Disneyland or Bust: A Mother-Daughter Coastal Road Trip

[STLMickeyMom]

what an awesome aquarium and some pre-Disney pixie dust on the free passes! that was so super nice of her! I love random acts of kindness!

the aquarium looks super fun! we went to the shedd in Chicago a year ago and saw a similar jelly fish exhibit. I could have stood and watched them and the sea horses for hours. they are some peaceful....

yay! more swimming and free drinks at the hotel! the drury inn (if you have those near you) do the same in the evenings. we done a stay-cation there a couple times. they have a great breakfast too.

willow---I LOVE room service too! isn't it so fun? we stayed somewhere awhile ago and they rolled the tray in, set everything up on the table and even put a flower out (a pink gerber daisy, which happens to be one of my favorite flowers!). it was so pretty, but I have to tell you, I took my plate to the bed and ate there while I watched some tv! isn't it fun to stay at a hotel?

 

[KatMark]

Fun updates. We've stayed at Embassy Suites a couple of times and love them there.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the major with the aquarium passes. That aquarium looks awesome (I know DH would LOVE it).

Pool time is always fun.

And it's always nice to order room service and just lay back once in awhile. And those potato skins are reminding me it is lunch time and I'm hungry.

 

[pkondz]

We were on the road at 9:00AM.
And then, through the magic of trip reporting, we arrived at the Embassy Suites in Seaside, California (right next to Monterey) at about 11:20AM.

Beam me up Scotty.

(I chose the Embassy Suites because it was FREE with Hilton Honors points yay!, and because we love Embassy Suites for the roomy suites and the free breakfast and WINE!)

Free...
Such a nice word.

I guess I missed getting a pic of the living room area; I’m sure you can imagine it.

What???? No living room pic!?!?!

That's it! I'm done reading this TR!



Although I do want to see what happens next...


Maybe I'll keep reading.

But you're on probation, lady!

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is located where a cannery (opened in 1916) used to stand.

Fish cannery I'm betting.

The cannery closed in 1973, and in 1977, plans began for a world-class aquarium.

Well of course. If the cannery closes, what are you going to do with all the extra fish???

AND the sign indicated that it was going to be $70 just for the two of us.

I am not shocked by that pricetag at all.
Aquariums (at least the big ones) all seem to be expensive.

While we were standing there waiting, a woman and her young daughter came out of the aquarium and walked up to us. The woman said, "Is it just the two of you?" I said that it was, and she said, "Come with me - you can have our visitor passes!" They were passholders and apparently got free visitor passes, so she just walked us over to the entrance, gave the employee her passes, and we were in! WOW! People like this - who take that little extra effort to make someone else's day - always renew my belief in the human race. We were so grateful!

Wow! That's really great!
Pixie dust outside of Disney, for a change.
Nice!

We checked out the otters for a bit.

Well of course.
If you're going to visit an aquarium, you otter see it all.

And then we had to get some lunch because we had really had pretty much nothing to eat today. We went to the little cafeteria-style restaurant where we got pizza and salad to share.

Ha! Cheese pizza. The hallmark of the parent-with-child meal.
I have no idea when it ends.
Kay is almost 14 and still only wants cheese pizza.

Willow had me take a pic of her with her camera somewhere along the way:

Well of course, otherwise how will she know she was there?

Now, we didn't spend a ton of time at the aquarium, but we enjoyed what we did - we saw the living seas exhibit…


Willow pic:

Hmmm..... there's something fishy about those pictures.

Did you know you can tune a piano but you can't tuna fish?

Never seen those before.
Pretty cool

I liked these light fixtures!

Do you know how long I stared at that photo before I could decide whether they were alive or not?

When I last left off, we were leaving the Monterey aquarium for our hotel at about 2:30PM. Willow was in the hotel pool by about 3:00PM.

If you haven't stayed at an Embassy Suites, you may not know that they do this every evening - complimentary adult beverages (including wine and beer and mixed drinks at some Embassy Suites, at others there is a slight charge for those), juices and soda, and snacks such as chips and salsa, veggies, crackers and cheese - whatever they happen to have out on any given night.

Pretty good!

We decided that, instead, we would order some dinner from room service - one of Willow's absolute favorite things in the world.

Whose isn't it?

Willow put on a movie, and I got my book out.

