Ah, the family vacation. You know you’ve been taking these for a while when you measure success not by what went right, but what didn’t go wrong. I am not a pessimistic person but we have faced some unfortunate circumstances in the past (think cancelled flights, sibling smackdowns in the back of a mini-cooper and barfing). So, I do find myself on edge before embarking upon major trips. However, last week, we had a perfect vacation in Turks & Caicos with the boys. I attribute our success to the following factors:
Beautiful Island
Put me down anywhere where the ocean water is as crystal blue and as calm as the swimming pool and I’m generally oblivious to any snafus.
All Inclusive
The swim-up bar is the happiest place on earth and this place had one in EVERY pool. I quickly instituted a 6, 5, 4 pina colada maximum per hour day. As smooth as those suckers go down normally, they go down a lot smoother when they are INCLUDED.
BYOB (Bring Your Own Buffers)
We met dear friends from CA at the resort. Not only were their kiddos the cutest on the planet, but the presence of another family adds a calming effect all around. We were all on our best behavior, lest our friends think we EVER yell at each other. Hopefully we served a similar purpose for them as we were more than happy to play with their little guys when our “little” guys wanted nothing to do with us.
Three Bags – I rolled each article of clothing into a little hot dog and wedged everything into three carry on bags. No waiting at baggage claim. Nothing lost. And somehow we didn’t run out of underwear. Downside: We couldn’t pack sunscreen in the carry on so we had to buy it when we arrived for the low, low price of… $20. There was almost barf. But clearly, someone needed more applications than originally thought.
I won’t bore you with endless details but suffice it to say we would go back in a minute. Nothing takes the place of watching your kids frolic happily on a beautiful beach and in the water…
…..excepting frolicking with them.
I’m able to provide more details for anyone who wants to go – and let me know if you need a buffer family. We would be happy to oblige.
