Rumble at the beach

Sorry kids, it's a long one...

Last week we had our annual Swanson Family Vacation. Almost every year I have been a part of the family, we have gone to Myrtle Beach, SC. This year, however, we decided to do things a little differently. Instead of the 4 bedroom condo in MBSC, we went with a house in Destin, FL. This house, coincidentally, is about a mile and a half from where Kimberly and I stayed on our honeymoon (awwww).

This story isn't about the vacation as a whole, though. This story is about our first 5 hours in Destin.

We arrived at the house at 3:30 pm on Saturday. Kimberly's dad (Kent) and the homeowner had established that we would arrive between 2:00 and 4:00. When we pulled up, we were surprised to find three cars and a number of beach chairs in the driveway. Standing there a little confused, we tried to understand what exactly was happening. Kent called the homeowner, who actually lived in a second building that was attached to the house by a walkway. Within moments he was standing in the driveway with us, and this was his story:

Guys, I'm so sorry. We had a huge storm, and the electricity has been out all day and actually just now came back on. The people in the house right now are packing up and they should be out soon. Then we'll go through and clean, and we'll get you right in.

A little weird, but okay. I mean, why would the power being out delay the departure of the previous residents by hours?

It was around this time (Kent, Rosary, Andy, and I were standing in the driveway with the homeowner) that we turned around to see 5-6 people in swimsuits walking up the street. They walked past us in the driveway, up the stairs and into the house. Our house. These people didn't look like they were getting ready to go anywhere. The homeowner (Keith) by this point had stepped out into the street and was trying to (or attempting to look like he was trying to) call someone and get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, a couple of people came out of the house and were talking to Rosary. They explained to her that no, they were not leaving. They had signed a contract and paid Keith to stay an extra day, leaving Sunday. If this is true, then we (nine of us, including three children ages 6, 3, and 2) have nowhere to stay for the night.

When presented with the news of what the residents said, Keith responded with a disgusted look on his face - "No, that's not true! They never signed a contract to stay an extra day!" It should be noted throughout the duration of this ordeal, Kent had his signed contract, along with copies of all correspondance with Keith, in hand. For reasons we couldn't really discern, Keith just wasn't walking over to the other residents and giving them the boot.

By this time, almost an hour had passed. Keith was going back and forth between us, the other reesidents, and his cell phone. There was no resolution in sight. He just kept pacing, looking nervous, and going back to his story about the power being out. Despite the other residents' insistence that they had signed a contract to stay an extra day, they were yet to produce actual proof of this. They seemed like nice enough people at the time. When we had been there for a while, Ashlyn had to go potty, so the let us in to use the bathroom. Also, they brought out popsicles for the kids - it was freaking hot outsite! On the surface, it appeared that Keith had double-booked, and even if it was an honest mistake, the situation was his fault. Also, during a conversation with these people, Rosary was told that the house was not really up to snuff. Of the 5 or 6 TV's in the house, only two of them actually worked - plus Keith was really strange and had people coming and going constantly during the week, and at one point, he actually knocked on the door and asked them to give him a ride to the store (all of these claims were found later to be grossly exaggerated).

At this point, Keith told us if we can just go out for a little while, check out the things to do in Destin and just mill around, everything would be resolved by the time we got back. Kent told him we'd give him two hours, and we walked across the street to the beach. Well, all of us but one. Rosary wasn't having any of it. She parked herself on the curb and waited for the resolution.
We sat on the pavilion by the beach for a while - I have no idea how long. We kept the kids entertained with sno cones. Finally, Kent got a call from Rosary. The previous residents were being kicked out and currently huffing and puffing and hastily throwing their things into the car.

By this time I'm guessing it was around 6:00 pm. This was good news in that we no longer were worried with the possibility that we may have to go out and find a hotel for 9 people for the night (maybe longer, who knows). The downside was that the house still had to be cleaned before we moved in. The cleaning crew had been contacted and was on their way. They arrived promptly and got started. At that point Kimberly, Kristen, and Rosary went to the grocery store while Andy and I put swimsuits on the kids and headed to the beach killing more time until the house was actually ready to be occupied.

At last, sometime between 8:30 and 9:00, the cleaning crew was gone. The groceries, some Domino's pizza, 6 adults, and three children, and all their luggage were in the house. The only real casualties were 5 hours of the afternoon and the key to the neighborhood pool (which we believe was taken by the previous residents - Keith got us a new key a few days into the vacation).

THE EXPLANATION

Keith definitely seemed a little "off" in our conversations with him. We learned that about ten years ago, his fiance, twin brother, (and father? - I can't remember) were killed in a plane crash. That apparently gave him some emotional and psycholocial problems that he is still dealing with. Additionally, three years ago, he was in a motorcycle accident in which he suffered some form of brain damage. Before all of this, he was apparently a really bright guy who earned a lot of money from an invention having to do with microderm abrasion (not sure exactly what).

He really is a nice guy. What likely happened was that he felt so bad about the power going out, that he told the people they could stay for a little while longer, probably meaning a few hours. They took it as "Stay as long as you want". From what I heard over the course of the week, this group of people are among a larger number of people who have tried to take advantage of Keith's situation over the years. They were completely willing to use that guy's courtesy to them as a tool to essentially force a family of nine to either make other arrangements at a much larger cost or turn around and drive 7 hours back home (which actually was discussed at one point).

But, everything turned out quite well. After the first day's conflict, the rest of the week went without a hitch (with the exception of the mishap involving my dog back home, but that's another story for another day).

Funny side note, later in the week I had a conversation with Keith and Sonya (a woman he referred to as his manager). Keith, again, was profusely apologizing for everything that transpired on the first day. I told him not to worry and that everything is fine now, and we love the house. We discussed what time on Saturday we would be packing up and leaving. Sonya mentioned that Kent had told her 10:00. I said that it will likely even be earlier than that. Keith's reply was "Oh, well, I mean, stay longer if you'd like! The next people aren't coming in until late, and as long as we have just a little while to go through and clean, you guys are welcome to make yourselves at home for as long as you want!"

It's a good thing we're nice people...