Worst Vacation

[trainlady]

What is the worst vacation you have ever taken? Actually, I hope you don't have one and every vacation has been good! In that case, post your BEST one!

I had a bad one though and it was back in 1994. We were living in Indiana and I decided to plan a camping trip for us. I chose this campsight by a brochure I was sent in the mail. It was a family owned campground that had campfires, hikes, swimming and lots of activities like ping pong, badmitton, canoes, etc.

I went over Friday to set up caap and then Mark was going to come that night after work.
Well, I got to this "lovely peaceful family owned campsight in the woods away from it all..." and it was a DUMP!!!!!
There was NO ONE camping there. When I asked why there were no people she said, Oh, you are early, we fill up on Friday nights.
Well, that was not true, no one showed up after I set up my tent. The "beautiful crystal lake" was more like a mud hole and the canoes didnt have any paddles if i had wanted to go in the mud hole in the first place.
I didnt see any game room with the ping pong or anything!!!!!!!!!!
By the time Mark got there I was all bit up with mosquitos even though I was covered in bug spray and we took down the tent and went home!

I still love camping but after that particular trip, it was a whole year before I wanted to camp again!!!!!

hugs, train

[bluebird]

Ok this is a bad one! My mother insisted we drive to the zoo and make a weekend of it or four days I don't remember it was HELL. My father does not agree with traffic signs or streets. If he thinks it should be this way then that is the way he drives. We were in Omaha. Same for exits out of parking lots. If he thought there should be one, that is where we exited, over the curb into traffic. Then the eating. My parents will not stop and grab a sandwich no way, big heavy meals three times a day. On the last day I found a wonderful breakfast bar in the hotel. I could have killed my father. At the time I had a baby, a five y o and a ill not able to walk much 10 y o. The hotel! Yes, my parents found this wonderful hotel, motel really but... wow it was a super 8. Not knocking them. This one was in the worst part of Omaha. I was scared to death. I had reason to be. Gregg heard shots after the kids and I were asleep. There was a sting going down in the hallway and parking lot. The next morning the parking lot had crime scene tape the chalked spots where the dead bodies had fallen. No kidding. We left, my parents were furious at us. Don't think mom spoke to me for a week. One of the better weeks of my life.

[Sammi1961]

Donna and Connie, those do sounds like the absolutely worst vacations ever! All i was going to say about our worst vacations were the last two years at our cottage on the island in Maine (where we go every year for vacation) is that it rained almost every single day!! I am praying for sunshine this year!!!! But that is nothing compared to a "mud hole" for swimming and canoeing or "chalk marked dead body outlines"!

Actually, we did have one bad vacation. We invited a married couple with their two children to spend a week at the island with us. The guy was my dh's best friend from high school and his wife was also a good friend of his from high school. Well their religion led them to believe the saying "spare the rod and spoil the child" so we watched them "discipline" their children over and over for minor infractions. It made me sick to my stomach. The dad was overbearing, condescending and rude to me over and over and I ended up spending a lot of time at our neighbor's cottage on the other end of the island. Then they also saw the "discipline" and were very upset. The couple visiting us ended up cutting their week short and I was never so grateful. It was the worst week ever. I will add they did not "beat" their children but did spank them over and over. I just could not handle that. I wish now I had spoken up but I was actually very intimidated by the dad and just never said anything. We have occasionally seen this couple over the years but I still do not like them. Every since that week we are very selective over who we invite to vacation with us.

[cat lover]

Wow Train, what city was that campground in? I live in Indiana so we "vacation" at home here in the woods, but it would be nice to know so out relatives don't try to stay there! Yu can PM me too, because I would really like to know not only the city,but the name of the place in case it is close! lol

[happymomof4]

A few years ago we went with friends to Gettysburg camping. We took our camper(dh pulled it with his truck). Then I followed him in our van. We had 5 adults and 6 teenagers. Our friends rented a cabin at the campgrounds across from the camper. The first night my girlfriend got drunk and had a bad hangover the next morning. The cabin had no a/c in July. It was hot. I had my air on in my camper.

We all went to the battle grounds for a tour by cd. Dh drove his truck and I drove the van. My girlfriend got sick and I pulled over on the battlegrounds so she could vomit from her drinking. I had my monthly friend and this 3 hour tour had no bathrooms. Dh got lost 2 times. I was so mad. At the end I headed back to the campgrounds dh headed to get gas sense he was on empty. He calls me up from the gas station his mac card won't work because the strip on the back was going bad. I got mad because he just couldn't borrow money from one of the men and I would give him cash when they got back. He was stupid that day.

