Well the getting ready — all the packing and mail stopping etc., is a hassle. And so is getting to the airport from Hansville. There is what to do with the car; should we go to the airport hotel the night before or get up at O-dark-thirty and have a neighbor drive us to the shuttle in Poulsbo or the ferry in Bainbridge so we can take a cab to the airport. Then once you get to the airport, there is the taking off of shoes and trying to get through the security door with metal in your suspenders, and then walking the three miles to the appointed gate to actually get to the plane. And if that plane arrives at the connection destination late, then there is the running to the next bank of departure areas (approximately six blocks away) and getting there after everyone is loaded and everyone already on the plane looks at you because you have made the plane take off late so it will be late getting to the destination. (Here you take a deep breath. You are on vacation.)

Finally you arrive and it is only 9:30 p.m. Now we are on vacation, right? Not yet. Find a taxi, show him the paper with the resort name printed on it, get loaded into the vehicle and then being told by the guy knocking on the window that he is from your resort and they sent a ride for you. Now we unload taxi, (driver not happy) and reload van, and we are off. Get to the resort, sign in, “no we do not want to listen to a presentation tomorrow in order to get freebie stuff” and finally get to our room. It is 11 o’clock and we are tired, sweaty because we still have on the “easy to travel in sweatsuits” and it is still 82 degrees but now we are on vacation. Right? Right!

And tomorrow will be a better day because we will truly be on vacation.

Contact Donna Lee Anderson at welltoldtales@aol.com