Some places may offer discount vacations, others m...

Some places may offer discount vacations, others might even offer a free vacation, but to my knowledge this is the only place that will actually pay you to take a 3 month vacation free of charge. Once there, you'll receive a number of other free amenities including free meals, free water (although it's kind of yellow), free haircuts (although they seem rushed and way too close), 1-3 free phone calls and free personal trainers. But wait, there's more. While vacationing at "The Depot" you'll get free lessons in marching, shooting, martial arts and pugil sticks.

The amenities are rather sparse, but it's all part of the experience. While the mattresses are thin and the pillows are barely there, I never had an issue going to sleep in under 5 minutes. They have community showers and insist you use them each day, although sometimes only one shower head is allowed to be used. The restrooms were always spotless, even if they were missing the doors. Still, I found it quite nice some days to use the facilities while having a quaint conversation with one of my new found friends.

I would however avoid the sand pit, or that rather small piece of linoleum known as the quarter deck (which was odd because I never found any quarters there, even with my face pressed against it.) The personal trainers can be a bit up tight, but their routines are often filled with some of the best comedic material I've ever heard, although, I will warn you they're not very good at taking a compliment. Every time I laughed at one of their jokes, it was not received well, although I did usually win a trip to the pit, but it wasn't my cup of tea, although you may like it.

One negative is that there are zero women here. In fact, you most likely will not see a single woman until the end of your 13 week stay. Which I think accounts for some of my fellow travelers marrying very large women after leaving.

Finally, at the end of all, they give you a huge sendoff, beginning with each of you--who are still there--receiving a small token of achievement known as an "EGA". My ceremony was attended by a movie star, R. Lee Ermey, and was a spectacular moment, even if there seemed to have been some onion ninjas who seem to have ambushed a good number of my new friends. Then on the last day, they have a whole parade in your honor and invite your family, many of whom no longer recognize their sons.

While I had mixed emotions about my trip when I left there in 1998, I cannot recommend it highly enough today.