It's all in the telling
"Our vacation on the Vineyard was really nice. We had perfect weather all week (as always) and Nathan and Charley were both terrific. We hit every town as planned and found some great new restaurants and shops. Since we rented a house, we got to try the farmer's markets up-island, and we enjoyed a kitchen full of amazing fresh corn and lettuce and nectarines. Nate had fun in the ocean, Amy got to the beach twice, and David got some quality grilling done. It was a shame we had to switch rental houses but we resolved that in half a day and our second house was great. Love Martha's Vineyard. Already thinking about next summer."
"Our vacation on the Vineyard was a mess. The house we rented reeked of mildew and we wanted to leave the instant we got there. We toughed it out for two days, freezing at night with open windows airing out the smell, then gave up and blew Wendesday house hunting and packing and unpacking. Our second house was really nice, but it was pretty remote, and so buggy since it was in the woods. The boys were well behaved but we didn't get to sleep in or really unwind the whole week. Even our trips to the beach were only an hour long. It felt like we spent the whole week in our car. Love Martha's Vineyard, but oy! what a week."
The reality, of course, is somewhere in the middle.