MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
Perhaps you are one of the lucky ones, and you've never had your holiday plans spoiled by unforeseen events: bad weather, misplaced reservations. But if you haven't been so lucky, then you may have...
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
Vacation horror stories. Nothing tragic, just a cascade of annoyances, a series of unfortunate happenings that ruined a holiday dream but with the passage of time made a swell story.
Such a story was told in the movie "National Lampoon's Vacation." That's the 1983 film about the Griswold family on a disastrous cross-country drive to a theme park.
(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION")
DANA BARRON: (As Audrey) I don't want to be in the car anymore. I want to go home. I don't want to go to Wally World.
(SOUNDBITE OF TIRES SCREECHING)
CHEVY CHASE: (As Clark) We're 10 hours from the fun park, and you want to bail out. Well, I'll tell you something. This is no longer a vacation, it's a quest.
SIEGEL: If you've had an experience like the Griswolds or been sent to Dakar instead of Dacca by an airline mistake or found your tropical honeymoon trip ruined by a volcano, discovered your rental cabin inhabited by squirrels, then write to us and tell us your story. You can do so by going to our website, npr.org, and submitting your story with the subject line Vacation Horror Stories.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
BLOCK: ALL THINGS CONSIDERED continues in a moment. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.