http://allday.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/08/27/333752.aspxEvery vacation starts off as a dream. You've found the perfect hotel, the perfect beach, the perfect cruise ship.  But inevitably, things don't end up going according to plan.  The hotel is overbooked, the beach is overrun, and the cruise shipen-USCommunityServer 2.0 (Build: 60608.1)http://allday.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/08/27/333752.aspx#333869Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:58:04 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:333869Diana Goodwin, St. Louis, MOI enjoyed this segment, and had compassion for the family.  In July, I was driving my 6 year old God child and two friends from St. Louis to Chicago.  We had a rough start, but in Pontiac, IL, more than half way there, I accidentally flushed my only set of car keys down a toilet in a truck stop.  What a vacation!! http://allday.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/08/27/333752.aspx#333872Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:59:22 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:333872Deb Riggs, Lewisville, TexasAbout 6 years ago when my kids were younger, we decided to head down to Sea World in San Antonio.  It was early Spring and I thought that if we went down on the weekend before Spring Break, the crowds would be small.  As we were driving up to the park, we noticed that the parking lot was quite empty.  I silently congratulated myself at planning SO WELL that we were going to be the only people at the park!!  We would easily get first-row seats to see Shamu!!!  But alas, the park was CLOSED...  You have never seen such a sad site as my son and daughter, crying thier eyes out at the locked gates of Sea World.  Lucky for me, they were still young enough to be soothed later with a dinner at Joe's Crab Shack and a heated motel swimming pool!  Needless to say, I now always check to make sure everything will be open... BEFORE we take off for a trip.  (The following Easter weekend, we took the kids to Sea World and had a wonderful time.)