Final Diagnostic Essay Draft: Trip to Tennessee

My favorite road trip was taken last summer with my son, fiancé, and his family to visit their friends in Kingsport, Tennessee. It was my first trip with his family and I was both excited and nervous about how it would go. Friday morning we loaded our bags and climbed into his mother, Lisa's, van. Before we even backed out of the driveway, the arguing began. My fiancé, Stephen, and his sister, Rachel, screamed over who got to sit in which seat. I tried to ignore it. Then, as we accelerated onto the interstate, his father, Greg, tuned the radio to National Public Radio. I prepared myself for the next seven hours and I could tell then that it would be an interesting trip.

The actual drive to Kingsport took much longer than expected. We were stuck in traffic behind several accidents and our dinner stop took what seemed like hours. Luckily though, Stephen Jr., my six month old son, slept for most of the drive. I had never been through western Virginia or to Tennessee before, so until it got too dark, the scenery took my attention. The rolling hills and beautiful sunset was welcomed entertainment. Late that night, we turned into the driveway at their friends, Patty Joe and Mark's, beautiful home that sat on a huge lake. It was so still that it looked iced over. "Perfect!" Stephen exclaimed, "I can't wait to wake-board tomorrow!" We went inside and after a quick tour of the house I put my son to bed. I found myself sitting at the dining room table with the men: Stephen, Greg, Mark, and his son, Zack. Quickly their talk of guns and cars bored me, so I went on the porch with Patty Joe, Rachel, and Lisa. I swear, the laughs generated from our conversation could have been heard all the way across the lake. We had a great time bonding that night but were just as happy when it was time for bed.

The next morning, I woke up to a spectacular sunrise over the lake. After a delicious pancake breakfast and a quick trip to the store for a life vest for the baby, everyone climbed onto the boat. The boys were ecstatic about wake-boarding. I’d never been before, but Stephen and Zack were very skilled. They went first and it was obvious that they loved showing off. Then Rachel tried and easily stood up on her first attempt. It gave me confidence that I could do it too. But then Greg tried with absolutely no success. My stomach was turning with nerves when I slid into the lake. I watched the boat slowly drive away and Mark asked if I was ready. "Here we go," I said to myself. I took a deep breath and nodded. I felt the line pull tight as I pulled up to a squating position, and then - SPALSH! I face-planted into the lake. I repeated that graceful act two more times before I finally stood up. Unfortunately after I fell from standing for a minute or two, I couldn’t get back up. We decided to go back to the house for lunch. Only Stephen and Zack wake-boarded again. Everyone else was worn out, so we relaxed until dinner. After the best steak I’ve ever had, the sexes separated again. The women went downstairs to watch a movie in the “theater room” and the men watched Saturday Night Live upstairs. We went to bed early after the long day.

The following morning, we were excited to go back out on the boat again. This time, Rachel and I sunbathed on the front of the boat while the boys wake-boarded and wake-surfed. By one o’clock Sunday afternoon, we were climbing the sixty-something steps up to the house to begin packing. We had a light lunch and said our goodbyes as we piled back into the van. It was a short trip but we were all happy to be on our way home. This drive went more smoothly, and we got home an hour earlier than expected.

On this trip, I got to try wake-boarding and see Stephen do something he loves while bonding with his family. Not to mention I got to see a gorgeous region of this country I had never seen before. The weather was perfect and we all had a grat time. This was my favorite road trip because although it had a rocky beginning, everyone had a lot of fun.