Our Big Trip With Tim: 9 Nights, 4 Stops, and a Lot of Heart
This summer, we decided to do something we hadn’t done in years: take our son Tim on a real vacation—not just a trip to visit grandparents, but a getaway that included a lake retreat, a family reunion, and a long drive across the Prairies.
Tim is 30 now. He’s lived in a group home for almost four years. While we still see him regularly, it’s been a while since we’ve done a longer trip together. Most of our past trips with him have been 4 or 5 nights at most. This one would be nine.
We live in Calgary and were heading to Saskatchewan, where we have both family and familiar vacation spots. We knew it would take some planning, but we were up for it.
Packing and Prep: The Not-So-Glamorous but Necessary Stuff
Because Tim is incontinent at night, we came well prepared. We packed:
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Vinyl zippered mattress covers (two queen, two double)
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Extra sheets and lots of bed pads
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Pull-ups for nighttime
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Labeled daily medications, plus his medicine spoon
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Clothes, socks, and shoes for his “thumpy” gait
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And everything else... except a toothbrush. So he used mine for a day. Nobody died.
Our bedding setup goes like this: vinyl zippered mattress cover → sheet → bed pads. Most mornings, we just removed the pads. Sometimes, we had to change the sheet too. We did a laundromat stop halfway through. The system worked—and no mattresses were harmed in the making of this vacation.
Leg One: Calgary to Saskatoon
The first stretch—6.5 hours on paper, 8 hours in reality—went well. Tim didn’t have a single accident in the van (a major win!). We’ve now memorized all the best bathrooms between Calgary and Saskatoon. The gender-neutral or single-room ones are our go-tos.
Once in Saskatoon, we checked into a hotel, remade the bed, and went out for dinner. The next morning, while my husband (our heroic driver) slept in, Tim and I went for a hotel breakfast and swim. He loves the pool and even floated proudly for a while.
Later, we had a big family brunch. Tim isn’t always big on visiting, but he loves to eat—so this worked in everyone’s favour.
Leg Two: Off to the Lake
After Saskatoon, we headed to Emma Lake, one of our favourite spots. The drive was about three hours (two if you're not us), with a grocery pickup in Prince Albert that I’d pre-ordered online from Calgary—highly recommend!
The hotel at the lake had Wi-Fi, which was a pleasant surprise. While Tim tolerated the cartoon channel, he much preferred watching Disney movies on his iPad or our phones.
Our days were filled with:
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Walks, drives, and canoe rides
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Picnics, ice cream, chips and dip - and Diet Pepsi (for Tim)
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Beach campfires and simple, slow days
One day, we even took Tim to a photography talk at a local gallery. With candy in hand and streaming video on my phone, he was a model audience member. We were, honestly, a little shocked—in the best way.
We also visited my sister (who has special needs) and reconnected with my lifelong friends, The Girls from PA. It was the kind of slow, full week we needed.
Leg Three: Humboldt and Family Time
After six nights at the lake, we drove to Humboldt to visit Tim’s grandparents. We stayed in an Airbnb with a super-deep queen mattress. Thank goodness for our backup vinyl covers. I forgot to pack a queen sheet, but Tim’s grandma had us covered—literally.
Tim loved the giant bed (probably the biggest he’s ever had). We saw the whole Schweighardt family—people came from Regina and Saskatoon, even just for the day. Their love and effort mean so much to all of us.
Heading Home: A Rainy Day and a Dry Car
We got a late start leaving Humboldt. The Airbnb had a long list of cleaning requests, despite charging a cleaning fee. We spent an hour scrubbing floors, taking out garbage, and re-dressing the bed with their linens. Not ideal, especially with a long day ahead.
The drive back to Calgary is about eight hours, but it took us ten with stops. We limit Tim’s drinks in the car to prevent accidents, and for the first time ever, he stayed completely dry the whole trip.
We stopped in Drumheller for a picnic supper, thanks to a care package from Tim’s grandparents, complete with June berries—also known as Saskatoons!
Reflections: Why It Was All Worth It
This trip took effort. We packed and unpacked the car more times than I can count. We remade hotel beds, hunted down bathrooms, and juggled medication schedules. But it was so worth it.
Tim swam, hiked, canoed, picnicked, watched less TV than usual, and spent time with people who love him. He didn’t pee in the van. He floated in the pool. He listened quietly at a gallery talk.
He did so well and seemed really happy, as happy as we've seen him.
And we made memories as a family—something we’ll hold onto long after the laundry’s done.
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