Vacationing With Kids--Oxymoron?

The kiddo and I went to the beach for a few days to hang out with our friends. Hubby was supposed to go, too, but then he was sent out of town for work. I was quite upset, and decided that the kiddo and I would still go. Well, Tropical Storm Andrea rolled in, and our friends left. I would have hit the road, too, but it took a while to get back to our hotel and to get food, so if we had left that night, we would have made it home around 12:00. That made me and the kiddo both nervous, so we decided to tough it out and stay. So for the most part, it was just the kiddo and me. I enjoyed our time together: swimming, looking for sea shells, snuggling and reading at night, watching the storm, a few treats here and there... It was also a learning experience which I appreciate very much.

What I learned:

1. The kiddo tried to slide the room key-card through the slot on the safe. Hotels charge for everything possible, including use of the safe. I was afraid the kiddo would incur an outrageous charge by messing around with it, but she wouldn't stop. Solution: I had some of her birthday money with me, and I told her that if we were charged for the safe, I would take it out of her money.
2. Our room had a connecting door with the room next to us, which the kiddo kept trying to open. We didn't know the people in that room, and I didn't want to bother them. If you are familiar with some of my previous posts, you know that I am obsessed with keeping my kiddo (and myself) safe from sickos, so I definitely didn't want that door unlocked. To keep that door locked, I had to threaten to take away a toy and lock it in the car. 
3. To keep the kiddo occupied while I got dressed, caught up on messages/texts, I let her watch TV...which she turned up way too loud. For this one, I just yelled. What I should have done was to remind her to keep it down out of respect for other guests--before even giving her the remote.
4. Our hotel had a "Kids Eat Free" policy, so I didn't lose any money when the kiddo didn't finish her food, but I hate wasting good food. For this problem, there wasn't a good solution, but a practical one. For example: the kiddo decided she didn't like her scrambled eggs, only ate half of her cereal, and rejected the apple because it was too whatever. Result: she got hungry early, and we didn't have any snacks with us. She had to wait until lunch.
5. I get really anxious when I have to drive somewhere unfamiliar, and the kiddo's incessant talking is extremely distracting. In those instances, I just had to tell her to be quiet, and ask her to look for landmarks.
6. Our room had a balcony, and the kiddo was allowed to go out on it by herself because she is good about being careful up high. However, I heard this awful noise, which turned out to be the kiddo singing. Apparently, there is a song from The Little Mermaid  that sounds like "ah ah ah", which the kiddo was wailing singing loudly. I had the same reasoning here as in #3, but I was also kind of embarrassed by that noise sound, so I had to remind her not to disturb the peace.She was a little insulted that I didn't like her singing. 

However, I wasn't the only Mean Mommy--not by a long shot! I heard moms yelling at their kids for running down the halls, for getting into the elevator without them, for not paying attention for where they were going, for splashing someone/squirting someone with a water gun...

All in all, our trip was a great way to kick off the summer. However, what I did  was similar to what single moms have to do all the time--in theory. Hopefully that doesn't include worrying about potential sickos in the next room or the kids channeling Ariel too loudly.  Kudos to all you single moms (and dads). You need a vacation!