Anniversary Weekend

Friday was our anniversary, and a federal holiday. Before I even got pregnant, I knew we would not be taking a big trip for our anniversary this year. So in the spring, when Wyndham called to offer a reduced 3-day, 2-night stay at a nice hotel, a $100 rebate voucher, and a $75 AmEx gift card in exchange for 2 hours of my time, I accepted. We decided to use the Wyndham offer to go to the Poconos on our long anniversary weekend.   

We arrived in the Poconos Friday afternoon and checked into the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort. The Inn is celebrating 100 years. Despite the age the place is well kept. You can tell the inn is old by the walls lined with photographs of famous people and events that the Inn has hosted over the years, by the old style elevator (out of service, located across from the modern elevator), and by the tiny rooms. 

When we got to our room, I noticed two things. First, there was a live plant on the desk that said “Gregory.” I immediately thought that either the cleaning staff had missed it or that someone else was also currently checked into the same room. It took me a good minute reading the card to realize that the plant was part of the décor. Then I turned around to notice the beds: two full-size beds. Now Aaron and I have slept in full-size beds at other hotels without too much problem. But now that I am using a body pillow and have a larger belly, I didn’t think we could fit in one bed. And I certainly didn’t want to sleep in separate beds on our anniversary. After hemming and hawing for a minute, I said, “Let’s just go ask.”  Back at the front desk, the clerk was happy to try to accommodate us, except that they didn’t have many rooms left. Our only option for a larger bed was to take a king room for Friday night and then switch to a queen room for Saturday night. I knew that would be a hassle, but we decided it would be worth it. 

The plant in the king room was named Aubrey or Audrey or something. There was just enough room between the end of the bed and the wall to walk past. The bathroom had a step up. Aaron usually forgot when he stepped out of the bathroom and nearly fell on his face a few times. Since I was really worried I’d do the same thing in the middle of the night and hurt myself or the baby, I made it a point to always remember the step.

After checking in and unloading the car, we went to the Gem and Keystone Brewpub for a late lunch/early dinner. The food sounded amazing, and it tasted just as good. Even the ginger ale tasted like it wasn’t from the fountain. 

An interesting thing happened at the brewpub. A couple times while we were waiting to get our food, I felt a weird sensation low in my belly. It occurred to me that I had felt the same thing that morning… I woke up at 6am just for a quick trip to the bathroom. After I climbed back in bed, I felt a sensation and thought that I needed to take a longer trip to the bathroom. After all, if it was a normal work day I would be getting up and doing just that. But when I went to the bathroom again, nothing happened. I didn’t think anything of it though, since being pregnant has done some weird things to my pipes. As I sat in the brewpub, I knew I didn’t have to go to the bathroom. But it finally clicked. People say that first-time mothers often misinterpret the baby kicking as gas. Up until now, I had no idea what that meant. The only sensation I associated with gas was a sharp pain, like an animal trying to claw its way out of my belly. If baby kicking felt like that, then we’d have a problem. But I suppose the sensation I felt of needing to go to the bathroom could also be called gas. I looked at Aaron. “I think I’m finally starting to feel the baby move.”   

We didn’t do much Friday night. Aaron had actually been sick since Tuesday afternoon with stomach pains. He went to the doctor on Thursday, but they just said he had some inflammation and sent him home with generic Nexium. Friday he wasn’t feeling quite as bad, but when we got to the brewpub, Aaron decided to try the Smokin’ Pumpkin wings, instead of getting something bland as his doctor suggested. I also over-ate. Our bad choices meant we spent the rest of the evening feeling like crap. But I was glad that my low placenta wasn’t the only thing screwing up our anniversary. So we finally played the card game “Back to the Future” and it was pretty fun.

Saturday morning we had to get up to the alarm. We had to pack everything back up and take it out to the car, check-out of our current room, and get breakfast before the timeshare presentation at 9am.  Aaron was finally feeling a lot better compared to the past few days and he was in a really good mood.

At the Wyndham office, we sat down at a small table with a Marty, our “personal vacation consultant.” He made small talk, asking us questions to get to know us better, and sharing some of his stories with us.  When the room of small tables filled up with couples and their consultants, one consultant led us all through the presentation and showed a short video. Then we filed out and Marty drove us to the model. First we saw a 2-bedroom unit. It was the size of a decent apartment and would sleep up to 8. I think it was bigger than my condo. The master bedroom had a Jacuzzi tub that was even slightly heart-shaped. Then Marty took us upstairs to the 4-bedroom unit. It was huge! It had 2 master bedrooms, both with Jacuzzi tubs. It slept up to 12. Both units came fully equipped (just bring your own food) and had screened porches looking out into the woods.

Back at the office, Marty showed us an interactive map of the Wyndham resort locations. There was a noticeable hole in the Midwest surrounding Ohio. But there were several locations along the east coast, including Atlantic City, National Harbor, Alexandria, Ocean City, and Williamsburg. We scoped out a few more resorts located in places that we have talked about visiting, but have had doubts on whether we’d ever get there. Aaron was really excited. And then Marty ran our credit. Since I have two mortgages in my name, it did not surprise me that Aaron came back with a slightly better credit score. He was floored, and all the more excited.

