We ended up spotting a place to eat after accidentally getting in a right turn-only lane last night, so we had dinner at Luby's Cafeteria before continuing on to the hotel. I remarked to Al that it seemed more like our 50th wedding anniversary than our honeymoon. Al: "Why, because we're eating dinner at a cafeteria at 5:30pm?" The food was actually pretty decent, and very filling. In fact, I'm considering living on mochas for the next couple days, so I can still fit into my pants by the time we reach Dallas...
Anyway, after dinner we poked around the mall in which Luby's was situated, and I found a GAP. I bought three tops and five pairs of socks for $47 (I'd packed really light so I wouldn't have to think too much the day after the wedding, figuring I'd buy stuff on the road); I like the socks so much I'm thinking about going back for more. We then continued on to our hotel.
When we checked in we paid for the two nights we'd reserved, but after taking a shower in the room, I called the front desk and changed the reservation to 1 night. (They said as long as I checked out by 10, they'd refund the cost of the second night.) Nothing was as clean as it should have been (including the phone, which I tried to clean with handiwipes, but after the third one came away still dirty, I used my cell phone to call around for a reservation for Saturday night). I kept thinking of my mom as I got increasingly creeped out by the thought of dirt everywhere. If the phone and the shower were icky, was there any guarantee that they washed the towels or changed the sheets between guests?
That latter suspicion was seemingly confirmed when we pulled down the covers on one of the beds and found a long brown hair and sheets that were pressed into the mattress pad. Fresh sheets don't look like that. The other bed seemed ok, though, and it was actually quite comfortable, so I tried to focus on that rather than where dirt might be lurking. I had one nightmare and one troubling dream, but other than that I slept ok. I woke up at 7:30 and immediately got up and started packing.
When it came time to put on my socks, I washed my feet first with the antibacterial handiwipes, since I'd been walking around the room in bare feet since the night before. Better safe than sorry. I then loaded up the car, waited for Al to be done, and then went to the office at 9:15 to check out and get my second night refunded. I also told the clerk that I was expecting a FedEx package (I forgot some medication, and Al needs his contacts, so Beth sent them off yesterday). It hasn't arrived yet, so I'm sitting in the Starbucks down the street from the Days Inn, drinking a Grande Decaf Soy Mocha and blogging. Al sat with me just long enough to drink his Grande Iced Soy Chai Latte, and then he got bored. He's off trying to find some breakfast. When he returns, we'll go back to the hotel to (hopefully) pick up the package, and then head to downtown Santa Fe to kick around.
Tonight we have reservations for a hot tub and massage at Ten Thousand Waves, a Japanese hot tub spa, and for a room at the Radisson Santa Fe. It's three times the price of the Days Inn, but I'm hoping it's ten times as clean.
Posted by Lori at October 12, 2002 09:20 AM