Sounds nice. Nice and relaxing.

Up Next: Day 8A

Can't wait! Thanks for posting!

 

[courtneybelle]

The free food and wine in the lobby sounds fabulous!

Room service is always a nice treat, and those potato skins look awesome!

 

[hstrickland]

Howdy


Hope life is treating y'all well. I'm finally getting some real Dis time this morning since the house is quiet. Thank goodness I'm not too far behind!


First and foremost, I must say that I like your taste in handbags I did notice your Disney Dooney by the salad I have the same print It's a summer must!


Hooray for the sweet lady with visitor passes!!! Just a little bit of to get you ready for Disneyland!! And aren't you glad you didn't have to dish out $70 for just 2 hours. Seems a little pricey.


Funny how kids just love a pool...any pool...doesn't matter Lucky for you, right?! Have never stayed in an Embassy Suites, but looks very nice...especially the "free" libations. Food looked good, too! Especially the potato wedges!

Hope you have a fab weekend!!! We are actually having a cold snap which is a nice change for South Georgia.

Looking forward to more!
Heather

 

[RGirl]

OLAF!!!! From Frozen of course

And:

Free wine! Yay!

Libations is such a fabulous word.

It seemed to fit the moment.

Nice, nice aquarium lady. Love her.

We were stunned and grateful - it worked out so perfectly!

Who doesn't love room service (and caesar salad and potato skins for that matter)? Willow knows what's up.

She does - it's one of my favorite things too.

Wow! You have been a busy bee!!!!!!

If I don't get caught and comment on TRs in one big binge session on the weekends, I never get caught up!

I just realized that I never commented on your previous updates, but since I knew them, I must have read them. Sorry, I blame the absense of responses on real life.

No worries - as you well know, I have a VERY hard time keeping up on here.

Just made a note of the Embassy Suites - we have travelled that area a lot (SF to SD) and the last time we stayed at the Sand Dollar Inn. They have since closed so ES sounds like a good idea.

We enjoyed our stay very much. But we almost always have a good experience at ES.

Yeah, Cannery Row. Love it there and the aquarium is awesome. And what a nice lady to give you her visitor passes.

It was a great moment!

Is that an indoor pool at the Embassy Suites?

It is, indeed. Nothing fancy, but it fit the bill!

And I just loved the photo of the "courtyard". It took me right back to the one we have stayed at.

Yeah, almost every ES looks pretty much the same. The one in Portland, Oregon, however, is something truly special!

What a nice way to end the day. What a shame we can't meet next summer, as Willow and I would get along so well. Put on a good movie, order Room Service and enjoy the day. (Guess the two of us would get along pretty well too! She IS her mother's daughter, isn't she? )

I am so disappointed that we are just missing each other next year. I think all 4 of us would have had a great time hanging out at WDW or the Fantasy.

Great updates and yay I got a point.

Thanks! And for points!!!

 

[RGirl]

yeah an update! I have been on Highway 1 and it is pretty and scary. on the upside it gets less scary down here in so cal. Love it:

Ugh - I really wanted to truly experience it - it was a HUGE part of why I decided to do the road trip. Oh well - turned out that the road trip was a great idea regardless of the road!

Leave the aquarium at 2:30 in the pool at 3. too funny. BTW have you checked Willow for gills? she sure loves the water. But most kids do.

I should check!!!!

Thanks for the update. Glad I checked in before I went to the sewing machine. You see, there is this gal on the Dis and she makes the cutest things for her dd to wear I just felt the urge to sew again this time for the dgd thanks for the inspiration

Awww - you are too sweet! What are you working on?????

Wow. $70 for 2 tickets to an aquarium??? I'd have definitely been tempted to bail. That was awesome that you were given the visitor passes so that you could get in to see it though!

It was a really tough call for me - I don't like to waste money (well, I guess most people don't ), so I knew if I paid that, I'd be forcing us to stay longer than we might want. It worked out so perfectly!

Nice way to end the day just relaxing and getting some room service. It really is the little things about a vacation that make it so enjoyable.

You are so right. Those quiet, non-planned moments are the best!

I did! And you can read about it starting tonight.

Oh good - I am going to try to catch up on everyone's TRs tonight and tomorrow!

It's in a town called Churchill. You might have heard of it, it's fairly well known. There are no roads to get there though, so you have to either fly $$$$ or take the train, which is also $$$ and looooong.

