We'll Leave the Light On

On this last trip, we stayed at nine different places. We normally camp out at one place for a week or so, so this gave us a nice way to compare and contrast.

What we learned:

- Places that consider themselves "fancier" put only 3 pillows on each bed. This is strange.

- Due to bedbug incidents twice with out daughter on previous trips, we always carefully inspect a room before settling in. Every place in this trip passed, though in one in Monterey (our most sketch hotel by far) we needed to move due to a strong smoke smell.

- A warm pool is lovely, and a hot tub is even nicer. The zero-entry, warm pool at the Madonna Inn was amazing.

- I really loathe keurigs, which taste like plastic. Big pots of coffee in the lobby, along with a minimal effort towards a pastry and maybe some fruit, make me really happy. I was more impressed by the minimal but heartfelt set up at the Adelaide Inn than I was the fancy but chaotic full buffet at the Riu San Francisco. (the fresh baked cookies at the Adelaide on check-in was also a win).

- I never watch the TV, though we did once this time for the Oscars.

- The trend towards stemless wine glasses and a wine opener, plus higher-end toiletries, is nice.

- Nice showers are nice. I'm still coveting the rain head at the Adelaide Inn (that place totally won for thoughtful amenities at a low price point).

- Having a reasonably priced bar in your lobby is a big draw, now that we're old enough to leave our kid for a bit.

- Arranging discounts at local restaurants when you show your room key is appreciated.

- Little things mean a lot. The Magic Castle in LA was a perfectly fine hotel, maybe  little worn. But their uber-friendly staff, and all the amenities (free candy! free soft serve! a laundry area! a popsicle hotline!) made it a total highlight of the trip.

The BEST times we had on the vacation, though, was spending time with friends. Spending hours with Jay and Lou at their place the first night, and staying at Val's and talking until late each night, were for sure the best parts for me. After a couple of years of not being very connected, these were golden moments.

So here's our offer to you. If you are coming to, or driving through, Minnesota, we would love to have you stay with us for a few nights. We'll offer you 4 pillows, no bedbugs, real coffee, stemless wine glasses, and cookies. If we're at Summit, there will be a warm pool. The TV part is less likely.

But we would love to see you and connect.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Brutus

Image
In 2019, we were on our way back from spring break when Cheryl, who Beatrix had interned with at GiffyDog, reached out to us about fostering a pomeranian (since she knew Beatrix loved the breed). The day we got back, the person who had been fostering him brought him over. Brutus sauntered in, grabbed a rawhide as long as he was that Coya had been chewing, and settled in next to me in the chair. Patrick says "I knew at that point he was never leaving." And he didn't. He got the name "Brutus Brewpup" when, as we initially had him and thought we should expose him to people who might want to adopt him, we took him out to a taproom and found he LOVED it. Pretty soon, taking him to taprooms turned into a regular pastime. But he liked other things too. He loved Christmas: And Halloween: And springtime: And snow, especially the first snowfall: And really winter in general: He loved to go up to the cabin (and I'm so glad we got to go up this last weekend): And to sun
Read more

New Year's Eve 2023

Image
I did not want to be laying in bed, wearing a fleece onesie and still shivering, while my husband and daughter headed out to the several wonderful NYE parties we have planned. I have a beautiful new dress that I got in Duluth for tonight, and was looking forward to the collection of friends we would be seeing. Our friend Whitney in particular is throwing the last party at her B and B, and it's breaking my heart not to go. But I feel logey and coughy, and more to the point, I have a low fever, and I don't want to mess around with possibly getting anyone sick. I'm still holding out hope that I'll miraculously feel better and the fever was a mistaken reading, but I doubt that. And I feel lucky to have 3 sets of people who want me in their lives tonight and who I don't want to get sick. As our yoga teacher Viv says, it's not like a page turns and everything is magic. You get some things that are good, and some that are not, and life is living in the middle. -- In 20
Read more

Choosing Happy

Image
This post is brought to you by a few thoughts from yesterday: First and foremost, Patrick's new book that he wrote for Beatrix for her sixteenth birthday. Available for a hot second before we leave for spring break tomorrow. The response of someone he knows on the internet, who wrote yesterday that he had decided years ago that he would never be happy (and reading his posts, he seems to be right.). It was one of the saddest things I've encountered in a long time. A friend's social media post, in which she discusses another person's comment of " I really think a sizable proportion of the population has become addicted to being angry" with the sage response of " I think a lot of them are doing it because it's more enjoyable to be angry than to be depressed." A nd we finally finished watching this season's Fargo last night. I won't give any spoilers, but it's extremely on theme with this post. So this is the deal. There's a lot on
Read more