“I will try to be faithful in habits of
prayer, work, study, physical exercise, eating, and sleep …” A Morning Resolve
(Author Unknown)
One of the joys of vacation is traveling from one place to another
and experiencing life freed from the tethers of hearth, home, and the ol’ salt
mine.
Now, I admit I am somewhat of a tightwad when it comes to
vacation. We have many pennies at home that are about the size of a quarter
because I squeeze them so tight when we’re out and about.
Never-the-less, this year I decided to be a bit less thrifty.
While we normally camp out with relatives and friends as we make our way around
the world looking for that silly globe-trotting gnome, we chose this year,
instead, to check out the digs at various motels and inns along the way (for
which our aforementioned friends and family breathed a collective sigh of
relief, I presume).
Our first night was spent just west of Spokane in Airway
Heights. We chose a moderately priced inn that was clean and comfortable and
met our needs for a price that didn’t bankrupt us.
I had actually had the foresight to arrange reservations
through an online travel site before we left. I did that because I learned some
time back that motels in the area fill up quickly; it’s not unusual to find no rooms.
Further, checking into a motel without reservations
practically guarantees one will pay the highest price for whatever room is left
in the facility’s inventory (never a good thing for a traveling tightwad).
One doesn’t want to be reduced to choosing between hotels
that charge by the hour, and those so far off the highway that even Norman
Bates wouldn’t stay there.
So, I made reservations … in advance … and they were waiting
for us with smiles and good cheer (apparently not realizing who I was).
Sometimes it’s good being neither famous nor infamous.
The accommodations were standard issue: Queen Bed, table,
desk, chair, and flat screen television. I found myself wondering why rooms are
set up with a single comfortable chair. Where is the wife supposed to sit?
Someone should write a grant and research that very unfair
practice in the hospitality industry. But until they do and we get some answers
to that vexing question, we’ll just assume it is a cost-saving measure (which I
heartily appreciate, being so penny-wise).
The only complaint I had with our room had nothing to do
with its location or accommodations, but with the practical joker who
apparently thought it would be hilarious for the next guests (us) to be
awakened at midnight by the blaring klaxon of the room’s bedside alarm clock.
Do you realize how hard it is to find a tiny button to turn
off an unfamiliar device in a darkened, pitch-black room (while hanging from
the ceiling by what’s left of one’s freshly trimmed fingernails)?
Well, we found the light switch, silenced the alarm, and
went back to sleep after almost firing off a quick letter to our congressional
representatives asking for the outlawing of alarms. We thought better of it
when we cooled down. After all, if one outlaws alarms, only outlaws will be
alarmed, and we certainly can’t have that!
We soon fell back to sleep (having unplugged the alarm – no
use taking chances with another incident) and slept quite well until sunlight
began to filter through the blackout curtains. I looked at my watch and noted
that it was about 7:00 a.m. – about an hour past my usual wake-up time – so I
got up and began to prepare for our day’s continuing journey into the west.
It turns out, however, that my watch was still on Mountain
Time, and we were now in the Pacific Time Zone, so the love of my life was a
bit perturbed. Consequently, I decided to give her an upgrade from the motel’s
free Continental Breakfast. We checked out and enjoyed our first meal of the
new day across the street. The food was good, and the price so reasonable I
wondered how they could afford those golden arches.
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