SURVIVING A FAMILY VACATION

Susie Felker laughs at the mere mention of Chevy Chase's movie "National Lampoon's Vacation." She and her family can relate well to the movie antics of the Griswold family as it traveled to Disney-like "Walley World."

Over the years, the family has managed to survive plenty of pack-up-the-car summer vacations that make "Vacation" seem like a home movie.

Susie and her husband Russ, a Cape Girardeau urologist, have taken several trips in a car loaded with four children and a ton of luggage.

Russ recalls with amusement that the family used to travel with "an unbelievable amount of luggage."

He said his wife "would pack a little bit here, and a little bit there."

Just unpacking the car at the motel was a major chore. "By the time I finished unpacking the car, they (the rest of the family) would be asleep," he said.

The kids are older now but still enjoy traveling. Their oldest son, Russ III, is 22. A Southeast Missouri State University student, he's spending the summer working in Chicago.

Brent, 20, attends college in Maine. Rob, 16, is in high school. At age 14, daughter Shannon is the youngest member of the family.

Russ remembers taking a two- to three-week car trip with his wife and then-only-son Russ III in 1972. Russ, who obtained his medical degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, was looking at places to do his residency.

The family traveled throughout much of the southeastern United States in an old-fashioned Buick, returning through New Orleans.

"We had a 6- or 9-month-old," recalled Russ. "We, like a lot of folks, packed everything, including the baby bed."

The family settled in Cincinnati. When their second son, Brent, came along, trips meant taking two car seats.

With Russ' parents living in Sikeston and Susie's living in Quincy, Ill., summer vacations started out as trips to visit the folks. "That was when we started our car rides," remembered Susie.

Russ completed his residency and, in 1979, the family moved to Cape Girardeau.

"I was 30 and had four children before I had my first real job," he quipped behind a mustache-framed smile.

They've flown on some trips, but early on they took to the road. "We did strictly car trips up until Shannon was maybe 4," said Susie.

Over the years, they've visited everything from Disney World in Florida to a dude ranch in Colorado. Along the way, Susie's parents moved to Florida, making that state an even more popular destination for her family.

The Felkers have traveled in a succession of vehicles, including a full-sized van and now a mini-van.

Russ said their two oldest kids proved to be good travelers. But it was a different story with their youngest two. "Robbie and Shannon did not sleep or read, and they liked to argue a lot," he said.

"Mostly, it was `don't sit on my side,'" said Susie. "If you have two older children, put them between your two younger children," she advised.

"We didn't stop frequently," Susie recalled. "We had games in the car."

Alphabet games were a popular pastime in the car. "You would be surprised almost every place that starts with an A, ends with an A," Rob said.

Susie said she used to buy inexpensive toys that would keep the kids occupied on long trips. "You have to be creative with four children," she observed.

Russ taped stories to replay in the car. "I read books into the tape recorder," he recalled.

The family took little food and drink in the car, thus avoiding frequent pit stops, Susie said.

In later years, they would play video tapes, viewing them via their camcorder and a little TV in the car that was powered through the cigarette lighter.

That way, said Susie, "nobody was asking, ~"Are we there yet?'"

Russ said, "You have to pace yourself." It's a good idea to plan more activities at the beginning of the trip, he explained, and fewer at the end when you are tired.

He said he learned from experience to plan some time for rest.

"When I was a kid, we never took trips," recalled Russ.

As a result, Russ said that when he and Susie and the kids began taking trips, he wanted to schedule one activity right after the other. "I wanted to see everything and do everything when we first started going on trips," said Russ.

Brent said his dad is more relaxed on trips now. "Definitely over the years, father has mellowed."

One of their more memorable trips was to Mexico. They ate at a restaurant where customers were expected to drink a shot of tequila. If they didn't, the waiters poured it down the customers' throats.

"They did this to my mother, just poured it down her throat," recalled a grinning Rob.

Brent, who had four years of Spanish classes, found it difficult to even hail a taxi south of the border.

"Our summers are pretty well tied up now delivering our children to camps," said Susie, adding that their destinations range from New Hampshire to Minnesota.

For their 15th birthday, each of the Felker children get a special present -- a long, weekend trip with a friend, and mom and dad to New York City.

In March 1993, it was Rob's turn to be in New York. Russ remembers they experienced a massive winter storm. "It totally shut the city down," he said.

Russ and Susie said they have involved their children in planning summer vacations to assure that the trips included something for everybody.

"I think you also have to take into account the youngest common denominator," said Russ. "We had quite an age range, so it does make a difference."

Susie said she reads up on what there is to do at a particular destination. "I would find motels that had putt-putt golf," she confessed with a smile.

Now, the family also uses a personal computer service to obtain information about where to eat and what to do in a particular city.

But whatever the destination, the Felkers can count on one thing: They'll laugh about it later.