Wow - that sounds so interesting. I have not heard of it - I'm going to have to check Professor Google.

I totally missed the update!

WHAT?????

Wow, that's crazy expensive tickets but so nice that you lucked into the visitor passes! That lady was so nice! I would really like to visit the aquarium someday...Monterrey is beautiful!

We were so grateful to that wonderfully kind woman. She made our day!

Looks like a great day!

It was a great and easy vacation day!

 

[RGirl]

Wow, it's so amazing that in TR's the travel time goes by in flash!

If only it were like that in the real world.....

You know it's funny, but whenever I hear Monterey, I think Manta Ray, so an aquarium seems so appropriately perfect.

I can honestly say that I have never made that connection!

WOW, a line for a line. Yikes. And also, YIKES on the $90 total (with parking). And people think Disney is expensive.

Right? It seemed outrageous to me.

But then... OMG HOW INCREDIBLY NICE of that woman to do that. Just WOW!

It was so AWESOME!

Haha, and I bet that Excited Room Service picture of Willow wasn;t even posed. Too cute.

If it was posed, I had nothing to do with it. But the child does know how to strike a pose.

what an awesome aquarium and some pre-Disney pixie dust on the free passes! that was so super nice of her! I love random acts of kindness!

It was amazing - especially because I was feeling so wishy-washy about spending the money for the tickets.

the aquarium looks super fun! we went to the shedd in Chicago a year ago and saw a similar jelly fish exhibit. I could have stood and watched them and the sea horses for hours. they are some peaceful....

I really enjoyed that part too. There was a neat area with Puffins as well that I could have watched for a lot longer than we did.

yay! more swimming and free drinks at the hotel! the drury inn (if you have those near you) do the same in the evenings. we done a stay-cation there a couple times. they have a great breakfast too.

We do not have those! But Embassy Suites also does a great breakfast!

willow---I LOVE room service too! isn't it so fun? we stayed somewhere awhile ago and they rolled the tray in, set everything up on the table and even put a flower out (a pink gerber daisy, which happens to be one of my favorite flowers!). it was so pretty, but I have to tell you, I took my plate to the bed and ate there while I watched some tv! isn't it fun to stay at a hotel?

Yeah! It's awesome!

Fun updates. We've stayed at Embassy Suites a couple of times and love them there.

I always look for them - they are so perfect for us.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the major with the aquarium passes. That aquarium looks awesome (I know DH would LOVE it).

It really is a great aquarium, but I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I had spent $70 for a couple of hours.

Pool time is always fun.

Unless there are leaves or bees!

And it's always nice to order room service and just lay back once in awhile. And those potato skins are reminding me it is lunch time and I'm hungry.

I never regret a room service evening.

 

[RGirl]

Beam me up Scotty.

I wish I could do that for real.....

Free...
Such a nice word.

It is! Especially when combined with wine.

What???? No living room pic!?!?!

That's it! I'm done reading this TR!



Although I do want to see what happens next...


Maybe I'll keep reading.

But you're on probation, lady!

I will try to do better!

Fish cannery I'm betting.

Seems like a safe bet.....

Well of course. If the cannery closes, what are you going to do with all the extra fish???

The circle of life.... Or something like that!

I am not shocked by that pricetag at all.
Aquariums (at least the big ones) all seem to be expensive.

Really?? I had no idea. I was shocked!

Wow! That's really great!
Pixie dust outside of Disney, for a change.
Nice!

It was a great break for us - such a nice thing for a stranger to do.

Well of course.
If you're going to visit an aquarium, you otter see it all.

Oh lordy......

Ha! Cheese pizza. The hallmark of the parent-with-child meal.
I have no idea when it ends.
Kay is almost 14 and still only wants cheese pizza.

So funny - the only topping that Willow will allow is bacon. Although I convinced her to try ham last weekend, and she now chooses that. She's all about pork products, that kid.

Well of course, otherwise how will she know she was there?

Good point.

Hmmm..... there's something fishy about those pictures.

Did you know you can tune a piano but you can't tuna fish?

REALLY?????

Never seen those before.
Pretty cool

I hadn't either - they were neat!

Do you know how long I stared at that photo before I could decide whether they were alive or not?

Maybe as long as I stared at the picture while writing that update trying to remember if they were real or fake before I remembered they were lights????

