Tuesday
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9/23/03
Creative Vacationing
My well-worn thesaurus tells me that synonyms for ‘vacation’ include: Holiday, Furlough, Recess, Respite, Leave of Absence, Recreation Time, Sabbatical, Rest & Recuperation, and Intermission. I’m guessing however, that only about three of those nine accurately describe part of the weekend we just spent with the boys at the exotic Park Ridge Marriott. Whoo-hoo. Recess, holiday and recreation time. To the boys, it’s a "twenty four hour vacation," but for my Lovely Bride and me it actually gets even better.
The deal is that before I went back to school and was working full time, we were lucky enough to be able to do the big, ridiculous family vacations such as Disney and the like. Recently though, as things have been a little more modest around here, we’ve been making do with our very own Marriott vacations. This summer, for instance, we did do some Mystic and Land of Make Believe, but throughout the year we’ve been using our points and getting good promotions on short stays at Marriotts here and there.
In short, four or five times a year we pack ourselves up and spend two or three nights in a place nearby where there’s year-round swimming, jumping on the beds is allowed, somebody else cleans our messes, and a few cocktails at dinner is ok because it’s an awfully short walk to the elevator. And then, of course, there’s hot tub, sauna, spa, and pay-Disney movies on TV that we haven’t gotten around to seeing yet. (This weekend it was Finding Nemo.)
All in all, a pretty good bang for the buck. My only concern was how to describe these stays. As I said, to the boys, they are "twenty four hour vacations", but then, after a last toss in the pool, they get dropped off at home so they can spend the rest of the weekend with grandma. They don’t seem to realize that’s when the real vacation starts. That’s when Mom and Dad go back to the hotel. All alone. By ourselves… and that’s where we come full circle and the other so-called synonyms for vacation come into play. Now, respite, furlough, and sabbatical really do describe the rest of the weekend.
So save those points, and ask for AAA promos at your inn of choice. Go on, consider it a tip for a happy family, good marriage, or just quality loafing... whichever.
|
.
9/23/03
Creative Vacationing
My well-worn thesaurus tells me that synonyms for ‘vacation’ include: Holiday, Furlough, Recess, Respite, Leave of Absence, Recreation Time, Sabbatical, Rest & Recuperation, and Intermission. I’m guessing however, that only about three of those nine accurately describe part of the weekend we just spent with the boys at the exotic Park Ridge Marriott. Whoo-hoo. Recess, holiday and recreation time. To the boys, it’s a "twenty four hour vacation," but for my Lovely Bride and me it actually gets even better.
The deal is that before I went back to school and was working full time, we were lucky enough to be able to do the big, ridiculous family vacations such as Disney and the like. Recently though, as things have been a little more modest around here, we’ve been making do with our very own Marriott vacations. This summer, for instance, we did do some Mystic and Land of Make Believe, but throughout the year we’ve been using our points and getting good promotions on short stays at Marriotts here and there.
In short, four or five times a year we pack ourselves up and spend two or three nights in a place nearby where there’s year-round swimming, jumping on the beds is allowed, somebody else cleans our messes, and a few cocktails at dinner is ok because it’s an awfully short walk to the elevator. And then, of course, there’s hot tub, sauna, spa, and pay-Disney movies on TV that we haven’t gotten around to seeing yet. (This weekend it was Finding Nemo.)
All in all, a pretty good bang for the buck. My only concern was how to describe these stays. As I said, to the boys, they are "twenty four hour vacations", but then, after a last toss in the pool, they get dropped off at home so they can spend the rest of the weekend with grandma. They don’t seem to realize that’s when the real vacation starts. That’s when Mom and Dad go back to the hotel. All alone. By ourselves… and that’s where we come full circle and the other so-called synonyms for vacation come into play. Now, respite, furlough, and sabbatical really do describe the rest of the weekend.
So save those points, and ask for AAA promos at your inn of choice. Go on, consider it a tip for a happy family, good marriage, or just quality loafing... whichever.
