Father's Day Traditions

Breakfast in bed or a backyard barbecue are great ways to celebrate Father's Day. I think most fathers would like to spend the day with their children.

My most memorable Fathers Days as a father have been celebrated with my family doing something fun. "Something fun" means different things to different fathers.

I can remember going to a Sioux Falls Canaries (now Pheasants) game with my family, my sister's family, my parents and my brother-in-laws parents. The kids couldn't care less about baseball. But they loved the mascot and the junk food at the ballpark.

I remember in the late nineties we went to Nebraska to float the Niobrara River with some other families several times on Fathers Day. If you've never floated the Niobrara River in north central Nebraska, you've missed a great trip. There is nothing more relaxing than tying several inner tubes together (one with the obligatory cooler!) and sitting back and watching the Nebraska countryside float by.

We would start our trip in the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, just east of Valentine, Nebraska. We passed into the Fort Niobrara National Wilderness Area surrounded by limestone, sandstone, and chalk cliffs and countless seeps. I remember floating by Berry Falls which drops right into the Niobrara creating a spectacular site. At Smith Falls State Park (that's Rachel and Alex at Smith Falls above), about three miles past Berry Falls, we would always pull the tubes out of the water and trek up to the falls for photos.

I think we made three tubing trips and one canoeing trip down the Niobrara on Fathers Day. I have photos and memories of each of those trips to remind me of afternoons well spent with my family.

In 1999 we bought the Krawdaddy, a large former excursion boat which we converted into a family party barge. We spent the next several Fathers Days lounging on the Krawdaddy with some of our friends and their families.

If I only had the Fathers Days and the July 4ths on the Krawdaddy, it would have been worth the purchase price. There is probably no single thing that our family enjoyed together as much as that boat. While the kids swan and rode the PWC, the adults sat in the wind cooled cabin, enjoying an adult beverage and listening to Jimmy Buffett (one of only 3-4 artist to ever get the privilege of serenading the Krawdaddy passengers).

More recently, we have spent Father's Days at the College World Series in Omaha. With Creighton University (daughter Rachel and I are alums, son Alex will be a senior) acting as the annual host, we have always had a affinity for that event. I have been to many a CWS since my days as a student at CU. If you're a baseball fan and have not attended the CWS, you're missing out.

Each year in Omaha is a reunion of Creighton friends, Chamberlain baseball friends and Omaha family (Dad grew up in the Omaha area). We are headed for Omaha tomorrow where I will be celebrating this Fathers Day with two of my three children and numerous friends.

Let me take this opportunity to wish all fathers a great day. I hope you get to spend it with your kids!