Leave the Light On...For Somebody Else

It's heading home time. Sights have been seen, contracts signed on the house, plans made, friends visited and cherished, photos shot, gas tank filled repeatedly, shopping done. As a honeymoon, it's been a spectacular success. Even the sunburn wasn't too bad, though unexpected from popping out of the car a minute here and a minute there.

Wherever possible, we've been staying at Motel 6 along the way. Four nights at one of these cost about the same as one night in the Grand Canyon. That was a really nice room, and it was convenient shooting both evening and morning light, but we prefer these prices instead. As part of the trip planning we even ordered one of their books showing info nationwide on how to find them. Better than relying on the internet since wi-fi hasn't been that available - one explanation for a lack of blogging.

This morning we left Sun City West with the intent to drive as far as we could stand, keeping one eye on an expected snowstorm in our path for Tuesday, hoping to make it home that night anyway. "As far as we could stand" turned out to be Amarillo. Yes, we're butt-sore. Even taking turns driving it was a long haul. As we filled up the tank before leaving New Mexico and its $3.29/gal prices, we decided to call one of the Motel 6 locations in Amarillo. So far we'd been lucky with not planning more than a few hours ahead at most, but we felt more comfortable at least making the call.

We started with the airport location. The young man who handled the phone was just a little less than helpful. First, their handicapped rooms held only single regular-sized beds. If we're going to share, it's gotta be a queen. OK, did they have a ground floor room with either a larger bed or two beds? Well, yes he did, but....

"You make it sound like a problem. Just what is the issue?"

It seemed he couldn't guarantee us a room with a king-sized bed. There might be one when we got there or there might not. All were assigned upon guests showing up, first come, first served. Every phone reservation we'd made to this point was guaranteed with a credit card, but that apparently wasn't an option with this fellow. We wouldn't be there for about two hours. Why bother with him?

We chose instead the Motel 6 on the west end of town. Nice room, accessible with a queen bed, wi-fi free. As far as the airport location, well, they can leave the light on for somebody else. We won't bother them with our business.