It Could Have Been Worse

Last spring my sister offered us a free week at the beach. It was in early May so it was still a little cool, but we thought we’d probably have a good time just walking on the beach so we said sure. I invited my grandson to go with me, and yes, as a former teacher I know it was bad to pull him out of school just for a vacation. In my defense, he’d only have to miss two days. We also let him invite one of his friends to go with him.

Well, my sister misunderstood what I’d said and rented the condo to someone else. My grandson was crushed, so we found a different condo and booked that. We got off-season rates so we only had to pay a little over four hundred dollars. (Could have been worse, but for a free week very expensive.)

When we arrived we liked the place very much, but it was downright cold in Garden City where we had gone. The boys acted as if they didn’t feel the cold. They put on their swimsuits, and I let them go into the ocean. They fought the water the whole day and seemed to have a good time, but the next day they couldn’t bring themselves to do it again.

For amusement we spent the day either at the arcade or wandering from shop to shop. Our nice dinner at the seafood restaurant we love didn’t work out either. The kids wanted to go to Five Guys, which is a burger joint.

On the morning we left I made a sweep through the condo and picked up hats, shoes, and miscellaneous items the kids left behind. Satisfied that I had everything, we loaded up and came on home.

When we were unloading the car my husband asked, “Where are our clothes?”

“Didn’t you put them in the car?” I said.

“No, I thought you did.”

Well, after picking up after the kids, we left ALL of our clothes except the ones we were wearing. We debated whether or not to try to get them back, but I really wanted my new bathing suit so we asked the rental company to send them to us. They did, but postage ran in the neighborhood of seventy dollars.  Again, it could have been worse, but that was pretty expensive for a free vacation.