On this date in history, we pulled off a GREAT April Fools Joke!

The setting: Spring Break vacation in Florida, 2011

The victims: Our daughter and her friends (all three were high school seniors)

The scenario: The day had been set aside to go to the Gulf coast of Florida.

The JOKE: We (mom, dad, brother) told the girls an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had shut down the beaches! The girls had their own room. So we woke them up and told them the 'bad news' and let them get ready for the day. Being on their own meant we couldn't slip up and reveal the joke. We told them to think of plans for other things to do. We had budgeted out our Day-Passes for Universal. So going to the theme park was not an option for that day.

Their response: The girls tried to find evidence of the 'oil spill' on local TV. My daughter exclaimed, "They are all running DUMB cooking shows!" They went so far as to call friends back home to see if they had heard about the beaches being closed. One of those friends suggested we go to the east coast to visit the ocean. (Our response was that thunderstorms out there prevented us from doing that.)

The Reveal: I finally told them to read about it in the paper. They said they couldn't find it. I said it was on EVERY page. That clue didn't help. Then I pointed out the DATE is on every page. April 1, 2011. A day we'll always remember. The trip to the Gulf coast went fine!

The 'victims' of the April Fools prank were all smiles when we made it to the beach.
The 'victims' of the April Fools prank were all smiles when we made it to the beach.
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