Going on “vacation” in a cabin alone with my two kids. This was part of a family reunion. We all got cabins together in a state park.
I had to do all the same stuff I have to do at home–make the meals, wash the dishes, do the laundry, keep the kids from running into traffic, etc., except with no dishwasher, laundry machines, or ability to lock the children in.
The only difference is that it was slightly more cramped than home, had slightly fewer toys strewn about and had fewer trees surrounding it than my own house.
It was nice to see all my family and the boys sure enjoyed their cousins, but maybe next time everybody could just pitch tents in my yard.
I’ve never seen the attraction of Disneyland. Why would I want to wait two hours in line with herds of annoying people for a quick ride on something? The logic just fails me.
Personally, I’ll never get drunk again. It’s not nearly as fun as one is led to believe.
All of mine have already been mentioned: Disneyworld: So saccharine. So cheezy. So expensive. The rides aren’t even good IMO–I’d much rather go to Six Flags.
Cruise Ship: I think I went when I was at the wrong age–I was too old for the kiddie stuff, and too young to do the singles events. Plus the islands we went to were depressing in their poverty, or at least in my suburban-upbringing experience. It made me feel bad for having all the opportunities that I do. I rather liked being on the ship, though, smelling the ocean and feeling the breeze through my hair. The water was beautiful.
Snowboarding: What’s the fun if you go sliding down the hill on your bum?
Waterskiing: I really messed up my back on that one. My then-boyfriend’s father loved to waterski, and badgered me for two years to try it. I finally did, and I got up for a fraction of a second. I went inside afterwards to get lunch, and my back hurt so bad I ended up getting nauseated. Ugh.
Big drunken parties: The music is too loud, it’s always music that you hate, it’s so crowded that you can’t walk anywhere, you feel so claustrophobic, the dancing drunkards bump into you and spill your beer, and then someone pukes all over the place. Not my idea of a good time.
I’m going to anger some folks here, but The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I dressed up, I went, I saw, I got de-virginized, and I still don’t understand why people get so worked up over this thing! (No need to try to explain…I’ve got tons of RHPS friends; to each his own, I guess.)
I agree with everyone on the winter sports, though. Skiing was a one-time thing. I hate being cold. REALLY hate it.
You left out the worst part: levering yourself into a cold, clammy, stinking wetsuit that reeks of the previous 37 testosterone and alcohol sodden teenage incumbents - tell you what, I’ll just salvage some used condoms from a pub carpark, put them in the fridge, and then place them over every protruberance on my body, and violently fling myself against the walls of a cold shower for 30 minutes, shall I? All of the excitement, and I’ll have saved myself $100.
I’m always amazed at how defensive some people get when I say this, but camping in general stinks. Once upon a time, I had this idea that, as a red-blooded American, it was almost my duty to enjoy heading out to a state park with a pack on my back.
I was a boyscout when I was a lad – did the weekend trips and summer camp. They were OK, but I’m not really sure how extreme one has to get before it counts as camping. Somehow, driving a van up to a campsite, with lots of supplies (food, heat, etc.) only steps away for a day or two doesn’t really qualify in my mind. It took a 2 week back-country trip to Yellowstone to dismiss all the delusions I once held that camping was fun (not that the sights weren’t incredible). Dirty, hungry, tired, insect-ridden, subject to the elements…no thanks. I like a soft bed, hot water, a refrigerator, and flush toilets.
I came to the conclusion that there’s a damn good reason people live in houses.
I can see how camping works for some people who like the outdoors. We camped a lot (and went whitewater rafting w/o wetsuits) when we were younger and did not have a whole lot of money. We don’t do it so much now.
OTOH, Disney World/Disneyland was something I liked as a kid, grew up to detest, and dreaded having to do with my own kids. As somebody else said, it is cheezy, it is brutally expensive, and just so artificial. Did Disney World with older kid and was relieved when the grandparents spared us and generously took the younger kid.
Something I never did, but sister-in-law did and lived to regret it: Having a baby at home rather than hospital. Everything turned out okay, but there were a few tense moments (and a rather painful tear.)
Similarly Venice during Carnivale :eek:
Mostly for the tourists, a few really nasty eighties new romantic style costumes very little charm. I mean they have to introduce temporary one way systems to try and prevent terminal gridlock - this is a city with no cars! Just people - it’s like spending the day walking along in the same sort of crowd that you get leaving a stadium after a major sports event.
The real charm of Vennice is to be found at other times of year - early spring, late autumn - don’t do the carnival thing !
I was at one of those travelling carnivals that set up shop in shopping mall parking lots. I like rides, and the faster/scarier the better. There was one Octopus-type ride (it looked somewhat like this, that for some reason, no one was riding. It looked kinda cool, and I’d ridden everything else, so I went for a spin. It wasn’t fun or scary… it was painful. I felt like astronaut training where they see how many G’s you can take. Plus, since I was the only person who’d been on the ride in a while, the operator really gave me my money’s worth. Although it probably didn’t last more that 5 minutes, it seemed to go on and on for hour. Afterward I felt like I’d been in a car accident, I had a sore back, a sore neck and what felt for a while like a concussion.
Conculsion: Never ride the rides no one is riding.
AMEN! I can’t believe I forgot this in my post. Gah. Camping is not a vacation, it’s work! And as an apartment tenant, I’ve come to think of a temperature-controlled, bug-free environment with running water isn’t a privilege, it’s a right.
Basically every sport except the rather sedate ones like bowling and bocce. The one time I skied downhill, I kept nearly running over little kids and eventually crashed into the lodge. I heard later that you’re not supposed to go straight down the hill the whole time. And tripthicket mentioned how hard it is to stay up waterskiing. The one time I tried, I kept getting dragged face-first through the lake. Ugh.
Clubbing. I don’t see the point of going out and dancing to music that’s way too damn loud unless it’s at least somewhat live. If I go clubbing again, it had better involve some baby seals.
I’m with you guys on camping. My family took it up in the late '60s through the mid-'70s, and it seems only to be a lot of work, it costs a lot of money, and you don’t get to relax much. Plus, you can’t get a decent shower or have a good night’s sleep. I’ve grown rather attached to living in my house. I have no interest in gathering up a miniature, portable version of my house and taking it out into the forest.
I’m also with you on Disney. Didn’t like it before I went there (I was 40+, and went with other adults sans kids), and can’t think of a reason to go back.
Despite how much I thought I enjoyed it in the past, I don’t see myself ever getting drunk again.
