Cheap Vacation Traumas

San Jose, California, 22 April 1984:


Tom and I planned a Spring Break vacation at Lake Tahoe. Tom had won a company drawing for use of a time share condominium for $15 per night. By cooking our own meals, it was to be a cheap vacation. The day we left home, Sarah came down with the chickenpox! We went anyway with the plan to keep her out of the grocery stores, etc. We'd play games in the condo with just our family and she would not expose anyone else.



On our way up the mountains it started snowing, so hard that chains were required on our tires! We did not have chains, so we turned back (at 10:30 PM), purchased some chains at a hefty price, and then were finally able to drive to our destination.

The condo was really nice with room enough for everyone. We played games inside by the fire and outside we took little hikes in the snow in the forest behind the condo. We had a great time despite the fact that it was more expensive than we planned.



It reminded me of the time we took the family to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. That was going to be a cheap day because a co-worker had given Tom free passes for the whole family for all the rides. Our cheap day became an expensive one when Tom, while body surfing, ran into a girl and tore the inside of his mouth - requiring three stitches and $96!



Lesson learned: Cheap may not BE cheap but it can still be fun.