Newsroom

WAITSFIELD, VERMONT…

The best thing about a bad vacation or trip is that at some point they have to end. Yet for Eureka, California resident Jennifer Morey, her tale of vacation woe from a family trip overseas in the 1980s earned her first prize in Resort Maps Best Worst Trip contest, a $100 American Express gift certificate.

“I never win anything, so having the best worst story is something,” said Morey. “The last half of the trip itself was such a nightmare, it’s great that I can laugh about it later and take my family out for a nice meal. Still, it would have been much nicer if things went differently.” 

Morey’s story involved a family trip to China and Thailand in 1986. While heeding advice not to drink the hotel water, Morey slipped up when she used the tap water to wet her toothbrush. What ensued was what the hotel doctor referred to as, “the worst case of dysentery he had seen.”

So while my family was taking in the sights in Thailand, including the Bridge on the River Kwai from the famous movie, I was stuck in the hotel room,” continued Morey. “None of the traditional stuff like Immodium or Pepto Bismol worked. Desperate, I took some Valium, which, remarkably, they sell over the counter in Thailand, or at least they did back then. It worked, but by then it was time to go home.”

“Jennifer’s story really hit home for the judges for a number of reasons,” said Peter Hans, president of Resort Maps Franchise, Inc. “Most notably, it’s an awful story to travel that far and have it spoiled by being sick. Second, that it’s a memorable story. Who knows if she would be talking about the family trip to Thailand and China nearly 25 years later if she had not had that experience. And that’s what makes it a worthy winner.”

The first runner-up in Resort Maps Best Worst Trip story belonged to Susan Klein, director of the Mad River Chamber of Commerce in Waitsfield, Vermont. Her story of snow in southern California and icy conditions in Maui earned her a one-year membership to the Arbor Day Foundation. As part of that member, she’ll have the option of receiving 10 free trees or donating those 10 trees to a damaged forest.

“We’d like to thank all the entrants who participated in the Best Worst Trip contest,” said Hans. “While it’s unfortunate only two people could ‘win’, hopefully those worst trips are a lot less painful in the rearview mirror.”

Resort Maps is the creator of 98 customized travel maps across the United States, England, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. Resort Maps are colorful, hand-drawn maps of towns and cities, distributed free to area visitors at rest and travel information areas as well by advertisers. Each map features local attractions, restaurants, accommodations, retail shops, marinas, real estate and other services. Each advertiser on the map is represented with a display ad surrounding the perimeter of the map, including a color-coded grid locator and their actual building drawn, highlighted and labeled, making it easy to locate.

In addition, Resort Maps are also available on-line at www.resortmaps.com. These interactive maps allow the viewer to read a description of each business as they scroll over each building and to connect to the website of the business for further information. 

For information on how to advertise on Resort Maps, please visit www.resortmaps.com.

About Resort Maps

Headquartered in the Green Mountains of Vermont, Resort Maps has been creating and publishing advertising maps in the northeastern U.S. since 1986. In 1993, Resort Maps expanded its reach by creating a franchise model for distribution of its colorful, hand-drawn maps of resort towns and cities. Today, that network of franchises has grown to 98 Resort Maps in publication in the US, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and the UK, with several more in the process of being published. More than 18 million Resort Maps will be printed and distributed in 2010.

For more information on Resort Maps and/or the franchise opportunity, visit www.resortmaps.com or call 802-496-6277.

Resort Maps franchises serve cities and towns in California (Carmel, Monterey), Colorado (Boulder, Breckenridge, Cherry Creek, Colorado Springs, Denver, Eagle River Valley, Estes Park, Fort Collins, Summit County), Delaware (Bethany Beach, Rehoboth Beach), Florida (Clearwater Beach and Gulf Beaches, Cocoa Beach, Daytona Beach, Melbourne, New Smyrna Beach, St. Augustine, Tarpon Springs), Georgia (Savannah/Tybee Island), Maine (Bar Harbor/Acadia, Boothbay region, Camden-Rockland, Kennebunkport, Kittery, Portland, York-Ogunquit), Maryland (Annapolis, Eastern Shore, Ocean City, Solomons Island, St. Mary’s County), Massachusetts (Berkshires, Chatham-Orleans, Falmouth, Hyannis-Yarmouth, Martha’s Vineyard, Newburyport,/a>, Plymouth, Sturbridge, Worcester), Michigan (Traverse City, The Petoskey Area), New Hampshire (Franconia/Notch Region, Hampton Beach, Hanover/Lebanon, Keene, Lakes Region, Mount Washington Valley, Portsmouth), New Jersey (Barnegat Bay, Cape May, Hoboken/Jersey City, Hunterdon, Lambertville, Long Beach Island,/a>, Ocean Grove, Point Pleasant, Princeton, Sandy Hook), New York ( The Hamptons, Lake George, Lake Placid, Saratoga Springs), North Carolina (Asheville, Brunswick County, Hendersonville, Outer Banks, Salisbury and Rowan County, Sandhills, Wilmington), Pennsylvania (Bucks County, Chestnut Hill, Delaware River Valley, Gettysburg, The Main Line), Rhode Island (Newport, Providence), South Carolina (Charleston, Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach), Tennessee (Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge), Vermont (Addison County/Brandon, Barre/Montpelier, Burlington, Killington/Rutland, Mad River Valley, Manchester, Mount Snow, Okemo, Smugglers’ Notch, Stowe, Waterbury/Richmond, Woodstock/Quechee) and Virginia (Northern Neck & Middle Peninsula) —as well as towns and cities in England (Chichester, Lewes) , Puerto Rico (Vieques, Culebra, San Juan) and Costa Rica (Escazu & Santa Ana).