5.25am, it's pouring with rain and this is the time that the folks decide they want to go shopping. Can't I just sleep? Apparently not. "It's all part of the experience", they say. I thought I'd had enough experience yesterday when I met Bigfoot. Anyway, as it was the last day, I thought I'd humour them.

We got back to the Blau Hills just after midday (Andy: Guess I got it wrong about 2am. Sorry, Miller family), only to find we were too late and had to pay for another night. Fortunately, I'd already unreserved my suite as I'd got a hunch something like this might happen. Smart move, huh? Anyway, it was §500 that Dad would rather not have spent, all because Mom wanted souvenirs and jewelry and she couldn't explore the rest of the resort unless we were booked in somewhere.

As we waited for the shuttle to come and pick us up, it was raining again. I don't think Dad wanted to go. He'd learnt the chest-pounding gesture but I really think he badly wanted to learn the leg-slapping dance that seemed popular around these parts. Perhaps next time, Dad.

It was about 2pm when the shuttle came and we arrived back in Pleasantview, almost as if we hadn't left but with great vacation experiences to tell the neighbours about.

It was good to be home but also sad at the same time. It had been a great family vacation. I had enjoyed this vacation more than I had expected and I wished it could have gone on for a lot longer or we could have flown onto Takemizu or Twikkii for a day or two before having to come home. Regardless, we will be buzzing from this vacation for quite some time. We all might have enjoyed flapjacks and room service and Mom might have become a good shot with an axe ... but I'd made friends with Bigfoot.

For some people, there is no point going somewhere unless you have something to remind you of your time there. Three Lakes Market, which is probably typical of other resort locations, has a souvenir stall with two unique types of souvenir. For the Mountain type of vacation, one of the souvenirs is called a replica of a lumberjack trophy and the other is a small geode.

Jewelry stalls are also found here. The display is somewhat different to that in Create-A-Sim. In my opinion, though, the display is not too clear when it comes to certain of the rings and not clear at all when it comes to displaying how a sim looks while wearing these new items.

Although you can go from one part of a resort to another while on vacation, you cannot directly go from one resort to another. I was unable to finish off the Miller's vacation in Takemizu Village, which they had hoped for. This means that they will have to save up (or cheat!!) in order to book another one or I'll send another household instead.

I was somewhat disappointed with this but I suppose we can't have everything. Also, it gives sims something to plan towards taking another vacation in the future.

I was very surprised and pleased to find this when the Millers landed back in Pleasantview. Each of them was able to pick three of six benefits that would last for a specific time period. This actually gives a reason for not immediately going on a vacation to get over the vacation you have just been on.

The six choices of vacation benefits are as follows.

Carefree temporarily gives you an extra want slot, which is very useful if you want to try and get a gold or platinum mood.

Refreshed gives you a temporary bonus in skill and badge building, which is very useful if you need skills for that next job level.

Productive means you comfort, social and fun do not decay as rapidly as they normally do. This allows your sim to do more while it still applies.

Je Ne Sais Quoi gives a bonus to your sim's ability to charm and woo others. This worked well for Heather who had two guys clamouring after her in the time this was still in play.

Industrious gives you a much better chance for promotion in the work place. This worked very well for Marc as he got two rapid promotions while this still had effect.

Forgiving means your sim is less likely to get rattled than normal. I am yet to see the effectiveness of this as the Millers didn't have any enemies. However, give it time and I'm sure it would be useful the next time.

These benefits provide a welcome transition period from vacation to the normal life of living as sims. I also enjoyed the ability to be able to talk to people about their vacation, either fascinating them or boring them silly.

With the Miller's vacation benefits in place, we're going to spend a bit of time with them in the neighborhood before we see about checking out another vacation resort. We're going to look at how how gameplay has changed and what there is to help them enjoy life all the more.