Oh, the Places We Went (Holly Schindler)

 If it was summer, it involved some sort of road trip. 

And if it was a road trip, we were staying someplace...

Well. Let's just say "sketchy" is probably too kind.

We had a little dog we traveled with--a maltese named Winnie. She was maybe six pounds at her heaviest. But my dad was never one to argue--or negotiate. So when he was told, "No Pets," he just turned around and left. We left all sorts of really nice chain hotels, six-pound dog in hand. Nothing would convince Dad otherwise. Not even an eleven-year-old me trying to tell him flat-out "No Pets" was for snarling, slobbering, non-housebroken attack dogs who liked to eat twin beds for midnight snacks, and that simply seeing Winnie (and, Mom would add, putting down a deposit) would change the clerk's mind.

Nope. No pets. The sign said. 

So we'd pull out of the parking lot, into the dark of night.

The places who would take Winnie, sight unseen?

Oh, boy.

Carpets you would never walk on barefoot. Headboards that wouldn't stay attached. I swear, one place had what I thought was a chalk outline between the beds, and another had a sign taped to the bathroom mirror: "THIS PLACE SUCKS!!! --Housekeeping."

Pools so dirty you could walk on them. Neighbors who glared us down. A few visits from police. 

I repeat: Oh, boy.

Poor Winnie had no idea she was keeping us from the finer (or at least, less smelly) overnight stays. Really, she was just happy to be along with us. Even when our stay in Texas got so hot, the fan in our family car came on. (!) 

But I don't know who has perfect family vacations. The kind with delightful weather and fun activities and no sunburns and never a fight between the kids. Maybe those imperfect family vacations of our youth teach us a little about finding the humor in situations, going with the flow. Being, like Winnie, glad to be along for the ride, no matter where that ride was taking us. 

 ~

Holly Schindler is the author of critically acclaimed and award-winning books for readers of all ages. Her MG The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky has recently re-released, and now has a corresponding activity book.