Our Best Vacation Ever!

Summer vacation is off - the Barclay family budget says so, and Donna is crushed. All her friends are headed somewhere wonderful, from Disney World to Hawaii, while she's stuck in Odyssey with nothing but a stack of travel brochures. Then a chat with Whit over a chocolate soda gives her dad George an idea: who says a family has to go somewhere to have a good vacation? Soon the Barclays are vacationing in their own hometown - sprinkler water fights at breakfast, a blindfolded guessing game at the zoo, a giant water slide at Trickle Lake, even a camping trip pitched right in the living room. Jimmy finds out at Tom Riley's barn raising that hard work can actually be fun, and by week's end Donna is calling it one of the best vacations she's ever had. Sometimes the greatest trip of all... is the one that never leaves home.

Found on Daring Deeds, Sinister Schemes Album 05 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0073 A Bite of Applesauce When curiosity collides with a secret room at Whit's End, one forbidden computer program proves too tempting to leave alone.

1 of 2 0074 Connie Goes to Camp A new camp counselor's already-chaotic first week at Camp What-A-Nut takes a frightening turn when a stormy overnight campout brings missing campers and strange shadows outside the tent.

2 of 2 0075 Connie Goes to Camp At Camp What A Nut, counselor Connie must deal with two runaway campers, a cabin quarrel over annoying habits, and a boys-versus-girls competition that brings out the worst in everyone.

0076 Eugene's Dilemma A young genius's first day at his new college computer job takes a dark turn when a routine grade check uncovers tampering that someone close to him would rather keep buried.

1 of 2 0077 The Nemesis A smooth-talking newcomer petitions the Odyssey Town Council to open a children's amusement house, while Connie agonizes over whether she can face Whit again after being fired.

2 of 2 0078 The Nemesis A job interview with a too-charming stranger and a mysteriously arranged meeting set Odyssey's fate in motion on the day of a pivotal town council vote.

0079 Our Best Vacation Ever! When the family budget rules out a summer trip, the Barclays discover that a real vacation might not require going anywhere at all.

0080 A Prisoner for Christ Hiding out at Whit's End after ruining Eugene's college project, Nicholas takes a test ride in the Imagination Station and lands in ancient Rome, where he's swept into the flight of a runaway slave with a slave catcher hot on their heels.

0081 Good Business When a coveted dress proves too expensive for her allowance, Robyn sets out to find a way to make lots of money without actually working for it.

0082 Heatwave During a sweltering Odyssey heat wave, a self-styled kid detective in a trench coat drags his reluctant sidekick into investigating a mysterious boy who disappears into the woods every day with an armload of lumber.

1 of 2 0083 The Battle When Whit finally visits Blackgaard's Castle, the rival arcade's charm masks a scheme that reaches into the heart of Whit's End - and puts young Lucy in the middle of it.

2 of 2 0084 The Battle With Whit's End shuttered and a child in the hospital, a guilt-ridden teenager caught between a ruthless schemer and the people he betrayed must decide where his loyalties truly lie.

0085 You go to School Where? When Robyn Jacobs discovers that a new friend is homeschooled, the two girls agree to trade places for a day - and each gets a schooling she never expected.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 1 more roles

1 supporting role

Homer (b) Phil Lollar

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Phil Lollar Writer · Director Dave Arnold Sound Designer · Producer Chuck Bolte Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

Summer has arrived in Odyssey, and Mary Barclay sits in the den with the family budget spread out in front of her, adding and re-adding the numbers. No matter how she works them, the answer keeps coming out the same. If the Barclays want to take their ski trip at Christmas, there is simply no money for a vacation this summer. Jimmy shrugs the news off, but he warns his mother that Donna will not take it nearly so calmly. Donna has been collecting travel brochures ever since she got home from camp, asking her father how many miles the car can go and quietly counting the family's suitcases.

Donna takes it about as hard as Jimmy predicted. Everyone she knows seems to be going somewhere. Brenda is off to Disney World, Robin to New York City, Jack to Washington, and Oscar to visit relatives in Canada. Her parents' friends are headed to Mexico, England, and even New Zealand, and Mr. Whittaker has mentioned a trip of his own later on. Mary tries to comfort her by pointing out that Lucy Cunningham is staying in town too - and then George walks through the door with the cheerful news that Lucy's father has landed a huge tax refund and is taking his whole family to Hawaii. His timing could not possibly be worse.

On his way home the next day, George stops at Whit's End and orders something the menu board calls a Wad Fam Chalk Sod, which turns out to be a world-famous chocolate soda that Connie had to abbreviate for lack of letters. When George admits that he is disappointed about the canceled trip too, Whit asks him a simple question: who says a family has to go somewhere to have a good vacation? Odyssey is a small town, Whit points out, but it is a busy one, and there are plenty of things the Barclays have never seen or done right at home. George leaves the soda on the counter and hurries out with an idea.

At home he teases his family with hints about a wonderful, educational, tremendously fun destination, letting them guess wildly before revealing the answer: Odyssey. The groans come fast, but George holds his ground. What makes a vacation fun, he argues, is not the rides or the sights but the people you share them with, and everything the Barclays need is already in that room. Donna agrees to give it a try, and the family spends the evening planning.

The week that follows is full of surprises. Breakfast on the back patio ends in a full-blown water fight with the lawn sprinkler. At the zoo, using coupons clipped from the paper, they wear blindfolds and try to identify the animals by sound and smell alone, until George stumps everyone with an empty cage. There is a towering water slide at Trickle Lake that Mary is talked into against her better judgment, and a camping trip complete with tent, harmonica music, and an outdoor ambience record - held entirely in the living room. Best of all is Tom Riley's barn raising, where Jimmy discovers that hard work can be fun and helps his team win.

By the end, Donna is telling a friend it has been one of the best vacations she has ever had.