Old (Odd) Travel Memories (1990)

Background.

For almost 30 years, I have been a driver for someone who does historical reenactments.  At the time of this event, he was attending a Revolutionary War reenactment in Wayne, New Jersey.

I would help pack the van to the gills with reenacting equipment (tents, tables, desks, flags, etc, plus a lot of equipment for overnight stays at a local hotel/motel). Then I would start driving soon after midnight, driving carefully south through the greater Metropolitan New York area to reach Wayne, New Jersey, by 5-6 AM, so that I could help in setting up the Rev War camp. After the camp was set up, I would then drive to an accommodation in the area and finish the task of unloading several suitcases of clothing, wedges for sore backs, applique equipment, and the Cpap bag (which carries a machine for the purpose of sleeping at night).

After checking into the large chain hotel, I began the task of unloading the car and carrying the many bags into the room.

By this time, I was exhausted, so I switched on the TV and laid down for a rest.

The door flew open, and a man (the manager of the hotel) rushed across the room, grabbed the bag you see below, and raced out the door, screaming, "We don't allow cats at this hotel!!!"

After a short time, he returned with the opened bag, asking, "WHERE'S the cat?!"

Note: After entering hotel rooms now, I secure all available bolts before resting.

Old Travel Memories (1970)

(from web image file)

In 1970, we piled into our white 1963 VW Beetle and drove from San Diego, California,  to visit the Oregon coastline.

I was shocked when I stopped to buy gasoline near Tillamook and looked at their prices.

"Gas in San Diego is only 25 cents a gallon," I proudly boasted, when I saw his 27 cents a gallon price tag.

"Well, go back to San Diego, then!" he shouted. (I thought that was kind of rude.)

Things change, don't they?

Next, back to Western Australia and one of my favorite towns.

Oddities -- Curious Motel Stay

(Photo taken from Google page.)

Sometimes we experience things which stay embedded in our memories forever.

Many years ago, I endeavored to locate a place to stay near Wickham Park (Civil War historical reenactment site)  in Manchester, CT.

I was interested in location, location, location. Using an airline computer at my disposal, I found a reasonably priced motel on East Center Street, and I could reserve the room by using my computer (so it couldn't be too bad, I thought, if it has computer connections). This was long before one could read reviews on internet sites.

When I checked in at the motel office, I was told I had no reservation. (Not all that rare of an occurrence.)
I was asked the name of the lady who made the reservation for me.
I explained that the reservation was made through the computer and provided the reservation number.

"Oh! The computer", she responded. "We haven't turned that thing on in months."  I waited as she located the switch, turned on the very outdated computer, and waited for it to boot up. While we continued to wait, she said she still had a room available (for more than I priced it online). Even though the room was ready then (1200 Noon) , she told me I would have to wait in my car in the parking lot until check-in time (300PM) or pay for another night's stay. As I sat in the car reading, I glanced over at the office window and could see her looking back at me. Since she had already collected the money for my two night's stay, and since at that time there were no alternate lodging choices that close to Wickham Park, I dutifully appeared back at the front desk at 300 PM to collect my key.

The room was quite spartan, but I had prepared myself for that. Time to relax and switch on the TV. Something was amiss. I called the front office and was told to place quarters into the slot behind the TV  to get a picture. I did give it a try, but one quarter (25 cents) only provided 10 minutes of viewing time. So I settled on "sound only" with 1/8 viewing area showing on top of the screen for free.

The next day, I received a call from the front office telling me that a gentleman who had been spending the week at the motel was checking out but had no money. Would I come to the office and pay his bill so that they wouldn't have to call the authorities.  I declined.

This was one of those unforgettable experiences. Do you have an unusual hotel/motel experience? I would love to hear it.

By the way, the motel has changed it's name since I stayed there.  It has been taken over by a hotel chain, but from the reviews I read, it would appear that they have managed to maintain their substandard service.