How the Grinch is making a valiant effort to steal the Christmas trip.
One of the things we, as a family, argue like civet cats about discuss, is travel destinations. Given the way my work schedule, uh, works means I don't have the luxury of stringing enough days together for a proper vacation...nor am I all that flexible about when I can string what days I can. This is all compounded when family announces they are going to visit ____ and would we like to come along. The problem with this is that we're not really what you'd call "joiners." Even those among the household who join on impulse regret it three picoseconds after being dragged into some bucolic endeavor. A particular nuisance are the trips which happen around Christmas. Something gets into the brothers-in-law (severally, too, which is worse) and they announce plans to head up to Gatlinburg, or Stowe or some other benighted spot which features certain elements I abhor: 1- Altitude 2- Forests 3- Snow 4- Outdoorsness We have established pretty clearly I am not...