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7 Signs Your Vacation is an Epic Fail
Oh, the annual family vacation.
The goal is simple: spend a little time together and create long-lasting memories. While that happens most of the time, there are those times where you beat yourself in the head, tilt your head toward the sky and wish you’d never left the comforts of home. I hear you. It happens to everyone.
Here are the top things that can instantly ruin your vacation:
You Cannot Reach Your Destination
There are a lot of events that can conspire to interrupt your vacation, but none is as bad as not being able to get there. A vacation, by definition, starts when you arrive at your destination. When a simple journey takes days vs. hours, you’re off to a really rough start. Best case, the bad luck is over early. Worst, it’s just a sign of more awfulness to come. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. And don’t forget to knock back a few drinks when you finally get there.
Your Hotel or Rental Property is a Disaster
In the age of social media and hotel reviews, you’d like to think this would never happen. It’s still possible for innocent travelers to get duped by hotels or rental properties that don’t divulge the truth or delete bad reviews. Happens more often than you think. And when you’re staying at the rental house from hell, nothing works (read toilets) and it will take two days to get someone over to fix it. Never leave home without your toolbox and a plunger.
As Soon As You Arrive, the Kids Are Sick
As parents, we love to see our kids healthy, happy and having the time of their lives. However, sometimes it’s just not meant to be. When you pack up the family and start your journey, everyone seems fine. When you get there, or sometimes even earlier, the symptoms begin. Then you play the game of “how bad is it” for a few days, hoping beyond hope that you don’t have to go to the emergency room. Finally, you give in and let the vacation gremlins run off with your final moment of hope for a fun vacation.
Bugs or Other Creatures Bite You
You know me pretty well. I have serious (read psychotic) fear that there is something out there lurking waiting to bite me. Could be a nasty spider, black slimy snake, jellyfish or worse! There’s nothing like being somewhere awesome that you’ve always dreamed of going and having it ruined by a creature who thought you looked like a tasty treat. Whenever I see someone that has just been bitten, they have the look of shock and horror that says “I’m bleeding and OMG my vacation is toast!”
You Get Scammed or Robbed
Another instant vacation killer is the scam or robbery. It could come in any form. Your credit card number is lifted, your wallet goes missing while you’re in the water, or you buy tickets that turn out to be fake. While you take steps to prevent it, theft can happen at any moment, especially when you are in a new environment. When this happens you feel like such an idiot! Get over it quickly and always have a plan B for money and credit cards. Don’t let the crooks steal your vacation!
Your Adventure Turns on You
There’s nothing like a little adventure to make your vacation memorable. Or in some cases too memorable. Remember when that parasailing, bungy jumping, or ziplining adventure looked awesome from afar? It’s so much fun right up to the point where the thing breaks or goes wildly off-course. If you’re lucky, you’ll escape without heart failure. Unlucky and you’re on the front page of CNN.
The Weather Event of the Year Happens
When you imagine your vacation, the weather is perfect. You drive or fly through clear blue skies and comfortable temperatures. The first few days are perfect, and then you start hearing about a possible storm. Day by day it comes closer and closer. Finally, it’s so big that you have to make a decision to pack-up and leave or stay to post wild weather photos on social media just to amuse yourself and your friends. Safety first people! Get out early and fast.
If you find this type of travel humor entertaining, then you’ll love what Jimmy Fallon does with #VacationFail. See below:
More from Samantha Brown:
Don’t Be One of These 11 Annoying Travelers
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When I was a child, my family and I went to Utah to see Dinosaur National Monument. (Mecca for a Dino obsessed kiddo.) When we arrived, my parents had to tell me that there was a thing called a “government shutdown”. I was devastated. 18-ish years later, my wife and I went to Arches National Park, UT for a couple of days of hiking. And guess what, another government shutdown! I can’t win with Utah!
To Bradley:
Ha! I have lived here 12 years. You aren’t missing much… Keep going.