I was terrified, excited, and embarrassed all at the same time. It could potentially be a seriously bad choice to buy a time share. On the other hand, we’d be much more likely to visit places we’ve always wanted to go.  Aaron and I both remembered enjoying extended family vacations when we were kids, and Aaron was really excited at the prospect of sharing the same kind of trip with our kid. I also remembered many stays in hotels with just my parents and brother. Since my mom always woke up around 4am, she’d end up reading in the bathroom until the rest of us started to wake up. While I don’t wake quite as early, I do get up earlier than Aaron.  And I do not want to be stuck in a hotel bathroom for a few hours instead of enjoying the sunrise while drinking tea on the screened porch. 

We did not smile, nod, and walk away, as was our original plan. But to be fair, Wyndham timeshares, or “Vacation Ownership” as they call it, is different than the old style of timeshare. Yes, you pay a big fee, then regular maintenance fees, and you only get to use the property a few times a year. But instead of being committed to a week at a time, the new system is set up with points. While we can choose to vacation for a full week if we have enough points, we could instead choose to get a way for just one night, a couple nights, a few nights, whatever. If we can’t make it to a resort, we can use the points on a Wyndham brand hotel. I could keep going, but I think you can see that the new system has a lot more flexibility than the traditional week system. And that’s what hooked us.

Two hours for the timeshare presentation turned into 5 hours while we waited for paper work, and financing, and everything else you expect during a big purchase. Luckily I had brought a muffin from breakfast, and one of the representatives gave me an apple sauce. It seemed like everyone congratulated me on the pregnancy and tried to hurry the process along so that “baby could eat.” We got out of there at 2pm.

Baby kicked me a lot during and after our late lunch. So I’m pretty sure now that what I am feeling is Baby and not some other weird belly sensation.

After lunch, I realized that it was going to be dark soon, and we didn’t have time for a hike. Aaron promised that if we went back to the hotel instead, he’d be willing to hike on Sunday morning before we headed home. So back at the hotel, we checked into our queen room. I was surprised to find the plant “Aaron” sitting on the desk in our room. He promised to be quiet, unlike my own Aaron.

After looking through the Wyndham materials for a while, we headed outside where the Inn was hosting a campfire and s’mores. The sky was clear and the moon was just rising through the trees. Sadly the campfire had problems getting started, but eventually we got to make s’mores. Then we needed to get dinner. The Gem and Keystone was packed, and I didn’t want to wait. So we ate inside the Inn at the River Room. The service wasn’t great, but the food was amazing. Both the River Room and the Gem and Keystone use produce, honey, beer, and wine that are grown/made on-site or nearby. For that reason, I had to try the frenched chicken with a honey glaze – yum!

Sunday morning we didn’t set the alarm, but we both woke up early. After loading the car and checking out, we ordered breakfast sandwiches from the Buckwood Café inside the Inn, right next to the front desk. The café had a nice sitting area that looked out toward the Delaware River. We watched the mist and fog roll across the mountain. After breakfast we spent some time snapping pictures around the Inn. Despite the gray morning, it was still very pretty.

Instead of heading straight home, I still wanted to get in a hike. Aaron didn’t complain, so we headed over to Big Pocono State Park. Based on the map, I determined that the Shawnee Inn wasn’t really situated in the actual Pocono region. It’s next to it. And while trying to find a hike that was considered easy (most of the hikes are up and down the mountains), I ended up at Big Pocono State Park. That way we could really say we had been in the Poconos.  

The parking area that we stopped at was at the top of Camelback Mountain. We got out of the car to find the outside temperature was freezing, and made even more so with the biting wind. The view was worth it though. We could look out to the valleys below on either side of the parking lot. We both bundled up in coats, gloves, hats, and a scarf, and then headed for the “easy” Indian Trail. As soon as we left the parking lot, the trees buffered the wind. As we walked, not only did we warm up from the exercise, but the sun also came out. By the end of the hike we were both sweating, had taken off our hats, gloves, and scarf, and had our coats open.

 

The hike was really neat, but probably not the best idea. The trail circled the top of the hill, and was very rocky. I was thankful that we both had hiking poles. Without the poles, I most likely would have tripped. At one point there was even a scramble up some rocks to stay on the trail. It was fun, but Aaron kept asking me if I was alright. I was less worried about the uneven terrain, and more worried about the “healthy population of Timber Rattlesnakes” as advertised on the park bulletin board. Luckily neither of us tripped or fell and we didn’t meet any rattlesnakes.  When we finally got back to the car, we shed our winter clothes and cooled off in the wind. The hike was a great way to finish off an interesting weekend.

I haven’t downloaded the pictures off of the camera yet. So instead, here is a photo that my Dad recently sent me. It was taken on a family vacation to the Gulf Coast of Florida with my grandparents. Despite getting an earache and not being able to swim most of the week, I had a fun time. It was one of my favorite family vacations. Hopefully we’ll be able to have memorable vacations like that with our kid(s).

In case you are wondering, I’m holding a shark. My dad and grandpa had been fishing off the beach. I decided to sit in my dad’s lap and help him fish for a few minutes, and suddenly we were reeling in a shark!