[OuTcAsT]

Sounds to me you have a beed on the situation so lets hear how you would have.

OK, You asked for feedback, try and take it as a "constructive" criticism:

I cased the parking area seeing some suspicious looking folks at the hotel entrance.

This would set off an alarm in my head that maybe this is not a good place to be, and certainly not with my Wife and Kids.

I decided that if something bad was going to happen I wanted it to happen at the entrance in the light.

This is where your decisions become dubious, If I thought something "bad" was going to happen the last thing I would do is :

So I drove to the entrance parked the car

You have already stated that you had seen some "suspicious looking folks" at the entrance, and that you felt aware that "something bad" could happen, Might be a good time to call the desk of the hotel, from a distance, and express your concern for safely entering their establishment, they might have called Police or, you could have.

To put yourself, let alone your family, in that situation was
not wise.

She knows how to use my XD, she has shot it on many occasion. She has no fear when it comes to protecting the family. Her responsibility to do so is the same as mine, and she knows that and more than willingly accepts that role.

Seems that your decision to drive into the dangerous situation left her no choice in the matter.

I did cancel my reservation for the next night and got a refund (we prepaid) and stayed at a much nicer hotel across town. We are not poor and we are not rich (but we used to be poor) so since we got our res. through Expedia we were in a tight place on a refund until I could get them on the phone the next morning.

if you got your hotel reservations thru expedia, they have a 24hr hotline where you can change reservations, or get refunds, from the safety of the "much nicer hotel across town", they credit back your card instantly in most cases.

It is called being a free man

It is a free country, and you certainly have a right to make your own decisions as you see fit, but if you describe your actions, and ask for advice, then expect to get it. Sometimes it may not be what you want to hear.

A firearm is not a license to make poor choices.