Pretty good!

Whose isn't it?

An excellent point.

Sounds nice. Nice and relaxing.

It was. We enjoy evenings like that.

Can't wait! Thanks for posting!

Thanks for hanging in here and continuing to read and comment.

 

[RGirl]

The free food and wine in the lobby sounds fabulous!

We are huge fans!

Room service is always a nice treat, and those potato skins look awesome!

They were so good! I don't think I'd had one since the 1980s.

Howdy

Hi Heather!!!

Hope life is treating y'all well. I'm finally getting some real Dis time this morning since the house is quiet. Thank goodness I'm not too far behind!

It's good to see you! No concern of falling very far behind on this TR lately - life has definitely been getting in the way of my DIS time. I need to spend about 5 hours tonight catching up on everyone's TRs too.

First and foremost, I must say that I like your taste in handbags I did notice your Disney Dooney by the salad I have the same print It's a summer must!

Oh, I love that print so much too! I saw a DCL print recently that was awesome - sort of hoping I don't see it on the Fantasy next year so I won't be tempted to spend the money!

Hooray for the sweet lady with visitor passes!!! Just a little bit of to get you ready for Disneyland!! And aren't you glad you didn't have to dish out $70 for just 2 hours. Seems a little pricey.

We were so grateful to that kind woman for her generosity. It was a real treat!

Funny how kids just love a pool...any pool...doesn't matter Lucky for you, right?! Have never stayed in an Embassy Suites, but looks very nice...especially the "free" libations. Food looked good, too! Especially the potato wedges!

We are big fans of ES - almost always they are quite nice, and the extra room with the suite cannot be beat at the price!

Hope you have a fab weekend!!! We are actually having a cold snap which is a nice change for South Georgia.

We are having a MAJOR and totally unusual for this time of year cold snap too - it was 18 degrees when we went out this morning. And we actually got snow on Thursday!!! What in the world????

Looking forward to more!

Thanks! I'm hoping to do some major updating here in a few minutes.

 

[RGirl]

Current Day Update​

So it’'s been a while since I shared anything about what we'’ve been up to in our non-vacation life, and I thought I would take the opportunity to do that now since we had a little bit of Disney in our lives this month.

So far, our Fall has been full of fun times!

Willow painted our pumpkins.

​

We went to the corn maze and spent hours trying to find our way out and would never have made it home alive without assistance.

​

We baked cookies.

​

I finally made the long-awaited shark shirt.

​

We had a great time at Willow’'s school Halloween party. Willow made a monster pencil!

​

Willow was, of course, Elsa for Halloween. Oscar was more interested in her candy.

​

And I surprised Willow with an afternoon at Disney on Ice! Here are some pics from the show.

There was an un-birthday party.

​

We were excited when these folks showed up.

​

Mickey met Jack Skellington.

​

Lots of villains came around.

​

Mickey tried to trick-or-treat with the villains, but was offered a poison apple instead.

​

Luckily, these “ghosts” came out to save the day.

​

Continued in Next Post

 

[RGirl]

Continued from Previous Post

Minnie became a princess.

​

Lots of other princesses came along.

​

Minnie was excited to see her prince.

​

Everybody went to Hawaii.

​

There was fire on the ice.

​

Lilo and Stitch showed up.

​

Goofy went surfing.

​

Minnie went to Japan.

​

Mickey went to China.

​

They both went to New Orleans.

​

Pluto looked for Santa.

​

Everyone helped Santa out of the chimney.

​

Some other friends joined in the celebration.

​

It was a VERY weird story line. But a lot of fun!

 

[RGirl]

The Contest: First person to provide the movie title from which the chapter heading comes get a point; two points if the character who utters the line is also identified. If the first person doesn’t name the character, the first poster to do so will get a point.

Current Standing:
Courtney (courtneybelle): 6 points
Jill (jedijill): 12 points
pkondz: 4 points
Megan (MonsterWDWmom): 2 points
Shannon (shan23877): 4 points
Lori (STLMickeyMom): 3 points
petals: 1 point

"So the Big Blue? What's it like?"​

Day 8A - Friday, 1 August 2014 - Monterey, California to San Luis Obispo, California

We slept in until 7:30 today! As I noted above, Embassy Suites offers a complimentary breakfast, which Willow LOVES. (It features eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, pancakes, made-to-order omelets, pastries, cereal, fruit, yogurt, etc.) So we headed down to the lobby pronto.

