17 Star Dream Vacation

There is one thing that never gets old when it comes to raising Sandler: making his dreams come true.  Unlike many kids his age, he is not wishing to be rewarded with material things or trying to achieve unattainable goals — such as becoming the next Fortnite champion of the world. In fact, his hopes and dreams are that everyone is happy and he can skateboard for “five ‘mo’ minutes.” Telling him I was delighted to take him on a tour of skateparks he had never been to was as if his greatest wish had been granted.

I received an itinerary of skateparks, courtesy of Christian Hosoi, that would maximize the abundance of cement terrain along the way. I was so excited and anxious for the change of scenery that I picked the kids up from school an hour early just to get on the road. We headed down the coast and every few minutes I requested that Sandler and his sister look up from their phones and take in the beauty. About twenty-five minutes into the hour long drive, Sandler explained to me that the ocean looks just like the one by our house.

Once we came upon the red letters and big yellow arrow (In-N-Out), he finally peeled his eyes off his phone. I realized that is the landmark that gets kids to look out the window on a road trip these days, not landscape or scenery. It was as if we had entered the gates of Wally World when we drove into the parking lot. Both kids screamed with excitement and skipped inside wanting to order everything on the menu. We settled for our usual burgers, fries and milkshakes and took a seat. Sitting inside was an added bonus to the kids dining experience, for they cannot get enough of having access to unlimited quantities of ketchup. It was not long before Sandler had a “Jackson Pollock” made of chocolate milkshake and ketchup all over his white t-shirt.

The next stop was the hotel. I had Hotwired us a room for the night so we had a home base while hitting some of the local parks. As we navigated ourselves to the Westin and entered the stunning lobby, I started to get a little embarrassed that we looked as if we had showered in the available In-N-Out condiments. I could not help but observe the front desk person feeling a little overwhelmed by our exciting entrance. The kids ran straight through the lobby to view the pool and amenities. I tried my best to pretend I was not wearing special sauce all over my sweater and check us in as responsible hotel guests. 

Eager to see our room, Sandler came in after exploring and stared at the gentleman trying to locate our reservation. The guy started to sweat and finally got so uncomfortable he called the manager to assist. She asked to see our confirmation to verify our stay and I gladly obliged and showed her. That is when she politely said, “The hotel you’re staying at is the ‘West Inn’ — not the Westin.” She continued to explain that people make the mistake all the time and gave us directions to the appropriate hotel. When we arrived at the West Inn, located between the train tracks and freeway, I realized how sweet she was to make up such a ridiculous lie to not completely embarrass me.

I was not only a little concerned for our safety, but worried the kids would feel a little deflated by our previous digs in comparison. That was not the case at all. In fact, after skating three new parks, sitting in an over chlorinated hot tub off of the interstate and running over a skunk, Sandler rated the trip seventeen out of ten.  Hearing his review actually tricked me into thinking we had stayed at one of the finest resorts in Southern California.

Though the skunk probably was not that happy, everyone else was and he got to skateboard for a lot more than five ‘mo’ minutes. According to Sandler, it was a seventeen star dream vacation.

- Nikki