5/20/10 - After sleeping on pillows which reembled overstuffed beach balls, in a non-smoking room complete with ash trays, we decided that La Quinta was Spanish for The Insomniac.
We began day 2 with our usual punishment for not finding a tornado the day before - a long run in a small unscenic town at the crack of dawn (i.e., 10 AM). After our hour-plus jaunt we treated ourselves to the free La Quinta breakfast buffet. A quick perusal of the breakfast bar offerings brought to light the explanation of why the average physique of the locals resembled that of a super-sized lawn gnome - biscuits and gravy, sausage and egglike globules, hash whites and mega-sized waffles. The fresh fruit looked suspiciously like fruit cocktail while the two choices of cereal were Fruit Loops (another fresh fruit in these parts?) and Frosted Flakes. There was ONE packet of instant oatmeal left. The "help" seemed perplexed when I asked if there was more of the oatmeal or any cereal in which the first three ingredients were not some form of sugar.
With a noon checkout looming John called the front desk to ask for a late check out - extra 30 minutes, something which most hotels have no problem with. However, little did John know, the Wicked Witch from the West was still alive and kicking. Not only did she deny John's request but reminded him, in no uncertain terms, that any time spent in the room after 12 o'clock would be dealt with harshly. We left quickly, before she could set loose the flying monkeys.
Since the storm gods were on furlough for the day, we used the time to repair our computer power supply. A new toggle switch from Radio Shack and a 1/4" 24-thread nut to reaffix the positive terminal along with two new spade-type wire connectors to mate with the new switch. This has nothing to do with the chase, I just wanted to reaffirm my meager engineering skills.
After the hardware needs were taken care of we then addressed our future gastronomic requirements (i.e., we got food) by visiting the local Dillon's Super Store. Real honest fresh fruit, robust cereal and a plethora of pseudo-nutritious libations. With a long line at the regular checkout and a 12-item limit at the quickie-check we availed ourselves reluctantly to the "Express Self-Checkout". It was neither.
After misscanning half of the items, being scolded more than once by the checkout machine and requiring assistance from the nearby clerk numerous times we were finally able to cart our stuff to the car. A quick Google Map search for a Starbucks came up empty, so we relented to the drive-through Giddie-Up Java Stop. "Room for sugar?"
With possible storm action in northeastern Colorado on Friday, we decided to aim for Goodland as our resting spot for the night. We first headed west through Garden City (which is neither) then north to HW 70. Once on the 70 we stopped for lunch in Colby at the Oasis Truck Stop (it was BOTH). Not only did it have a Starbucks, but also a Quiznos and free WiFi. Chaser heaven.
With our lodging selection narrowed down to anything-but-LaQuinta we cruised into the brand new Holiday Inn Express. Very nice place with great WiFi and pillows made for normal human heads. This was one place where the room selection was NOT "Smoking" or "Not-so-much Smoking".
We began day 2 with our usual punishment for not finding a tornado the day before - a long run in a small unscenic town at the crack of dawn (i.e., 10 AM). After our hour-plus jaunt we treated ourselves to the free La Quinta breakfast buffet. A quick perusal of the breakfast bar offerings brought to light the explanation of why the average physique of the locals resembled that of a super-sized lawn gnome - biscuits and gravy, sausage and egglike globules, hash whites and mega-sized waffles. The fresh fruit looked suspiciously like fruit cocktail while the two choices of cereal were Fruit Loops (another fresh fruit in these parts?) and Frosted Flakes. There was ONE packet of instant oatmeal left. The "help" seemed perplexed when I asked if there was more of the oatmeal or any cereal in which the first three ingredients were not some form of sugar.
With a noon checkout looming John called the front desk to ask for a late check out - extra 30 minutes, something which most hotels have no problem with. However, little did John know, the Wicked Witch from the West was still alive and kicking. Not only did she deny John's request but reminded him, in no uncertain terms, that any time spent in the room after 12 o'clock would be dealt with harshly. We left quickly, before she could set loose the flying monkeys.
Since the storm gods were on furlough for the day, we used the time to repair our computer power supply. A new toggle switch from Radio Shack and a 1/4" 24-thread nut to reaffix the positive terminal along with two new spade-type wire connectors to mate with the new switch. This has nothing to do with the chase, I just wanted to reaffirm my meager engineering skills.
After the hardware needs were taken care of we then addressed our future gastronomic requirements (i.e., we got food) by visiting the local Dillon's Super Store. Real honest fresh fruit, robust cereal and a plethora of pseudo-nutritious libations. With a long line at the regular checkout and a 12-item limit at the quickie-check we availed ourselves reluctantly to the "Express Self-Checkout". It was neither.
After misscanning half of the items, being scolded more than once by the checkout machine and requiring assistance from the nearby clerk numerous times we were finally able to cart our stuff to the car. A quick Google Map search for a Starbucks came up empty, so we relented to the drive-through Giddie-Up Java Stop. "Room for sugar?"
With possible storm action in northeastern Colorado on Friday, we decided to aim for Goodland as our resting spot for the night. We first headed west through Garden City (which is neither) then north to HW 70. Once on the 70 we stopped for lunch in Colby at the Oasis Truck Stop (it was BOTH). Not only did it have a Starbucks, but also a Quiznos and free WiFi. Chaser heaven.
With our lodging selection narrowed down to anything-but-LaQuinta we cruised into the brand new Holiday Inn Express. Very nice place with great WiFi and pillows made for normal human heads. This was one place where the room selection was NOT "Smoking" or "Not-so-much Smoking".
No comments:
Post a Comment