen GW
Posted by: Carmen G W | March 28, 2008 at 03:59 PM
My fondest memories growing up are our family taking vacations. It's good for the children and the whole family. Enjoy.
Posted by: Paula L | March 28, 2008 at 04:51 PM
enjoy you trip, Frank!!
As for Anoni Moss your an ignorant a**hole!
Posted by: mY nAmE iS??? | March 28, 2008 at 04:55 PM
I'm guessing you aren't going to be reading these comments until you return. I hope you had a wonderful time. Your smile on Friday, your last day told it all. Yes I remember those trips with the fan belt breaking now and then. There were four of us boys. As someone commented, no air conditioning. Even the car had its own canteen by the radiator (a burlap bag).
I was happy to see Lu Parker this morning. It was like seeing a long lost friend.
Posted by: George the Rat | March 28, 2008 at 08:00 PM
Frank, a couple of blogs back you asked for sport memory stories. Since tomorrow they are having the Dodger game at the coliseum it brought back memories. I went to 3 or 4 games there and I did get to see Willie Mays hit a home run over the left field screen. I was only about 7 or 8 so didn't realize that it was only 200 feet for the left field seats. I thought it was about 260 feet but I heard your report on the show. I remember the tall screen. For safety measures they couldn't make the right field fence like it used to be. It was just a chain link fence and only as tall as to a player's chest. But then again I was little and could be wrong as to the height. I remember my dad took me to see Duke Snider but they played Norm Larker the entire game. I remember Wally Moon was famous for his moon shots.
Home runs, not... well as you would say "Let's not go there!"
Posted by: George the Rat | March 28, 2008 at 08:19 PM
Ah hah, finally the solution presents itself. The KTLA blogs give away the problem for the KTLA Morning News.
Nearly every KTLA blog is about the blogger. I did this, we did that.
Well nobody cares what you did this weekend. Nobody cares period.
Your news is supposed to be about Southern California, not about the news anchors. Please confine your comments to worthy events of the news.
If you had some fashionable dinner out on the west side last night, or if you have some fascinating weekend getaway, keep it to yourself.
By all means, please DO bring all your experience about life to the newscast. That's what a newscast is supposed to be about.
But please keep "you" out of it. Be personal, yes. Be familiar and comfortable, yes. Draw from your own character and experiences, yes. But stop writing about yourselves.
It's not about you. Why is that so hard to accept?
LTV (Long time viewer, still struggling to hold on.
Posted by: long time viewer | March 28, 2008 at 09:43 PM
Hope you have a good time. Maybe when you get back the "Nightmare at Nine O'clock Hour" will be gone.
Posted by: Rick Ditmar | March 28, 2008 at 11:23 PM
Frank:
Just checking the blogs to see if there's any news about the 9am trainwreck-in-progress. At first I thought the 9am show being so bad would make me appreciate the 8am hour even more, but a funny thing has happened, it's like the bad smell from the fetid 9am hour has seeped into the 8am hour. I know it's probably not fair, but since the fans were treated so crappily and given no information, my gut reaction to the 8am hour now is a bunch of whipped guys making nice with a smug self-important diva, fake smiles and camaraderie all around. i wish you well and can't help but wonder if a certain someone was threatened by your immediate popularity and did who knows what to get your best work off the air. Before you were on, KTLA was one of the stations I surfed as I was having my coffee; after you came on, with your actual hard news experience combined with great humor and 'ol' man Buckley' pearls of wisdom, I started to watch straight through till 10 when the jerry springer show starts with a toilet flush, the signal to turn on 89.9 KCRW (should put that sound fx at 9 am now). So I realize I didn't watch KTLA at all this week, and I wouldn't know if anyone finally had the balls to have some respect for the viewers and speak up. but really I don't think it would matter now, the illusion has been shattered, I'm done with KTLA. So I hope someone with brains gives you a job on a respectable national show where your talents belong, best of luck man.
Posted by: TimInMorningside | March 29, 2008 at 08:57 AM
I agree with Dan, why even watch the 7 - 9 when you won't be there. After seeing the new 9 o'clock hr we all need some type of vacation !!
Have a safe and winderful time away.
Posted by: Suzanne_A | March 29, 2008 at 09:03 AM
Those long trips stay with you forever.
I have 8 siblings. I remember my folks squeezing us all into the woody station wagon and driving from northern Illinois to Colorado Springs. We slept in tents or the car or a small log cabin; used outhouses, or bushes; ate cereal out of individual boxes with the reconstituted milk poured right in there.
And got to see this beautiful country up close. Even went to see Mt. Rushmore. I was about 6 at the time, and remember it with warmth and joy 54 years later.
Famcations are the best. My dad was the driving force - and the driver - during those long trips. As an adult, I continued the tradition. We still prefer to drive to our destinations to see the countryside, as opposed to flying, squooshed in seats too small and missing all the beauty below.
Like life, the trip is better than the final destination.
Posted by: Monica, Lancaster | March 29, 2008 at 09:42 AM