Decisions
decisions. You’re faced with them every day. Why should travel be any
different? One of the biggest questions you’ll have to answer is whether to
book ahead for your accommodation. It should come as no surprise to hear there
are both pros and cons. Personally I have not found a lot of pros; unless of
course you are arriving at a world renown festival attended by millions from
around the world. There are definitely times when it pays to book ahead but in
the fly by the seat of your pants, throw caution to the wind world of the road
trip keep life exciting and don’t bother.
In today’s instant communication
environment you can always bail yourself out and book at the last minute.
Besides, this is a road trip so you can always sleep in the car if you’re
desperate. Better pack a space blanket and polar sleeping bag just in case.
Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you do.
The more you travel the more you’ll learn to expect the unexpected. In Eau
Claire, Wisconsin, not exactly the end of the world but I’m sure I saw it from
there, we arrived at about 8PM. Me, my wife and two sons had never even heard
of the town so we thought we’d have no problem finding a place to stay. Imagine
my surprise when I discovered there were no rooms to be found because there was
a fishing lure convention in town. Are you kidding me? I hate fishing! How can
there be that many people?
That brings me to a very important point.
It is times like that, times at the bottom of the barrel, when good things
happen. We found a single room in a Hampton Inn, a chain we had always avoided
thinking it too expensive. It wasn’t bad and we found it a great fit for our
needs.
That is how we learn. We have built on
that over the years and discovered a lot of fabulous accommodations by showing
up with no plans. We also developed a habit of changing rooms once we had
checked in. It’s a great way to get a better room because the proprietors do
not want you telling people the linens were dirty, the garbage wasn’t emptied,
there was broken glass in the bathroom or there were weevils eating through the
wall in the bedroom.
Van Wert, Ohio is noted for being home to
the first county library in the United States, although as I gazed around at
the motel staff and the visitors (not us of course) I was hard pressed to
imagine just what they would want with a library. It is also known for being
the smallest city in the United States with both a YMCA and a YWCA. It boggles
the mind to see what lengths the towns will go to for notoriety.
I didn’t mind that the motel air conditioner
and microwave were 40 years old. The fact that the bathroom door did not close
was acceptable. The discovery that the bathroom fan sounded like a 777 taking
off was a surprise but, hey, it happens. However, when we drew the covers back
to get into bed there were some dark marks on the sheets. I immediately assumed
they were probably blood so we called the front desk for new sheets – at 11PM it was a little late, even for
us, to change rooms. The night manager came in to inspect the sheets. He
determined it was not blood at all but tar. Oh well, tar, that’s alright to
have tar on the sheets – what’s so unusual about that? I told you they had no
use for a library there.
Don’t ever be afraid to complain or speak
your mind and don’t stress about booking ahead. A road trip is unpredictable
and you may not even be able to get to your booking on time. After all, you
could have car trouble, get lost (my favourite) or be blocked by a herd of
elephants crossing the road. You never know – live dangerously – carpe diem.
for
more information go to www.thatroadtripbook.com
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