Then when we got back to the campgrounds I didn't put the dog in his kennel and he tour up my shades in our bedroom area of the camper. My girlfriend sent me to the shower to get cleaned up and calm down between the dog and my dh. I was pretty mad. So I get in the shower and couldn't get any hot water. I had turned off the hot water heater before we left and never turned it back on. So I got a cold shower.

Then things seem to calm down until about 10 pm. It started pouring and we couldn't find my youngest daughter and the other girl that came with our friends. We drove all over this huge 300 site campgrounds in the rain looking for these girls. They finally showed back up at the campgrounds around midnight. I think the whole campgrounds heard me yell at these 2 girls. My girlfriend and I both thought the girls where gone. I was so upset.

Sunday we packed up and headed home. I needed gas and my stupid dh wouldn't stop so I could get gas. So we got on the highway and we got stuck in an accident. I was so sure I was going to run out of gas. I didn't before we finally got to a gas station. It was the camping trip from hell. We have never gone camping with this couple again.

[cau]

Once when my kids were small we went to Springfield Illinois for a long weekend. It was a spur of the moment thing so no reservation , we got there to find out it was the weekend of the state fair. Every room was booked up all over town. We ended up in some small hick town with a 1 , 4 and 5 year old and were invaded mu big black bugs. I could not wait to get home
Another trip was to Galena Il, my 4 year old was very cranky and I could not figure out why. A day and a half later she broke out in Chicken pox. We left the next morning with the 4 & 1 year old laying on me vomiting and crying all the way home

[KSJEn6891]

Can't say mine has ever been that bad... I didn't enjoy my trip to Illinois and Georgia last July but it had more to do with my over weight, arthritis, and back issues along with the hotter than usual summer both states were enjoying.

[Lifestar]

I guess the worst one was my Honeymoon in Jamaca. We went to Sandal's resort in Montego Bay. It's a couples only resort. It was absolutely beautiful, the food was amazing, the service friendly the activities fun. The thing that did us in, however was when my new husband got sun poisioning the first day there, and was in bed, sick as a dog for the next three days. There's noting to do at a couples resort when you're by yourself. There weren't even any TV's inthe room. The only plus side was that we had an ocean view.

I've had some other horrific vacations in the 25 years since..

North Conway NH after the "season" was over. I guess they were all pretty sick of tourists by then, because we nicknamed NH "The F-U State" I have never encountered more rude and unfriendly people in one place inall my life. And I'm a NY'er! It totally ruined the trip.

The there was the camping trip when out tent flooded with mud six inches deep when we were caught in a sudden down pour, Or the time a rattle snake took up residence right outside our tent, ( there were no cell phones at the time) Let's see...

The trip to Hershey when we stayed at the Best Western, and the swimming pool, that the kids were so looking forward to using, looked more like a cess pool ( and smelled like one too) and when we asked for linnen for our unmade beds, some guy entered the room, tossed a pile of sheets on the bed and left. I was speechless! When we complained to the manager he said we were free to check out. (!)

Or the trip to the Naragansett Inn in RI, where we got lost for a full three hours driving around Naragansett in the dark and the pouring rain. I mean really, how big is that state, let alone the town that we couldn't find a hotel on the ocean? We were only going for an overnight. It seems we kept missing the driveway! But I have to say once we found the place they were amazing. They opened the restaurant for us so we could have dinner ( it was 10:30 PM by then,) and upgraded our room to an ocean view with a king bed.

Or the trip to Disney in 2000 when Florida had the coldest Dec. on record. When the heat kicked on in the condo, all the smoke alarms went off! All the sweatshirts, gloves and hats were sold out in the souviner shops, they were actually walking around in Sea World with little carts selling Hot cocoa, and I spent Christmas Eve in an Emergency room with Julia who had 105 fever, tonsilitis, a double ear infection and bronchitis. I spent New Years Eve in the
same ER with the same thing. It was a horrible flu that year.

OK maybe that vacation was worse than the Honeymoon... There were other memorable disasters, but far more great ones. The last trip to Disney in 2005, I got to meet Jayne (nagymom) on the trip home. That was amazing, and this year we're headed to Gatlinberg for a family reunion in August, and back to Disney in December. I can hardly wait to go!

[Sammi1961]

Oh My Goodness, Lifestar, you sure did have some "interesting" vacations. What adventures you have had!

[Zee14]

Oh man, these are great stories. Does a honeymoon count? Never go honey-mooning at your new in laws' place. Dumb.