Squiggler

Motels to Blacklist - that means don't stay there

So after 9 hours of hard driving, I am looking forward to getting off the road and into a nice hot soaker tub to relax very sore muscles in my shoulders and back. I stop at a traveler's motel along the Interstate, check in, haul all my stuff in ... suitcase, computer, etc, etc. ... I take my bath. I get all ready for bed and reach for the phone to call home and let my family know I'm off the road and safely in for the night.

Eeeeeeeewwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!

Cockroaches swarming everywhere ... all over the nightstand, on the wall, behind the heater, they were all over the place. Now I am only afraid of two things and cockroaches are #1 on the list. I have a panic attack as I stand there frozen, in bare feet. I finally get where I can breathe again enough to call the front desk. The guy was not happy, not about the cockroaches but with having to deal with me. He reluctantly tells me to come back down to the office and he'll "see if he can find me another room to move to." At this point, I'm not interested in moving to another room, I don't want to move anywhere, but I know that I will never be able to sleep in that room. So, I get all dressed again, stop to use the rest room and the toilet overflows. Now, I'm not just in a panic, I'm mad. This is just too much, so I pack up all my things, unplug the computer, haul everything back out to my car and head down to the office. I tell the jerk behind the counter that I want my credit card voided and I'm leaving. He gives me a hard time. I stand my ground. He threatens me. I still stand my ground and let him know that his threats are not going to intimidate me. He threatens me again and then he throws my voided ticket in my face and tells me to "get the hell out of his lobby or he'll call the police." I'm not interested in being in his lobby one more second than necessary. I grab the voided ticket and jump in my car and drive 50 miles before my blood pressure returns to normal. It is now nearly midnight. The benefits of my relaxing bath are undone, I have to find another motel, haul all my stuff back in and go through the whole getting settled for the night thing all over again.

I'm still mad and I will make a formal complaint but in the meantime, a word of advice ... if you are in Tulsa, Oklahoma ... DO NOT STAY at the roach motel:

Super 8 Motel - Site #11082
Tulsa West
5811 S. 4th West
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Gas Prices

Monday morning - California

$2.89 per Gallon

2nd Fill Up - $2.59 per Gallon

3rd Fill Up - $2.39 per Gallon

4th Fill Up - $2.19 per Gallon

5th Fill Up - $1.99 per Gallon

Wednesday - Joplin, Missouri

$1.87 per Gallon

On the Road - Day 1

I am safely ensconsced in a motel somewhere on I-40 as I head from California to Pennsylvania. So far today, I have had 3 people look at me as if I suddenly turned green with purple spots when they found out I was travelling alone. I've been criss-crossing the country alone for 30 years, so it doesn't surprise me anymore to get this reaction, even if I don't quite understand why it should seem so amazing to so many different people.

The first day out was disappointing. First of all, it took me 2 hours and 20 minutes to go 35 miles. Stop and Go traffic just trying to get from I-15 to I-40. I was stuck behind an old beat up Nissan with its bumpers dragging on the ground and sparking every few seconds and then each time we'd start moving and that Nissan got a little fuel, big clouds of black smoke came pouring out the exhaust. I was stuck behind this guy for the whole 2 hours plus and by the time I could finally move out and away, I was dizzy from those billowing diesel fumes that my car was sucking up. I was sure I was going to succumb and pass out. So, not such an auspicious beginning.

As I passed through the desert, which was pleasantly warm, and got closer to the Arizona line, the temperatures began to drop. By the time I stopped for gas in Needles, it was positively freezing. Since I'm heading for a cold weather area, I have lots of warm winter things with me, but I didn't think I'd be breaking out my foul weather parka this early.

Today was kind of a wasted day, so I look forward to tomorrow and driving through one of my favorite areas, Hillerman Country.

I got started late and I stopped early today. I then spent the next two hours trying to get a dial-up call out through a motel switchboard that requires a gazillion access numbers be dialed before actually dialing the number I want to call. How spoiled we become with high-speed broadband and easy wireless access. Tomorrow, I think I'll test to see if there is a wireless connection available before I stop anywhere as this 56K dial up is for the birds and 800 # access costs a whopping 10 cents per minute, so says Earthlink. AOL just calls it like it is, 6 extra dollars an hour to dial thru their 800 number. It doesn't pay to stay in a small town too small to even have an AOL local number, let alone an Earthlink local number.

See you tomorrow.

Going on the Road

I will be driving from California to Pennsylvania and leaving Friday. I have a new toy to take with me. A brand new notebook computer, a Gateway MX7515. The 7515 has a gig of memory and a 100 gig harddrive. It is wireless and has a feature I love ... built in slots for my memory cards. There are three different sized slots and both my cell phone and digital camera cards can be read directly into the computer rather than needing a separate card reader. This is a great feature for travel, so I have decided I will blog my trip.

I'll be starting from So. California taking I-15 to I-40. If you live in Albuqurque, wave to me as I motor on by. At I-44, I'll head up through St. Louis to I-70, through Indianapolis and on to Pittsburgh, my final destination. The only stop I know for sure at this point is an overnight with a grandson in Indy.

I'll be staying with a cousin in Churchill, but the primary purpose of this trip is househunting. I have finally come to the decision to return to my native roots in Pennsylvania. I don't look forward to the harsh winter weather, but as a single older woman on a limited fixed income, the cost of living is sensible and manageable. In fact, the financial benefits are such that I am hopeful that I can get out of those winters by heading to the warmer climates during the worst months. There is one advantage to having a daughter in Florida.

It will be interesting to be back in PA and close to all the areas I've only been able to research enealogically through libraries and microfilm records for so many years. I expect to begin devoting a large segment of my time to field research once I get moved and settled. And two of my cousins most active with me in tracing our family will also be moving back to the area within the next couple of years. We are all getting older and reaching the retirement years. So, I'll be close to most of my remaining living family and nearly all my nonliving ancestors. It is a bit scary, but very exciting as well.

CROSSPOSTED at GEN-DATA BLOG