Let me begin this funny story with, “Buddy made all of the plans! He assured me he knew what he was doing :-)” The race was way out in the country, and he told me there were no motels anywhere around it. Being that this was his third trip to that neck of the woods and he had stayed here in the past, I took him at his word. He assured me the motel was great hiker accommodations (I should have been immediately suspicious) and at a great price - $50.00 a night (that, too, should have been a signal) - and the only one for miles. OK...I bit, and then about 8:00 at night we drove up after a LONG and tiring drive.
Click and click again to enlarge if you feel the urge to get a closer look at the No-Tell Motel.
Here is what I named the No-Tell Motel signage. The first thing I saw driving up was the vintage half-working neon sign. As you can see, Bud went in, paid the bill, and walked out. I wondered where the key thingies were but didn’t say anything. He is always wearing yellow for safety!!! The picture of the sign when it was off was taken about 5:30 in the morning as we were leaving for the big race.
The photo on the left is the front, the middle one shows the “funeral home” metal awning connecting the room building with the office section, and the one on the right was the back where we had to enter our room.The catch was we were NOT to enter from the front. Only people on the second floor used those doors. We had to drive around back and use that door. Our room was the one in the middle without an outdoor light. The bottom shot is the one pretty thing about the area....the gorgeous view with the rain and fog. There was only one car there when we drove up that night. The next day the place was filled with hunters in all of their garb.
As you can see, my question about the key thingy was answered when we got to the room....an old fashioned key hanging in the door plus the signs for NO SMOKING and NO PETS. The threshold was in disrepair, and when we got inside there were cigarette burns on the rug. Fortunately, the room did not smell of smoke...just HOT. I called the lady at the desk asking if it really was a non-smoking room, and she was put out with me that I was even asking the question. Of course, it was NOT SMOKING. COULD I NOT READ THE SIGN??? Then I noticed much to my dismay that there were no chain locks on either of the doors...just those push-in thingies like on a bathroom in your house. UGH!!! My daddy was a safety engineer who checked everything for safety, so I immediately freaked out. I was beside myself...but there was no where else to go at that point. I shoved Bud’s pack onto a chair which I wedged under the door handle of the door we were told to enter from, but when I went to the other door, the handle was too high for the chair to work. UGH, AGAIN!!! To add fuel to the fire, I could not understand why I was burning up...like menopause at 74. I turned on the AC, but it didn’t help. Then, Bud looked up and discovered something sticking out on the wall. It was the ****heat control halfway up to the ceiling. Fortunately, I knew to take my own sheets, blankets and pillows, and I took 2 bottles of sanitizer. Trust me, I sanitized that room from top to bottom before we brought in anything and made up our beds with OUR stuff. I am on high alert for bed bugs whenever we go on a trip. Actually, the beds were firm and the bathroom and bedroom were nice and clean.There was an old TV and a working phone. No more hiker motels for this gal. The ultimatum has been given. I want a place with inside entries and what I call proper door locking machinery. Hey, it was cheap, and we did sleep well for two nights. I wasn’t about to drive another 50-100 miles in rainy fog around the WV curvy mountains to go try to find a better place. Next year I will stay at home, and Bud can make his return trip for the big run #2.
The FIRE alarm was located right outside our door...that was nice...note the cigarette on top. I neglected to photograph the butts on the concrete. Sorry about that.
As we were leaving town Sunday morning, we passed this little restaurant. I spotted the sign and just had to stop and take pictures. MOE FATZ...interesting name.
This happy/silly post is linked with
Lesley’s Signs2.
