When vacation plans go astray, roll with the punches
Set against the dramatic backdrop of Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell Center provides a fitting setting for the icon of freedom and a perfect vacation destination. Credit: R. Kennedy for GPTMC
Oh, the places you’ll go, the lessons you’ll learn and the fun you’ll have when your best laid vacation plans go astray.
Recently, we had planned to hit the road and travel north to visit our relatives in Toronto, with a stop in Binghamton on the way. But much to our chagrin, the bulk of our vacation plans fell by the wayside when the night before our trip we discovered that our children's passports had expired.
Since our bags were already packed and we had a scheduled campus tour the next afternoon at Binghamton University, a college interest of my eldest child, we set our alarm and turned in for the night, painfully aware of the crestfallen expressions on the faces of our children, who were looking forward to spending time with their cousins.
We woke up early the next day and headed up to BU as planned because wise man Dr. Seuss would have concurred: “And when things start (or in my case, don't start) to happen, don't worry. Don't stew. Just go right along. You'll start happening too.”
After fessing up to the kids that we messed up, we turned the reins over to them and asked them to steer the direction of the trip (returning home or visiting Niagara Falls among the options.) Their pick: Dorney Park in Pennsylvania, where we spent the next day and crashed at a hotel nearby. The kids had a blast. As we hit the road the day after to head home, on the spur we decided to check out Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia, viewing in awe the cracked Liberty Bell, a timeless icon of freedom. We also visited Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were signed. While waiting on line to enter Independence Hall, visitors queried us about our plans, and we had to chuckle as we told them about our altered plans, which may well have not come to pass had we outright chucked our plans upon discovering our passport faux pas.
Having our original plans fall apart allowed us the freedom to make impromptu decisions along the way, and oh, the places we went and the fun we had. We roamed around Center City district, walked to City Hall and through Washington Square West, stopped for ice cream and treated ourselves to the sights and scenes of the historic city. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves as we let our eyes and feet, not our brains, dictate our steps. Our passport fiasco also taught us and the kids a lesson: When life inevitably presents us with roadblocks, rather than get stuck in a negative mode and stew, it's best to just roll with the punches.
