My Girlfriend Is Upset I Don’t Want to Stay in a Beach House With Her Family

My girlfriend and I are in a long-distance relationship. I’m from Texas and she’s from Pennsylvania.

A while back, when I went to visit her, we talked about taking a day trip to the beach. Unfortunately, her car had registration issues and needed repairs before it could be legally registered again. We were planning to drive to New Jersey, but because New Jersey is pretty strict about vehicle registration, we decided not to risk it.

Now, she’s graduating from medical school in September, and her family wants to celebrate by renting a beach house for the weekend. She wants me to come and spend the weekend with her and her family.

The problem is that while I’ve met her family before and know them, I haven’t spent enough time with them to feel comfortable staying in a beach house with them for an entire weekend. It’s not that I dislike them—I just don’t feel close enough to them yet for that kind of trip. At the same time, I can’t really afford to stay in a hotel nearby because beach hotels are much more expensive than where she lives.

I want to go to the beach with her, but I don’t feel comfortable spending the whole weekend staying with her family. I also know it hurts her feelings that I’m hesitant to go.

A separate trip with just the two of us really isn’t an option in this situation because this trip is specifically for her graduation and is something her family is planning and paying for. If she chose not to go with them, they’d likely take it personally and see it as her not wanting to spend time with them.

Am I being unreasonable for not wanting to stay in a beach house with her family for the weekend? What should I do?