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My nephew graduates from law school down in NC in May. He has unlimited tickets and wants as many people there as possible. We've known about this since late last fall and I've figured on going all along.

Then Sis muddied the waters. SHE decided it'd be a great idea to have a week long beach vacation with family and friends starting the day after the graduation, which will be on a Friday. Not a bad idea except the beach is over 5 hours away.

I asked Dad a while back if he would consider going and he shocked me by saying...maybe. Normally he wants nothing to do with long trips, and while he didn't mind attending local graduations, he's never attended one out of state. I was actually really hoping he'd go--I think my nephew would be thrilled to see him, plus due to distance, he and Dad haven't had much chance to be close to one another over the years. But last week Dad decided that at 81, he didn't feel up to the trip. Which...I totally get.

That left me scrambling though. It's far too late to get a cheap flight, and even if I could, I'd have to rent a car. I would LOVE to go to the beach with the family (Edisto Island again, though Sis had to get a different AirBNB because by the time she thought up her brilliant plan, the house she usually rents--from a friend--was booked) but a) it sounded like just a few too many people for me (I do better in SMALL groups) and b) it would be an added expense I probably don't need right now. Thanks to SZ's MontanaKC and her posting years ago about a plan to save money by tucking away $5 bills whenever you got one in change (back when people actually used cash <g>), I have a tidy little vacation fund socked away that's barely been touched. It was supposed to be for a big trip to the British Isles for bff's and my 50th birthdays back in 2018 but...well, that's another story.

So now I'm looking at going down by car for a few days, ideally leaving Thursday, spending Friday with the family and coming back either Saturday or maybe taking an extra day to enjoy the area (and go to a beach that's closer!) and coming back Sunday. Dad suggested I see if any of my brother's family is going; they always drive. I already knew my nephew was going to the beach but not the graduation. I texted Bro to see if he was going...first he was, then he wasn't, then he was again. He's a teacher and can't take a bunch of time off. He responded, saying yes he was going but he had to work half a day on Thursday, so he'd be driving down Thursday afternoon/evening and driving back Saturday. He said I could tag along but I couldn't bring a lot as his trunk was full of "gardening stuff" (he does landscaping when school's out). I asked if my niece was going...first he said no, she couldn't afford it, then he said yes. So that would be three people in a car, bags in the back and oh, Bro is a *terrible* driver. Like, really, really bad. Not quite "fear for my life" bad, and he doesn't speed...much...but he has no concept of lanes and staying in them, and he tends to stomp on the gas and stomp on the brakes.

Then I got an idea.

My good church friend has a birthday in May. I usually take her on an all day "birthday adventure", usually to a local beach somewhere. I was thinking this year of taking her to Presque Island State Park in Erie...but maybe I could take her to NC? I'd pay for the hotel room (Dad has generously offered to contribute gas money or hotel money since he decided he wasn't going) and maybe we could spend Saturday at a beach somewhere and drive back Sunday.

Reasons that's a GOOD idea...

- she loves adventure and would be up for anything
- I'd have my own car and be in control of where we go and when
- it'd kill two birds with one stone: graduation trip and birthday adventure
- I wouldn't have to ride with my brother...and I could pack as much as I want and have room for everything

Reasons that's a BAD idea...

- she'd essentially be on her own all day Friday as I would be first at the graduation, then at the celebratory late lunch afterwards, then I'm sure Sis would expect us back at the house (which is an hour away from the college) Friday night I couldn't even leave my car with her Friday and catch a ride with someone else; gcf hates to drive and rarely goes anywhere beyond her hometown and a couple surrounding towns.
- gcf would still have to pay for meals. Eating while on vacation is always a little more expensive (unless we found a room with a kitchenette), and money is VERY tight for gcf right now
- she might feel like she's honing in on family time. Which I know Sis and Nephew wouldn't care about; there's been plenty of family vacations where Sis' kids brought along friends.

Thoughts?