In Room Jacuzzi

So, when I decided I wanted to go vacation, I did what I normally do.  I decided to start my vacation on a Friday and finish it on a Tuesday a week and a half later, so as to take advantage of not one, but two, weekends.  I know…the brilliance that is me simply can’t be beaten.  I was going to drive down to Utah from Seattle, which is about a 13-hour drive.  I decided at the last minute (i.e., Wednesday night) that, rather than wait until early on Friday morning to drive down, attempting to accomplish the entire drive in a single trip, I would instead leave immediately after work on Thursday (today), drive half way, stay in a hotel along the way, and finish the second half of the trip on Friday morning, thus allowing me to travel at a much more leisurely pace, avoid the nasty traffic on a Friday morning around Seattle, and get to Utah earlier in the day.

I had previously decided that Luke was going to be taken to the Boarder’s on Thursday morning…even if I had decided I was still going to leave on Sunday.  It just breaks my heart to leave him there, because he always gives me that really wounded look when I walk away and leave him behind.  I’m sure he had forgotten about me completed within 30 seconds.  That’s the only reason I only mildly wracked with guilt. 

Anyhow, I decided that I was going to leave work a little early, and right before I was scheduled to take off, the team at work came and gave me a pie and a congratulations card for finishing my MBA.  It was really nice.  (It was a weird day at work.  We have a set of twins on the team, and it was their birthday.  Farrah Fawcett died, Michael Jackson died, I got a new laptop 30 minutes before the end of the day (it’s pretty sweet), and then I left for vacation.

So, I left work at 4, went home to grab my guitar, my camera, and the remainder of my luggage, loaded up the car, and went back in to do a once over to make sure all the lights were off.  I decided just as I was leaving the apartment that it would be a good idea to empty out Luke’s water bowl.  I didn’t need scummy, stagnant water growing mold and breeding mosquitoes while I was out of town.  As soon as I emptied Luke’s water bowl, I heard the sound of water falling in a place it shouldn’t be.  I opened the cupboard under the sink, and the garbage disposal was leaking all over the inside of the cabinet.  Apparently, if you just run the tap it’s fine.  But if you inundate the drain with a large batch of liquid, it overflows!  Awesome.  So I cleaned up that mess, ran to the office to tell them about the problem, and hopped in the car. 

As I was heading toward the freeway, I realized that I didn’t have my prescription sunglasses with me…I had left them at the office.  So, I turned around, went back to work, got my sunglasses, and FINALLY, an hour and a half later, took off.

The road trip was non-descript.  I am listening to a somewhat entertaining audiobook called Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office.  It’s definitely a “chick book,” but there are several parts that are funny as hell, and I’ve been laughing out loud several times during the trip.  Makes the time just fly by.

On the first leg of the trip, I made it from Redmond to Baker City, Oregon.  There aren’t a lot of good hotels here, but it was 11:45PM, and I was getting a little tired…particularly considering that I got up at 6AM and didn’t have customary two daily naps.  I pulled off at a Super 8 Motel for a room.

The Super 8 Motel in Baker City, Oregon should be completely ashamed of itself.  I would like to know how a SUPER 8 can justify charging $115 for a room on a Thursday night in the middle of Timbuktu, Oregon?  SERIOUSLY?  A Super 8.  $115?  And that’s with my AAA discount.  But I needed a place to sleep, and the next nearest town was another hour away, so here I am.  The room does have an in-room Jacuzzi, though.   And when I say “in-room,” I really mean in-room.  I’m laying on my bed right now, and I can reach out with my leg and touch the edge of the in-room Jacuzzi with my feet.

Not only is this fabulous hotel room the height of class, it’s also decorated in a truly fabulous mauve and teal motif circa 1988 featuring blond wood furniture with plastic brass-colored trim.  Now all I need are a few slap bracelets, my BK Knights, and an envelope of Fun Dip, and I’ll be good to go.  (It’s truly one of the ugliest hotel rooms I’ve ever stayed in…and that included the little hotel that I stayed at in San Simeon, California that was decorated entirely in non-matching shades of pink and smelled like month-old Curry.

So to the Super 8 Motel in Baker City, Oregon, I give you a fail.  The hallways obviously haven’t been vacuumed in years.  The rooms are ugly.  The bed is uncomfortable.  You don’t even have a fake continental breakfast.  You put the hot tub actually IN the room.  And you charge me $115 a night for the privilege.  I think I’ll pee the bed just to spite you.