The vacation that wasn't...
When the normally frugal hubby says "Why don't we book a mini-getaway in August - just 2 or 3 nights somewhere fun," I was all over that! It took weeks of painstaking research, but I found the PERFECT family destination. I waiting 1 day to get approval from the hubby and teen boy and the room we needed was sold OUT. Back to square one. Then the hubby suggested somewhere beachy - how about heading down to the shore? We haven't done that in ages. Try Atlantic City.
OK. I got to work. We have a detailed list of things our vacation destinations must have and finding them all in one location is very very difficult. Hubby made a couple suggestions and we swiftly ruled out a bunch of places until I landed on the Tropicana website. It had the requisite indoor AND outdoor pools, hubby's requested boardwalk/beach access, fun family activities, a room with at least 2 queen beds (doubles are just too small), and close to other area attractions. Ding! We have a winner!
Or so I thought.
Remember when you were a kid and the whole family piled into the car to head out on a vacation? It was often a VERY long drive and, if your family was anything like mine, the drive was just an invitation to pain and misery. The Dad would always yell, at least one time, "If you don't cut it out right this instant, I will turn the car around and just go home!" Maybe he even pulled over and pretended to start turning around. Mine did.
Well, we did it. Yes, the boys were squabbling a lot. No, we didn't turn into our parents and make the threat. The boys ASKED if we could just go home. Did they love the swanky resort hotel with all the nifty amenities? No. It was loud, smoky, too big, had none of the cool sounding stuff the website made sound so fabulous, and the all-important indoor pool was small, outdated, run down, and crowded. Vacation ruined. None of my boys could find a single redeeming thing about this trip. Not...a...one. They wouldn't even TRY, even after I suggested going to the aquarium ("Why would I want to go there? I can look at fish on my computer at HOME when ever I want!"), playing mini-golf (boring), the beach (too crowded), the IMAX theater (nothing good playing), any local arcades ("Skee-ball is fun...for about 10 minutes. I'd rather be at home playing my video games!") so we gave up. Why force them to stay, have them act out and beat on each other out of sheer boredom, and spend all that money for nothing.
We turned around (the next day) and WENT HOME. Yep. The threat is real, kids. They just might do it! ;)
p.s. The teen boy told us, shortly after getting home, that he's sad the trip didn't work out. He's not totally averse to going on a trip. He just wants to go back to somewhere he's been before. Like the Holiday Inn in Albany NY. He likes that place. Albany, y'all. Albany. They have a nice pool. And there's that go-cart place. OK, son. We can make that work.
OK. I got to work. We have a detailed list of things our vacation destinations must have and finding them all in one location is very very difficult. Hubby made a couple suggestions and we swiftly ruled out a bunch of places until I landed on the Tropicana website. It had the requisite indoor AND outdoor pools, hubby's requested boardwalk/beach access, fun family activities, a room with at least 2 queen beds (doubles are just too small), and close to other area attractions. Ding! We have a winner!
Or so I thought.
Remember when you were a kid and the whole family piled into the car to head out on a vacation? It was often a VERY long drive and, if your family was anything like mine, the drive was just an invitation to pain and misery. The Dad would always yell, at least one time, "If you don't cut it out right this instant, I will turn the car around and just go home!" Maybe he even pulled over and pretended to start turning around. Mine did.
Well, we did it. Yes, the boys were squabbling a lot. No, we didn't turn into our parents and make the threat. The boys ASKED if we could just go home. Did they love the swanky resort hotel with all the nifty amenities? No. It was loud, smoky, too big, had none of the cool sounding stuff the website made sound so fabulous, and the all-important indoor pool was small, outdated, run down, and crowded. Vacation ruined. None of my boys could find a single redeeming thing about this trip. Not...a...one. They wouldn't even TRY, even after I suggested going to the aquarium ("Why would I want to go there? I can look at fish on my computer at HOME when ever I want!"), playing mini-golf (boring), the beach (too crowded), the IMAX theater (nothing good playing), any local arcades ("Skee-ball is fun...for about 10 minutes. I'd rather be at home playing my video games!") so we gave up. Why force them to stay, have them act out and beat on each other out of sheer boredom, and spend all that money for nothing.
We turned around (the next day) and WENT HOME. Yep. The threat is real, kids. They just might do it! ;)
p.s. The teen boy told us, shortly after getting home, that he's sad the trip didn't work out. He's not totally averse to going on a trip. He just wants to go back to somewhere he's been before. Like the Holiday Inn in Albany NY. He likes that place. Albany, y'all. Albany. They have a nice pool. And there's that go-cart place. OK, son. We can make that work.
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| Nice view...but it ain't ALBANY! |
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