Between the twenty-four hours of trip #1 and trip #2, my youngest daughter returned from South Carolina with a stomach virus. The kind that kept us awake all night with her expelling and me cleaning. By the time my check-in time for the beach arrived, I was ready to hightail it out of Dodge.
Maddy and I took this second "staycation." We slept late, walked everywhere, ate out, and relaxed. I drank pricey beach drinks that weren't worth the money and watched the daily sunset. Somehow, and I'm blaming Darcy's illness, I arrived without a beach chair and sunscreen. That limited my activities. Because Clearwater Beach has little land available, one pool serves the resort owners' building and the hotel. Ugh. It was crowded and dirty. I went in once for an hour. The second day, instead of writing, I people-watched.
I can't say I'm a huge fan of this Club Wyndham resort. While my units (I've stayed in a four-bedroom presidential and a one-bedroom) were tidy, both furniture sets had stains and were terribly uncomfortable. In this unit, the floor mat had a dirt patch in the corner that probably could've disappeared with some elbow grease. Instead, their answer was to pull a chair over it.
There is only the one pool. The owner's lounge was a dinky room without an excellent wifi coffee machine or incentives to visit. A cabinet housed five books and several games, all with missing pieces. There are no activities for children--no fun pool games or trivia. It's a glorified hotel close to the beach. Comparing this resort to Bonnet Creek is night and day.
Still, we made the most of being out of a sick household and staring at four different walls. I met some nice folks from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and befriended the maintenance man, so Madison got a break from listening to me.
I'll chalk this week up as a win, especially in my resolution category! Next up is a writer's conference this coming weekend on the other coast.
