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May 20 2007

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Paul Tobin

Vacation Planning

Posted at 8:26 pm under Family

Tonight we took the plunge and reserved our vacation resort rental at the Vacation Village at Weston, in Weston, Florida for the latter part of July.  I made the reservation through the Armed Forces Vacation Club, which sells space available timeshare weeks at incredibly low prices.  The current rate is $299 for a week (7 nights)!  It is a GREAT deal for a top notch resort. 

The place we have chosen is a Gold Crown RCI resort with all the amenities.  We were able to get a 1 bedroom unit which includes a full kitchen, dining room, in-room Jacuzzi, 50″ big screen TV in the living room, with a private bedroom (King bed) and a queen sleeper sofa in the living room for the kids.  The resort has multiple pools, including one with a waterfall and an adjacent hot tub.  I think the location will be nice for a vacation.  It is about 20 miles from the beach (Ft Lauderdale area) and adjacant to the Florida Everglades.  We can drive over to Naples (about 90 minutes) and experience the Gulf, or drive about 45 miles south and be in Miami and the Keys.  As long as we don’t get pre-empted by a hurricane, we should have a great time!  Most of all, we will probably lounge by the pool and relax!

This will be the 5th time we have used the Armed Forces Vacation Club.  We have always managed to get an outstanding resort at a ridiculously low price.  There is no membership fee to belong.  You simply pay the fee for the week and can choose from RCI resorts worldwide.  The first time we used it, we paid $229 for the week.  Over the last 5 years, the prices have crept up to $299 for a week.  It is still an amazing deal.  They essentially sell their excess/unoccupied timeshare units on relatively short notice (30-60 days out).  I guess they hope you will like the place and buy a timeshare.  We have never once attended their optional sales pitch (and never will).  Why bother when I can choose a place so cheap with no purchase cost, annual fees or timeshare unit change fees.  It is one of the best deals I have come across in 18 years in the Air Force.  As long as you are flexible and can wait to make your plans until fairly late, it works wonders!

We will see if we like being this far south in Florida in July.  We were thinking about Orlando, but we have done that three times already using AFVC.  We are getting sick of the parks, and going to Disney in July is a nightmare (both for heat and crowds).  We will stay near the water and relax/despin this year.   

4 responses so far

4 Responses to “Vacation Planning”

  1. Mr Papaon 20 May 2007 at 9:20 pm 1

    sounds like fun… and the price is right! you guys should try a cruise too!

  2. Paul Tobinon 20 May 2007 at 9:42 pm 2

    I thought about taking a day cruise to the Bahamas from Ft Lauderdale while we are there, but after Karen almost threw up from motion sickness riding the metro to the zoo on Saturday, I am thinking it may not be a good idea!!

  3. Mr Papaon 20 May 2007 at 10:26 pm 3

    lol… the metro? next time you do that, have her take a ginger pill… hear lots of reports that its great for motion sickness… a lot of people swear by them on cruises instead of drahmamine (sp?)… no side effects at all… Suzanne takes them on cruises…

  4. Paul Tobinon 21 May 2007 at 6:56 pm 4

    Good advice….we had heard that when she was suffering from morning sickness through the full 9 months of pregnancy…we never found anything that helped!

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