Catholic Sensibility

Vacation in sum Glad we went. Glad we're back. I've got some laundry in the dryer, so I have a moment to summarize a bit. I have a mostly low opinion of the poor saps who fumbled in trying to get us to buy into a time-share condo. They did have a very flexible program which allows owners to use vacation time at other locations. Also attractive were the huge discounts in travel items: airfare and accommodations amongst other things. I was very tempted. Of course, they wanted us to sign up with them on the spot. I wasn't about to plunk down a $7000 commitment without driving home and thinking about it. Result? The last person we saw on Tuesday insulted my wife, and the last person we saw on Thursday showed us the back door. That tells you a lot when these folks are ashamed of people they couldn't talk into being owners. "No question; we made the right decision," said my wife, who was also amazed that our usual financial soapboxes were reversed: I was thinking, "Hey this is a good investment," and she, "Let's be sensible about our current and potential obligations." We three saw a terrific show on Tuesday night, a two-hour circus of acrobats. Brittany was glued to the front of her seat. That saved the Branson leg of vacation. Wednesday, we went to Silver Dollar City, a massive theme park with lots of food and crafts, a live Veggie Tales show (I napped through it) and the usual suspects of amusement park rides. It began in near disaster. We stood in line to do the Marvel Cave tour, but the warning for heart conditions knocked Brittany out of consideration. (My wife wouldn't have done well on those 200 ft of ascending steps either.) Then we went to the Wildfire, the big roller coaster. Brit missed the height requirement by an inch. Lip puckered, tears near: thirty minutes into our big fun day and a meltdown was coming. Fortunately, we found other rides (Dad getting soaking wet in Brittany's favorites). I did get a spin on the Wildfire, and I have to say that as much as my daughter likes coasters, she would have been scared spitless on this one. My second time through was much better. I can't remember how many times we went on the Waterboggan ("That was great! Let's go again, Dad.") I think my sandals are still drying out three days later. We were happy to leave Branson behind on Thursday, driving through northern Arkansas on our way to Tulsa. The original plan had been to see the art museum that afternoon, then hit the zoo on Friday. We ended up enjoying the motel pool instead, and after two humid hours at the zoo, decided to come home early. So this is what I have to say about what we saw and did. If not for the circus show, we would have been better off just going to Tulsa and Wichita for two days each and toodling around the zoos and museums, maybe taking in a ballgame. I don't need to go to Branson for amusement parking; we have two substantial places here in KC. Maybe when I get older, I'll think about buying into this time share vacation thing, but I want to check out some different companies first. I don't see us returning to Branson. Not when we have so many other options with less road congestion, fewer clueless salespeople, and more variety. PS Just my luck: LeAnn Rimes sang in Branson the night before we got there, and Allison Krauss sang the night of the day we left. I can't say the rest of my family would have enjoyed either of those events, but if they really wanted me to buy a time share, they should have added either of those fine singers in the deal.