The Sporadic Pandemic Vacation: Tyler State Park

My wife and I desperately need a vacation. We have taken zero PTO days this entire year, and the lack of time off is starting to finally get to us. Not to mention that life has been pretty stressful lately, and we’re both burned out. Troy is the only one loving his current routine, but when you lead a life of fun and adventure, there’s no need for a change!

Because we are still being overly cautious with the COVID pandemic this year, we are limited on where we can go and what we can do. Definitely no planes or airports, so that cuts it down to within driving distance. Which normally would still open up quite a few possibilities, but with a fruit fly baby, you either limit your drive to no more than a couple of hours, or you take frequent stops along the way.

As we started to review some options, we quickly discovered that just because we want to go there doesn’t mean the place is open or fully accessible. Apparently, many state parks are limiting capacity and shutting down key attractions. Which means that taking two weeks in a single place is useless, because there won’t be enough to do. Thus evolved our plan...a series of day-trip vacations spread across multiple weekends, instead of one big long trip. Not exactly ideal, but an acceptable compromise in the current situation.

Today was our first round, and we decided to go to Tyler State Park. After a slow start, we hit the road for the slightly over two-hour drive. Troy and I snacked and played in the backseat for the first half of the trip, and we napped for the second half, while my wife tried her best to prove the GPS’ estimates wrong and shave time off our trip...otherwise known as testing the performance limits of her car.

We had to buy passes online ahead of time, so getting in was smooth and painless. The park was surprisingly full of people. Every single campsite was full, and the lake, where we chose to focus our attentions, was also teaming with people. But there was plenty of space for everyone, so we found a table near the pavilion and unpacked the bounteous picnic that my wife had painstakingly spent all morning putting together (now you know why we had a slow start).

The park was quite pretty, lots of woods and some very large, very old pine trees. Troy enjoyed watching the peddle boats, canoes, and kayaks gliding across the clear water as he munched on banana, chocolate croissant, and egg (the boy has strange tastes). He was itching to get out of the stroller and explore. We barely had time to scarf down a sandwich and chips before setting him free and chasing him around the pavilion. He of course headed straight for the water...little fish that he is.

Taking it as a sign, we took the food back to the car and went to rent a peddle boat. I, like Troy, have never been on a peddle boat before, so it was an exciting new experience. We put Troy between us as we pulled away from the dock. He immediately assumed that this meant he was in charge of steering, since the little rudder handle was in the middle at his feet. Luckily, he quickly lost interest, and he let me take over.

There is an art to peddle-boating I found. Let’s just say there are peddles on both sides of the boat for a reason, and if one person stops peddling, then the other person has to peddle for two. Which I found out firsthand when my wife got a cramp five minutes into the ride and had to take a break. Fortunately for me, all those late-night stair climbs with Troy perfectly prepared my thighs for that feat!

We toured around the lake, checking out all the little alcoves and inlets. The sun was brutal, but there was a wonderful breeze sweeping across the surface of the lake which cooled everything down. We all enjoyed it, even if we only used half of our time because Troy was getting antsy.

After our boat ride, my wife wanted to go swimming to cool off. So, she took Troy down to a secluded spot in the lake while I hiked the two-mile trail around the outside of it. It was good to stretch my legs and disappear into the shade of the trees for a little bit. I love to hike, and they love to swim, so it was a win-win for everyone.

We decided that it was getting late, so we packed up the car and headed home. Which is when the next stage of our adventure began. For some reason, there were dozens of Kias on the road, and all of them were the worst drivers; swerving out of their lane, texting and driving, cutting people off, driving slowly next to people while in the fast lane. It was both obnoxious and dangerous. At several points, my wife hit triple digits just to get by them. It was strange, but we finally made it home safely. Troy was well past ready to be home and have some food. Not bad for a first outing.