Family Vacation 2013

Yes, it has already happened, what we anticipate yearly. The Moore family vacation, version 2013. This is not a vacation with "improvements" like a new Windows operating system. No, every year we take a vacation to seemingly wait for problems to happen. Obviously, a Moore vacation is not complete without hassle! Let's look at highlights before moving on to this year's festivities!

1979: Christmas trip from Wilmington, NC to Michigan. We anticipated a rather long drive, but doable, probably arrive at my grandparents' home after dinner. No, we had a faulty company car
that had a bad electrical system. We broke down about 50 miles from home...then a few other times after that, I believe, and we ended up staying in a motel in Ohio because both my parents were so tired. The trip home was much better, from my memory. I was only 7 then.

1987: The family trip to Yosemite. Mostly pleasant. We flew to Reno, then drove to Yosemite...and stayed at a rathole outside the park because ratholes inside the park were more expensive and required a decade's advance reservation. We did horseback riding, hiking, biking, and took drives around the park itself to see sequoias and the beautiful Half Dome. The trouble was at the end of the trip. We flew from Reno to Minneapolis expecting to connect to Newark (meaning we need a Noah to build a new ark to save worthy creatures after Newark's imminent flooding). The flight was canceled, so we grabbed one airline to Chicago, then RAN to the other side of O'Hare to connect to Newark. We got home 6 hours later than planned. I was 14 then.

2006: My fiancée Vickie and I were going to my friend Rob's wedding in Pasadena. We hadn't made any reservations, so we were hoping to find a nice motel along I-210. Well, that July evening, there was a power failure in the San Gabriel Valley, so  vacancies were tough. We finally found a place in Covina for $72...and I have to say, the rathole outside Yosemite was an IMPROVEMENT! There were no towels, graffiti substituted for the usual cheap art in the room, and overall I had the sensation that this hotel was used by well-funded gang members. We got up the next morning, showered, dried ourselves with the sheets and then left at warp speed!

2011- A well-needed trip to Santa Rosa. We made a reservation in Bakersfield, which was about halfway for us from Las Vegas. We got to Bakersfield around 8p.m., ate some dinner, then headed back to the hotel. Natalie was still 1, and was having trouble sleeping in a normal bed. Well, no wonder, because we'd reserved a crib and it wasn't available because someone decided to stay an extra day at this half-diamond Econolodge. So...after trying in vain for hours to get Natalie to sleep, we left. Yep, we abandoned our hard-earned $30 and got the hell out of pit 1...and drove about 90 minutes to pit 2: Fresno. Yes, we drove 100 miles away to find a Ramada for $59! And they had a crib! We went upstairs, changed Natalie's diaper, and went to sleep immediately. The next day, we made it to Santa Rosa without incident. Traffic, yes, but no incident.

2012: Vacation to Florida. We flew from San Diego to Houston, then rushed to our next flight from Houston to Orlando. Apart from the first flight's delay, not bad at all. A wonderful week and a day later (really, it was), we returned our rental car. Interesting side note: If you want to return a rental car to Orlando, there are gas stations 3-4 miles from the airport that are market price. Inside of that, expect to add $2 per gallon! Vickie's aunt gave us the head's up on that. Once we arrived to check in, we were ready to grab a flight to Dulles and then connect to San Diego. Well, our Dulles flight was delayed and we wouldn't be able to make the connection to San Diego. So, the agent rerouted us to Denver, then from Denver to SD. Fine, great...except for one thing: IT WAS A 9 HOUR LAYOVER!!! Oh yes! And with a 2 1/2 year old to boot! And no food vouchers for the day!! Well, at 6pm we boarded the plane only to see an thunderstorm come in and delay us an hour or so. We got to Denver eventually and had to search for our gate. Luckily the flight number had changed and the flight was slightly delayed, so no problem. I wrote to United with my complaints and they gave us $450 in vouchers good for a year. Great! That brought us to.....

2013! Colorado Springs! This came at the end of the last week of school. Our flight on Allegiant was on time, though we were in the back, right next to the engine, so no views at all. Small change there. When we arrived at the wonderfully small airport, we headed to the rental car desk. Vickie had gotten a package deal for car and hotel. Well, the car company apparently hadn't been paid enough from Orbitz because they needed another $200 deposit! We didn't have it! We had to call my mom to get an advance of $200 so we could get out of the airport! After that all was well....almost. We got our crummy car (Ford Fusion stripped of good transmission and a port to play an IPOD), found our hotel, got something to eat, and got paid at 9:35pm and paid my mom back. The one other bad thing was terrible news about a dear colleague, I won't delve into that, it is too soon. After all that, we got to see Cave of the Winds and drove up to Pike's Peak! We saw lots of nice mountains and trees. We didn't see enough! I want to go back. We flew from Denver to Las Vegas on United using our vouchers and had an hour's delay, but we shrugged that one off. Natalie is older and easier to control...at times.

I can't wait until next year's adventure! If all goes well, it will be a return to Colorado Springs, or a visit to Michigan to see family. If all is not well, we will have a canceled flight to Newark, a $400 deposit to get a 1974 Ford Pinto with an electrical problem, and an Econolodge with no towels but lots of graffiti! Somewhere along the line, it does add up, I just hope it stays safe.