​

Willow generally is not a huge eater, but she LOVES a good breakfast buffet!

​

Willow: I sure do [love a breakfast buffet]! It’s yummy!!

After breakfast, we headed up to the room to get ready and pack our bags (again). I called down to bell services to get some help with the luggage. We waited. And waited some more. And stood outside our room and watched the glass elevators for any sign of assistance. And waited. And then waited.

​

Finally, I called back down to see if maybe we had been forgotten. The employee I got on the phone went to find out and called back to let me know that the bellman was having a hard time finding a cart (we could see guests wheeling them all over the hotel, so we knew why he couldn't find one ) and was VERY upset that he wasn't up to our room yet. I said no worries, and we went back to waiting.

When the bellman arrived, he was very apologetic, but we weren't mad - we were in no hurry, and it certainly wasn't his fault. He loaded up all of our stuff, chatted with Willow about Disney on the way down to the lobby, waited outside with our luggage while we went to get the car, and loaded up our car for us. And then he wouldn't even take a tip! He said that he does it because he likes to help. Wow. Just wow. We were really meeting some amazing people on this trip.

​

Willow: He’s awesome!

Even with all the waiting, we were on the road at 9:40AM.

​

And it was a beautiful day!

​

Today we were heading for San Luis Obispo - a name that Willow enjoyed saying MANY times on this trip! I was very excited about this destination because I had read about this unique hotel that I knew we were going to love - the Madonna Inn!

​

No, come on, people! Not THAT Madonna!

The Madonna Inn is a family-owned unique establishment. It was built in 1958; it originally had twelve rooms, but twenty-eight more were quickly added, bringing the total to forty. In 1960, the main building, including a wine cellar, bakery, coffee shop, dining room, cocktail lounge, banquet hall, and shops was added. And the Madonna Inn now features 110 guest rooms. What Willow and I fell in love with upon reading about this place was the fact that each guest room is decorated completely differently in some type of unique style or theme. The Inn lives on an area of over 1,000 acres, and large rocks from this lot were used in constructing the inn. Needless to say, we were really excited to be staying at this one of a kind, landmark establishment.

Willow: Oh, I loved it! I met some friends, and we swam together. We even pretended we were surfing. Because there weren’t any stairs, just at the deep end, so we would run in and back up.

We arrived at the Madonna Inn at about noon.

​

Our room was not ready, so we explored a bit. We walked up the hill from the main office/restaurant/gift shop building...

​

And found the building where our room, The Portugal Room, was located.

​

Up Next: Day 8A (cont.)

 

[RGirl]

Day 8A (cont.) - Friday, 1 August 2014 - Monterey, California to San Luis Obispo, California (cont.)

We then walked along past another building filled with more themed rooms...

​

And along a pretty path.

​

To check out the pool area!

​

We thought that the front desk person had indicated that the room would be ready by 1:30, so after running some snack-related errands, we returned only to discover that our room was still not ready and likely wouldn't be until 3:30. Hmm, what to do?

Go to the beach, of course! We headed out to Pismo Beach and arrived at about 2:00PM. We walked along the beach, and Willow did a little wading.

​

We walked out the long pier and checked out the views from there.

​

We walked into the little touristy beachy town area and found your typical beach store filled with candy and souvenirs. We decided to get a beverage there and have a seat for a bit. Willow enjoyed a watermelon Italian soda.

​

Willow: Yummy! That was so good!

And I had some kind of frozen coffee thing.

​

This place had a line every time we saw it - a huge line. They must have very tasty fish and chips!

​

At this point, we decided to head back to our car. Willow had to make a quick detour to swing on a swing.

​

Eventually, Willow was convinced to leave through the lure of a swimming pool awaiting her at the Madonna Inn.

Up Next: Day 8B

 

[RGirl]

"Will you get your head out of the clouds and back in the water where it belongs?"​

Day 8B - Friday, 1 August 2014 - San Luis Obispo, CA

When I last left off, we were departing Pismo Beach to return to the Madonna Inn in hopes of finding our room ready. We arrived back at the Madonna Inn at about 3:45PM, and our room was ready. Plus, Willow got cookies!

