The Microwave Picnic

Lately I've been thinking about  a trip I took with my mom to North Carolina. We were heading out to Charlotte for my Step-Sister's wedding and I'd decided, if I was going to be that close to the Atlantic ocean I wanted to go all the way to it and see the ocean. I'd been to see the Pacific on numerous occasions but never to the Atlantic. When I was planning the trip I had several people laugh at me and say "One ocean looks just like the rest." Now that I've traveled a bit, I can tell them that is just not true.

In southern California, the ocean meats up with sandy sunny beaches with various shades of aqua and blue. Heading north in California, the landscape grows bluer and cloudy. In Galveston, Texas, the boardwalk and beach borders a browner churning water of the Gulf of Mexico. Ireland, the air is crisper, bright green borders the smooth sandy beaches with deep blue water. The Atlantic off of Bald Head Island is rich and relaxed. Some might argue that the differences lay in the beaches and surrounding communities rather than the ocean, but to me, those differences are what makes the ocean in that part of the world.

Anyhow, we spent the day driving from Charlotte down to Bald Head Island and Southport, North Carolina. We'd explored the island, seeing an old lighthouse (Old Baldy) and having a great time. When we finally made our way back to Southport we searched out the hotel we'd reserved with only to find no one was on site and no one was answering the phone. We were stuck in Southport, suddenly with no hotel and the prospect of a four hour drive back to Charlotte that night did not sound appetizing. So I hopped on my trusty blackberry phone and searched out a nearby Comfort Suites hotel, we were in luck, they had a room available. So we drove over and checked in and were treated so well. The drawback now was most of the restaurants in this small community had already closed down for the night, and neither of us had eaten since lunch, we were HUNGRY.

Luckily, next door to the hotel there was a grocery store and our room, had a little wet bar with microwave. I knew we were set for food. I told mom to grab her purse we were going to go get dinner. It was fun running through the Lowe's Food looking for dinner supplies. With my knowledge of prepared food we ended up with a three course dinner of prepacked salad, macaroni and cheese, cooked chicken, a steam in bag microwave veggies, and individual ice creams for dessert. I don't think mom ever realized you could pretty much get a fully prepared and yummy dinner from a grocery store. With my experience of having zero time to cook from hours of school work, I'd become well acquainted with this part of grocery stores. It wasn't a fantastic five star meal by any means but I still think back with fond memories of that night when I showed my mom the ropes of getting a good meal while only having a microwave to cook with. Best part, no leftovers so no food wasted.

It was fun, that little twist of fate in our plans, a lesson learned and one that's proven to be true over and over in my journeys since then. Sometimes the unplanned adventures are the best adventures.

Good Plans, bad hotel!

In my travels, I've gotten pretty good at figuring out what hotels to choose and which hotels to skip. I've learned about hotels that are in good locations and one's that might be a little questionable. I've learned how to navigate through reviews and know which reviews to ignore as they are biased toward the good or the bad and which reviews are reliable with information I should trust.

For the most part, this skill I've developed has served me well...except last Friday. I'd planned a weekend trip to hang out in Williams, explore the area relax in a nice hotel, spend some time with both locals and visitors, and getting a feel for the town. That didn't go as planned.

The hotel was terrible. The reviews had mentioned that the place was under renovations so construction materials were everywhere. Okay, that happens. Glad to know the hotel will be getting nicer, as long as it's clean. Other reviews commented on the dated and ugly rooms, I guess that's why the renovations right? Again, as long as it's clean none of this bothers me. Renovations usually happen during the day and I'm usually out and about exploring all day anyhow so no big deal. Oh was I wrong!!

I arrived to the hotel, yes it looked a little run down on the outside, the place needed a good sand and paint job but otherwise not too bad. There were construction materials stacked around the hotel so it did me good to know that they were working to make this little place nicer. The pool and the parking lot both were in good condition so my initial impression was this won't be too bad. I pull into the check-in area and thus begins the experience.

Check in was easy enough, usually is when they want to take your money. Then I was directed to my room, he started out showing me the room location on a property map on the counter, when I easily deduced the room was visible out the window from where I stood, things began to degrade. The concierge talked to me like I was a child when I pointed to the physical building that I could see out the window instead of looking down at the property map he had on the counter. Then immediately told me the free breakfast that I'd been offered through the website booking I'd done wasn't being offered during construction. No apology, no voucher for a local restaurant, no discount...oh and no communication from anyone prior to my reservation to inform me of this booking change. I brushed this annoying little interaction off as just the end of a long stressful day at work and was eager to get to my room and get some dinner, I was exhausted and hungry.

As I drove to my room, all eyes were on me. Every hotel guest standing outside their rooms (and there were several) stood, staring me down as I drove my car around to a closer space. I felt extremely uncomfortable. I brushed it off and headed up to my room. OH.....GEEZ! This place wasn't just under construction, this place wasn't just old, it was DISGUSTING!! The floors were dirty, I don't think the carpets have been vacuumed in a long time. Only one lamp of five was even plugged in, I had to hunt for plugs for the other lamps just so I could have a little light in the room. The toilet was disgusting, there was no towel rod despite the brackets being in place and anchored. The shower curtain was stained and filthy. The only word that could describe the bed...SAG.  I wanted to cry, in fact, I did. I wasn't going to stay in this place, so out went the bag and back into the car. Out went me, being stared down the entire time by the same guests. Off I went for the hour and a half drive back home.

I find it ironic that I'm writing a book set in Williams about the owner of a crappy hotel that is working to fix it up and that is exactly what I got. I am fine with old, I'm fine with renovations, I've stayed in both types of hotels but they had one thing in common. They were clean!