Lessons I Learned from Going in the Wrong Direction Down the Wrong Road

Back in 2007, Michelle and I decided to go to the beach at South Padre for family vacation. Some friends of ours introduced us to an Internet company that could save us some money on nice accommodations. The only drawback was what the terms and conditions stated, that once the reservations were made, it was non-transferable and non-refundable, no matter what. At any rate, we decided to take the risk. Upon what we thought was our destination, our young ones (5 and 4 years old) had just finished their umpteenth video-watching. When I walked into the hotel, excited about the surroundings, I found that they did not have a reservation for me. Frustrated, I asked them to check other spellings, etc. Finally, they asked where I was headed. I said, "1000 South Padre Blvd.". They said that I was at 1000 Padre Blvd., and that I was 3 1/2 hours from South Padre. Needless to say, it was an emotional moment when I had to return to the car and tell Michelle the dreadful news. But, due to the nature of our reservations being non-transferable and non-refundable, we headed down the road to arrive at our "final destination" after 1 the next morning...with the words from the front desk, "So, you must be Mr. Pilcher..."
OK...so here's a list of lessons I've learned thus far from that difficult experience:
(1) Not all roads lead to South Padre…
(2) For all practical purposes, there’s really only one direction to South Padre: further south!
(3) Good intentions don’t get you to South Padre.
(4) When your reservation is non-transferable and non-refundable, it doesn’t matter how far you’ve come in the wrong direction, on the wrong road…if you’re not there yet, you’re profoundly not there.
(5) If you’re not at your proper destination, no amount of emotions will change your course. If you make the proper course corrections, abandon an elevated ego and get on the right road, going in the right direction, your reservation will be secure.