The Family Vacation That Wasn't

Last week was Spring Break for the grandchildren in the San Jose area. A month before that DIL Nicole rented an AirBnB close to Yosemite big enough for the entire family (two grandparents, three children, two spouses, and six grandchildren) to be together for three nights. After checking out, the fun would continue. Son Tony and family, along with Son Donald, would return to their Central Valley home. The rest of us would spend one night at a Great Wolf Lodge, then pick up Donald before returning back to Brian's house for some unscheduled time before Hubby Tony and I flew back. 

There were lots of moving pieces, but the only part I had to plan was getting to the airport at the right time. 

The night before we our flight we got a call from Son Brian. He said a virus had been running through his family, and he woke up that morning with a sore throat and cough. He and Son Tony had talked it over and decided that it would be best to cancel the AirBnB.

So just like that Part One of our vacation was gone. When Tony, Donald, and I arrived in San Jose on Thursday afternoon we checked into a hotel that Nicole had arranged, then walked to a park and watched Grandson Jay's baseball game. Afterwards we stopped for dinner on the walk back to the hotel.

Friday we picked up a car, met Brian and Nicole for lunch, then made the drive over the mountains to Son Tony's house. We stayed there until Monday morning. During our time we got lots of cuddle time with Grands Gee, Evee, and Ian. We helped Tony do some yard work, and went to a farmer's market and a minor league baseball game (the Modesto Nuts, the Single A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners).

On Sunday we learned that the Great Wolf Lodge portion of the trip was also a no-go, so on Tuesday Tony, Donald, and I drove back to Brian's house. Donald left for home on Wednesday, the same day Brian and Nicole went back to work.

Nothing about this family vacation had gone as planned, and to add insult to injury, the nanny for Grands Dee and Ell ended up with a stomach virus and couldn't come. Instead of spending quality time with Grand Jay, he went to a a camp. Grandma and Grandpa did their best to help wrangle two active three year olds.

It would have been nice to have the entire family together in one place, and we're already talking about strategies for next time.  

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