RaeRay will sleep in the lap of luxury tonight. It’s something that doesn’t really feel natural. The Grand Hyatt in downtown Denver is far above RaeRay’s level, but we are getting used to it. All we wanted was a place to spend the night. Morgan was visiting some friends here, and we found their street first. Then we let the I-Phone lead us to a place to stay.
It directed us downtown past the lively 16th Street Mall and to a 24-story building. We pulled our dirty Honda Civic up to the door, next to a bellman and a valet. The hood and headlight show the wear of wrestling with a deer earlier this year on Monte Sano, but the hotel aides seemed to ignore it. I stepped inside expecting to drive away after asking about room rates. The $139 per night seemed reasonable, but the clerk could tell I wasn’t interested. She said the “senior” rate was $125.10. A prouder man might have been insulted, but I simply asked for the AAA rate. It, too, was $125.10. We only spent $67 on Day 6, and our budget was $100 per night. It would all average out. I asked about parking, and she said the valet rate was $28, regardless of how many times I retrieved my car. My other option was to park in a city garage down the street.
OK, don’t mind a few tips for the valet. I would only need the car out once or twice at most. I grabbed a cart and headed out the car to tell Morgan the good news. We loaded a cart and started toward the hotel, when a bellhop stopped us. He must roll the cart if we wanted to use it. Otherwise we could carry our bags. I don’t know rates for tipping bellhops, but I allowed him the privilege. I only tipped him $2.
All we wanted to do was throw our bags in the room and rush back out, but we had to locate the auto pickup area and find a valet. He looked at us and asked, “The Honda?” I gave him $2 for the car and headed out to tour Denver. Back at the hotel a short while later, I sat down to reminisce on the day’s events.
The first stop after leaving our Mesquite motel was the Utah state line, where we again set up our tripod for the official photo. I had been in the state once before but never saw the awesome canyons and rock formations. Nature seemed to hide one of its marvels around ever curve along I-15. We took so many photos that the camera battery was dead by the time we reached Colorado. That’s why we’re posting no state-line photo at this time. We have video, and we have photos of each of us separately. RaeRay will have to concoct a special photo of Colorado at some point.
We hardly stopped during the 665-mile trip from Mesquite to Denver. Morgan drove to the Utah state line, and I drove the remainder of the way. The trip took about 11 hours and 30 minutes. She stayed out with her friends hardly more than two hours. Tomorrow’s drive might be longer than today’s. We’re hoping to reach St. Louis.
It directed us downtown past the lively 16th Street Mall and to a 24-story building. We pulled our dirty Honda Civic up to the door, next to a bellman and a valet. The hood and headlight show the wear of wrestling with a deer earlier this year on Monte Sano, but the hotel aides seemed to ignore it. I stepped inside expecting to drive away after asking about room rates. The $139 per night seemed reasonable, but the clerk could tell I wasn’t interested. She said the “senior” rate was $125.10. A prouder man might have been insulted, but I simply asked for the AAA rate. It, too, was $125.10. We only spent $67 on Day 6, and our budget was $100 per night. It would all average out. I asked about parking, and she said the valet rate was $28, regardless of how many times I retrieved my car. My other option was to park in a city garage down the street.
OK, don’t mind a few tips for the valet. I would only need the car out once or twice at most. I grabbed a cart and headed out the car to tell Morgan the good news. We loaded a cart and started toward the hotel, when a bellhop stopped us. He must roll the cart if we wanted to use it. Otherwise we could carry our bags. I don’t know rates for tipping bellhops, but I allowed him the privilege. I only tipped him $2.
All we wanted to do was throw our bags in the room and rush back out, but we had to locate the auto pickup area and find a valet. He looked at us and asked, “The Honda?” I gave him $2 for the car and headed out to tour Denver. Back at the hotel a short while later, I sat down to reminisce on the day’s events.
The first stop after leaving our Mesquite motel was the Utah state line, where we again set up our tripod for the official photo. I had been in the state once before but never saw the awesome canyons and rock formations. Nature seemed to hide one of its marvels around ever curve along I-15. We took so many photos that the camera battery was dead by the time we reached Colorado. That’s why we’re posting no state-line photo at this time. We have video, and we have photos of each of us separately. RaeRay will have to concoct a special photo of Colorado at some point.
We hardly stopped during the 665-mile trip from Mesquite to Denver. Morgan drove to the Utah state line, and I drove the remainder of the way. The trip took about 11 hours and 30 minutes. She stayed out with her friends hardly more than two hours. Tomorrow’s drive might be longer than today’s. We’re hoping to reach St. Louis.
No comments:
Post a Comment