Expensive holiday helps us appreciate life's free gifts
WE decided to take the family on holiday to Port Elizabeth last week. This was a big deal for village people like us, who live in "the sticks" and haven't seen the inside of a movie theatre in a while, or a traffic jam.
So excited were we, that I went retro for the car trip, packing popcorn, chewing gum, peanuts and – boiled eggs; the latter a nod to my husband's Paleo weight-loss plan, in which eggs are king, since bread is banned.
Luckily, PE is not too far away. Close enough for a petrol-friendly drive, but adequately distanced to trick the kids into thinking that a car stacked with snacks and suitcases is a sure sign of memorable, holiday-ish things to come.
We knew that our seaside jaunt was unlikely to be budget-friendly since, when you have kids, there's the constant urge to give them a fun time and make some memories – and the assumption that if it's good, it'll cost ya.
Funny things, holidays and kids. Just when you think you know it all, you realise, at the tail-end of a wild weekend, that you don't.
During our last holiday, along the Garden Route, we found quality, affordable accommodation – the plus.
When we launched our "give-them-a-fun- time" activities from this lovely home base, however, we discovered how expensive "fun" is. At a couple of hundred rands per family for every damn sanctuary, park or restaurant we felt compelled to visit, we clocked up enough minuses to cancel out the plus of our perfectly cool beach chalet.
But this time, we got the balance right. And that's possibly because PE does too – it knows that the best things in life cost zilch. The four-star family unit – winningly named Abeachcottage, in a nod to its seaside proximity and easier to remember as one word, too – was a four-star experience with dozens of free extras.
Charlotte not only provided sherry, milk, juice and breakfast feast goodies, but left packets of Smarties on the kids' beds (and quality chocolate for me).
Her garden wasn't a minimalist ode to Zen landscaping either – it had pebbled walkways (great for building easy-to- dismantle stone houses), a bench (a magic carriage, when you're under five) and a bird bath (fairy pools, for those who don't know).
Best of all, the cottage was close enough to all the things that make kids tick – sand, waves, piers, ancient cannons on rocky coastlines and my childhood favourite, Happy Valley. Our best memories of PE cost almost nothing.
Charlotte's personal touches, the city's sprawling kilometres of beach and a dozen other little things that money can't buy – and never should.
The Daily Mail recently ran a poll to determine what made people most happy.
In the list of 50 things, the best-sellers were free: cuddles with a loved one, country walks and saying "I love you" made the top five. Perhaps that's why we go on holiday – to spend money on things in order to realise that we don't always need to spend money on things.
That's a good enough reason as any to go on a car trip with boiled eggs.
