Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Sleepless in Dalton

Have you ever had to sleep on the side of the road? Thankfully, I never have. However, after the night that I have just spent, I now feel as though I have. I have heard each and every 18-wheeler that has gone goes up I-75 north through Dalton, Georgia through the night. The fabulous plush bedding on my bed has gone to complete waste as I have hardly slept at all.


After my job yesterday in Cartersville, I drove the additional 50 minutes up here. I went to one hotel, but the only room they had had two double beds. It's my policy when I'm staying away from home to sleep in a bed at least as big as the one I have at home. And they were so unfriendly there. Add to that the fact that their rates were outlandish. I mean, come on people. This is Dalton, a small town in north Georgia. Not New York City. I then crossed over I-75 and went to the Hampton Inn, which is a hotel chain I've stayed in many times. In fact, when I was planning this little trip, I checked the rates here, but they seemed a little high. But not high compared to the unfriendly place I went to first. They had a nice room, gave me a good business rate, let me choose what floor I wanted my room, and they were just very, very nice. I obviously made the wrong choice of room location because of the proximity to the expressway, but, hey, who knew.


I worked for a good four hours when I got here. Got three jobs proofed, and that's pretty dang good. There is an outlet mall right across the street. Although I really wasn't in the mood for shopping (shocker, I know), I wanted to take a break, so I took a stroll in the freezing cold (I forgot my coat at home). The hours posted on the brochures that I had seen said they were open till 9 p.m. daily. It was before 6 and they were all closing. What's up with that? There were several stores that had closed down. For good. Tough times I guess. Outback was in the same area, so I stopped in to get something to eat. I just brought it back to the room. There was hardly anyone in the restaurant. I think this town is really suffering from this down economy. Well, back to Outback. They've changed their menu. So if you had something that you really liked, there's a good chance it's not on the menu anymore. If your luck's like mine anyway. The tilapia I order is not on the new menu, but I asked if I could order it. Evidently, they had a few scraggly pieces left in the freezer. They served it right up. It was not very good.


I come back to my room and work a little more. Then it's time for the highlight of my night. The Bachelor. I really don't think I'm gonna let myself get hooked on that show again. I think ABC just manipulates the viewers of the show too much. I'm just a sucker for a love story. I don't think it's gonna end the way I want it to. And then I'll swear off the show for good. Or at least till the next season starts.


I have a good understanding why business travel is no fun. In fact, it's really quite miserable. I don't think I'll be opting to do this again anytime soon. Give me my bed, my peaceful sleep and my evening at home any day of the week.


I don't have to check out till 12 noon, so maybe I'll take a nap. Think they could have a roadblock or something on the expressway so I could get some sleep?

Happy Tuesday!

5 comments:

Theresa said...

Sorry you had trouble sleeping. I have had that trouble WAY too many times. If I go out of town, I don't sleep well the first night no matter what. I always take my fan to drown out any noise and that helps on all the other nights but not the first. Catch you a nap and go down for some Hampton Inn morning goodies. We always stay there and they have cheese danish, sausage, biscuits, fruit, muffins and sometimes grits and eggs. AND good HOT coffee. Yummy, wish I was there!

Love you and hope your day will get better from here:)

suzanne said...

You definitely ARE your father's daughter and, for that matter, your aunt's niece! Everything has to be just perfect for your sleeping condtions. I know sleeping with noise like that would be hard.
It just sounded like such a good idea at the time...
ANYWHO.. love you and hopefully my day will be more productive than yesterday's and you can catch 40 winks before your job!

Barbo said...

kell, which lady do you want the bachelor to pick? I sure was not satisfied with last nights program. Be careful on your way home. I love you girls.

Anonymous said...

I must agree with Suz on the father's daughter thing! I really think that after our weekend I could have slept on a bed of rocks in Siberia. I was very very tired yesterday by the time I got off work. Ordered pizza and nighty night it was for me. Hope you at least went down for some Hampton Inn goodies like Theresa said. I have stayed in those before and I agree, it makes your morning. Glad I'm not stuck on the Bachelor cause it really sounds like all of you are not happy with the way it's going. Well, gonna run cook up some vittles now. LYLAS

Theresa said...

Just checking in on you and making sure you made it back from the mountains OK! Hopefully you got a good nights' sleep:)zzzzz Lut