After the dates have been chosen, the hotel has been booked and reservations for that amazing local eatery are reserved, the excitement sets in. It's almost time, but if you're like me, so does the anxiety.
Afterall, the what-if's start creeping into your mind, what if I forget something, what if someone gets sick... First remember, no well-thought-out plan has ever gone perfectly. Be prepared to roll with the punches and go with the flow. For lack of a better saying, put on your positive panties.
Stay Positive
I once spent days looking for the best hotel on our way to Florida. For us, Orlando is 14 hours away, and we like to break up the drive. My youngest has said plenty of times that he will never fly. He equates planes to a big metal death trap. No matter how we've tried to get him over his phobia, we are destined to drive.
So, I read reviews, I looked at pictures and settled on a hotel chain that had a pool and jacuzzi. Indoor, because we were traveling through Georgia in late September, and it was too cold to swim in an outdoor pool. I thought it would be fun for the kids to swim, and super relaxing for me and the hubs to unwind in the jacuzzi after a long drive. I don't know what made me do it, probably my good buddy anxiety, but we were about 45 min away from the hotel and, I thought, let me call and double check those pool hours.
The hotel clerk very nicely explained that both the pool and jacuzzi were closed, under maintenance. They were cementing over the jacuzzi! Somehow, Jacuzzi’s have become a liability to hotels. If learning that tidbit of information wasn't aggravating enough, now we had to find another hotel. We were all disappointed.
We ended up at a horrible hotel about an hour away that had a pool, but turned out to be outdoors, and we couldn't use it once we got there, because it was too cold. It was too late to find anything else because the majority of hotels in the area were booked. We were all bummed. I could see it on everyone's faces.
Instead of being defeated, my hubs saved the day. He grabbed the wireless speaker out of our bag and headed for the pool. I grabbed the snacks. This was our vacation after-all, and having fun with our kids is what it was all about. So, we went outside, put on some music and had a dance party while dipping our feet in frigid water. The glass of pinot and candy for the kids helped too, but it turned out to be some pretty-fond memories.
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