​

Willow: Yay! Cookies! They were yummy.

We were so excited to check out our room - the Portugal Room. It did not disappoint! It was huge with two separate sleeping areas and a very nice bathroom. The theming was awesome.

​

My bed:

​

Willow’s bed:

​

From Willow’s sleeping area into mine and front window:

​

Bathroom:

​

Towels for the pool:

​

We loved all the little touches that made this place unique:

​

Every time we walked down to the ice machine, it was so tempting to try to peer into the other rooms to see what the décor was like. We refrained from doing so as best we could.

Next Up: Day 8B (cont.)

 

[RGirl]

Day 8B - Friday, 1 August 2014 - San Luis Obispo, CA (cont.)

We got the car unloaded and headed to the pool at 4:15PM. We had such a fantastic afternoon and evening here.

​

I enjoyed this spot - reading my book and chatting with my lounge-chair neighbor.

​

And Willow made a great friend in the pool, and they played together the entire time. Man, I wish we were there right now.

​

We got some drinks from the pool bar, which also featured a limited food menu.

​

At some point, Willow and the other swimmers spotted some deer on the hillside behind us. Of course, Willow was absolutely adamant that I must get a picture, so here you go.

​

We had tentatively planned to just get some dinner at the pool, but as it got to be about 7:00PM, I knew that there was no way that Willow would actually eat unless she was removed from the pool. So at about 7:15PM, we left this beautiful oasis and returned to our room so that Willow could shower and get dressed.

The Madonna Inn features a steakhouse, a cafe, a lounge and a bakery. We opted for the casual Copper Cafe and Coffee Bar.

​

We had a great time here toasting our vacation to date and our soon-to-be arrival at Disneyland!

​

Willow once again really broke out of the vacation comfort zone and went with chicken tenders and fries. (Seriously, I'm going to start posting pictures and descriptions of our meals at home so that y'all know she doesn't eat this way the rest of the year! )

​

And I went for a bunless burger. (Same here - I should be posting my at-home meals for proof that I am not a junk-food addict. )

​

The food was very tasty, service was great, and the atmosphere couldn't be beat. Willow got a HUGE slice of black forest cake to take back to the room.

​

After enjoying making the tiniest dent in that giant piece of cake, Willow got ready for bed and curled up with The Sound of Music for a bit before going to sleep around 9:00PM with dreams of tomorrow's arrival at Disneyland Resort!

And let me just take a moment here to tell you just how much we truly enjoyed our stay at the Madonna Inn - it was unique, comfortable, and even luxurious. I would absolutely come back here except that I would plan to spend more time here. The Inn not only features unique rooms and a beautiful pool, but it also has a spa, horseback riding, two restaurants, and shopping. We would have been very happy to spend more time here.

Up Next: Day 9A and Disneyland!!!

 

[jedijill]

Memo in Finding Nemo

Sebastian in The Little Mermaid

Going back to finish reading.

Jill in CO

 

[jedijill]

Looks like you guys have been having list of fun this fall.

I haven't been to SLO in close to 20 years...looks awesome. I want to stay at the Madonna Inn...it looks so fun! Yay for being one day away from Disneyland!


Jill in CO

 

[STLMickeyMom]

holy updates! yay!!!

ugh--corn mazes! we get lost in them every time!

your hotel is so pretty. i love the bathroom! and that chocolate cake looks delicious!

 

[dizneeat]

Holy Mega Update!!!!!!!!!

I just love all the photos of your fall activities! So cute

We don't have Disney on Ice here, so that was a really nice treat. Thank you for taking so many photos. Funny storyline, though.

Wow! You got to stay at the Madonna Inn. The one hotel I really wanted to stay at during our first trip to the US and the TA refused to book it for us. No, she just would not book THAT hotel.

And Pismo Beach! Did you find any sand dollars? My mom and I went there one day in the early morning and there were sand dollars literally everywhere.

Very brave Miss Willow, wading in the Pacific - it is just so cold.

That is quite the large room! The decor is "different". Not your usual chain hotel. I would LOVE to see for myself.

Miss Willow and the pool! I just love how happy she looks (and you must be seeing her like this )
Dinner looks very nice and I do completely understand that you eat differently on vacation. You should see what we eat during the year. It is NOTHING like what we have on vacation. But eating the "not so healthy" things is part of being on vacation.