The Deep End

Greg Heffley and his family have been living in his grandmother's basement for two months (due to the events in Wrecking Ball), and they are beginning to go stir crazy. The Heffleys can not afford an expensive vacation, but they discuss possible family vacations that they would be able to afford. Unable to reach a decision, Greg's family receives a call from his great-grandmother, asking them to take his uncle's camper out of her driveway. The family realizes that they can vacation in the camper and not have to spend money at restaurants and hotels.

After buying supplies and cleaning the camper, the family takes off on the road. They make several stops, arriving at a fish hatchery they unknowingly swim in, an activity center, and a National forest.

Greg's mother wants to be vacationing in a place where there are more people, so they pay to spend a week at a luxury RV campground. Greg explores the grounds, seeing the showers, swimming pool, and the "deluxe" campsites, where people have satellite dishes and even lawns that they tend to.

The following day, the Heffleys go canoeing in the site's lake, where teenagers slingshot watermelons at them. Greg meets a group of boys, led by a kid named "Juicebox", that have been going to the campsite for years. They get along, and the boys show him how they have fun at camp. Later, the teenagers that pestered the Heffleys launch watermelons at the boys. Juicebox reveals the boys' plan to ambush the teens by spraying them with water guns. They act on their plan but have to hide when the teenagers chase them. The boys refill their squirt guns, this time with ketchup and soda, and spray the teens again, attracting bees to them, which sting them. The boys run off and hide, victorious in their plan.

The next day, Greg finds out that the others boys were caught by the camp director, who forced them to clean the snack shack (which the boys dirtied while spraying their squirt guns) with toothbrushes. Juicebox attempts to pin the blame on Greg, but the director is unable to find him.

The family goes to swim in the camp's pool but has to leave when lightning starts to flash. They soon learn that the bridge leading in and out of the grounds was struck by lightning and is inaccessible. Due to the bridge being out of order, campers begin to get desperate and rowdy, raiding the camp store, stealing water from the showers, and even tipping RVs. Not wanting to stay any longer, the Heffleys decide to drive over the river that flows under the bridge. However, they get washed downstream, where the camper gets snapped snugly into the missing area of the bridge. The rest of the campgoers drive over the top of the Heffleys' RV, leaving the family alone at the camp. With the place to themselves, they are able to enjoy their last day at the campground, having fun at the lake and eating better meals than they have all trip. Greg reflects on the fact that he made a few happy memories but wishes he did not have to go through as much drama as he did