Vacation, Part II.

What is that, up in the corner? Let me tell you alllllll about it. The resort was described as "rustic", which I guess translates to a dump. As we drove in, I was greeted by a gorgeous lake, surrounded by trees and wildlife. My love for the place was soon shattered, however, when we arrived at our cabin. The carpet, I won't talk much about, other than to say I wouldn't let the children walk across it without shoes on. I saw what I thought was a mouse turd in the bathroom sink (it wasn't, but more on that later). Perhaps the worst thing was the used, dirty soap in the shower. All I could think about was where that particular bar of soap might have been. I picked it up with a plastic bag and threw it in the trash, lest one of the kids wash their face with something that had been in a grizzled old fisherman's butt crack. I mean, fine if there's NO soap, but dirty soap? I still haven't gotten over it. The cabin was advertised as having our own private dock. One that, if you stepped on it, your foot was likely to go through one of the rotting boards. I was determined to make the best of it, however, because other than Jack, who recognizes a rip-off when he sees one, the kids were in heaven, surrounded by their cousins, aunts, and grandparents.

I popped and Ambien and gingerly climbed into the bed. A couple of hours later, I was awaked by noises. I thought it was Mitch, hissing at the dog, at first, but then we turned on the light. It was an army of bats, flying about the cabin. The kids were all sound of sleep, so Mitch and I spent the next several hours sitting up, glassy-eyed, with the lights on. The Ambien was kicking my ass, so I tried to drift off while the bats continued to fly about. SPLAT! on my forehead. So, that's what was in the bathroom sink, I thought to myself. Of course there was no sleeping after that. I threw a blanket over my head and ran out to get the laptop. Surprisingly, this place had internet service! We found a nice hotel up in Whitefish and had the car packed up at first light. The resort "suddenly" had a privately owned, beautiful cabin available, which rented for thirty dollars less a night than the bat cave. We had already paid for Whitefish, but decided to come back the next evening to the nice place. The hotel might as well have been the Four Seasons, so stark was the contrast. And the best part?

A Waterslide!

After spending the afternoon swimming, we ordered pizza and crashed in our clean, air-conditioned room with new soap.