on the road again

As the quest to find home continues, Seattle has become a possible possibility. I have never been to Seattle, or anywhere in the state of Washington. B has been there a few times, but isn't an expert on the city by any means. Thus we have decided to head due north.

We have rented a car as the civic isn't a big fan of rainy days. We think we may have solved the problem by replacing the cap ($20) but it has only rained once since then. We figured better safe than sorry.

The woman who assisted us at the rental agency was a bit pushy. B bought the extra insurance. She only told him about the one. She said there were three. Explained the most expensive. Paused and didn't move on. It was kind of weird.

It has been fun though getting use to the keyless entry and the automatic lights. Still, I don't see much innovation going on in new cars. And was very dissappointed in the 34 mpg we got on the first phase of the drive. Not to brag, but the civic, which is over a decade old, gets almost 39 mpg. Think about that for a moment. Yes, this is a slightly larger vehicle, but in ten years we still can't do better?

Then there was the hotel issue. I wish I could explain why it can take us up to six hours to leave the house for a trip. Some of it is 'mother-in-law' cleaning and putting everything away. And also that we are usually gone for over a week at a time. But when we realized check-in started almost an hour ago, B called the hotel to ask if they would hold a non-smoking room with a queen bed. He was told they only had smoking rooms available. This was a first for us (in California, at least).

We had used priceline, so there isn't much that could be done. We devised a plan on what to do if the room really smelled to keep the majority of our stuff from not smelling like an ashtray.

We finally arrived just before 11:30pm. B went inside and came back to report they were overbooked! We were being sent to the hotel just down the block - but just for the night.

It really was just down the block, but they are in the middle of repaving the parking lot, so it was not clear where the lobby was. I drove around the entire property, getting quite snippy, saying how a lobby sign usually comes with a hotel once it is built, and threatening to go inside and go all rock star on them.

B found the lobby and realized he could present his rewards membership. He has reached gold status with this particular organization, which entitles him an automatic upgrade. And thus we ended up in a Cabana Suite with a reserved parking space at just before midnight. There are two flat screen HD television sets in the room - one slightly larger than the other. There are also two doors to get to the bathroom.

We also did not have to check out this morning, but were able to stay, at the priceline price, until we leave to head north tomorrow. I guess I went to bed anxious as I had a weird dream in which B let housekeeping in 'to clean the toilet'. Instead an entourage of at least half a dozen women entered the bedroom and started insulting me. One checked my nightstand for jewelry while the rest giggled about why the sheets were all tangled up. Another, whose name I learned was Elizabeth, told me to my face that my life sucked and it was all my fault. At that point I called the front desk, where after demanding to be transferred, I spoke to the manager on duty. I actually woke myself up talking in my sleep. Thankfully B did not hear me.

on the shuffle :: Gray's Anatomy Volume 3

on the night stand :: Maynard & Jennica