Friday, September 17, 2010

As Good An Excuse As Any


We have to take a vacation. We don't want to but we have have to. Yeah, right.

A couple years ago I did kind of a dumb thing. I bought a time share in Duck, NC, on the Outer Banks. A second one. I bought the first time share in Kitty Hawk, NC, on eBay sight unseen. It's what they call a 'lock out' unit. There are actually two individual units separated by a locked door and in total it sleeps ten.

You can use either one side or both at the same time. If you only use one side, you can 'bank' a week in lieu of using it but they have to be used within two years or they expire. You can save it to trade for another week somewhere. Theoretically you can trade for stays all over the world, but it's easier said than done to find a place where you want when you want but it can be done.

Anyway, I bought the first one on eBay for a pretty good price considering the people we bought it from probably paid eight times the amount we did. It's the week of Memorial Day in May, and we've been three years in a row. We love it. We begin to look forward to it about the middle of winter.

After our first stay I immediately when to eBay when we got home to see what else was for sale in the area. There was another time share for sale in Duck at a resort right on the water, not quite as nice but a great location.

This is the second week of October. I paid $157.50 for another lock out unit, another possible two weeks annually. Seriously $157.50 for a deeded time share which means it doesn't expire like some do after 20 years. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now we have four weeks and we can't seem to use them.

There is some flexibility. You can use them, or rent or give them away if you can't use them yourself. We have offered weeks to several people over the years but no one has taken us up on it.

A few weeks ago realizing we need to use it or lose it before the end of October, we started looking for a place to go. We don't really want to fly which limits us. I went to the RCI site, which is the company we use to bank and trade, and began to look for a place in New Hampshire, Vermont or Maine.

I found a week at Smuggler's Notch Resort in Vermont. It's costing us $179 for a week at a very well-rated resort with two beds, two baths and a fully-equipped kitchen. It's a big time share spot but you can rent there and a week could be as high as $1,000.

I think the fall colors will be gone but it's a nice location with nearby places to visit. It's near Burlington which is a college town. Stowe is close which is a pretty New England town. That's the home of the Trapp Family Lodge. Remember the vonTrapp family from the Sound of Music? It's an area we've visited many, many times but not recently.

So darn! We have to go away. It's rough but someone's got to do it.

7 comments:

Pam said...

Time shares always sound like they are going to be so flexible, but rarely turn out to be that way. At least you got it for practically nothing.

And I'm still interested in using that week next month, if it's still available!

Michele said...

We've talked about buying a time-share but it always seemed expensive and inconvenient. Some friends have them. We should probably look into it some more. Ebay, huh?

Sahildeki Ev said...

Sounds a complicated thing.. Hope you will have a great time

Sultan said...

I hope you will have a wonderful time.

Debby@Just Breathe said...

It sounds wonderful. Have a great time. What a great price!!!

Vodka Logic said...

How lucky that you can take so many lovely vacations.. I wish I had time for the beach.

Jeanie said...

Hey, sounds great to me! I don't think one can have too many vacations! I've always wanted to go to the Trapp Family lodge -- I was such a Sound of Music fan as a teen! And Vermont will be gorgeous! (Though my friend who lives in Manteo at the Outer Banks said the weather has been incredible since the hurricane, the water warm!

Have a wonderful time!

 

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