Vacation was winding down. All loaded on the plane to make the final leg of the journey. All was looking good until the final pilot check showed a leak in the hydraulics. We wait on the mechanic to diagnose. We sit on the plane. Tempers flare. The people watching gets interesting. Then the news arrives. We must wait for a part to be flown in. We are removed from the plane and the sighs begin, instantly. Then the pilots time out of available fly time to get us home. Nobody is getting home today!
Chaos begins. People are grouchy. Lines are long to get rebooked. Unaccompanied minor's facial expressions show worry. Airline employees brace for the worst. Plans need to be made for an unexpected night stay. The list goes on an on. Since I was just wrapping up vacation, I was sad to have to wait another day to get home but was overall pretty chill compared to some others who might have just been starting their vacation. I waited in line for hours. I was shuffled to another line for another hour. The process wasn't as smooth as it could have been but I survived.
Now the first positive I celebrated when heading to my mystery accommodations was the sunset. It was beautiful and I wouldn't have seen it, if my plans weren't altered. The second positive was I had a great burger for dinner before heading off to the motel I knew nothing about. The rest of the adventure was...
This was a field trip. A time capsule to the 70s. Just an interesting experience all together. The main lobby door was closed which seemed weird upon arrival. We had to enter the side door. The reason was the holiday nutcracker display took up the whole lobby. I can't remember the exact count but it was a massive amount of poinsettias, nutcrackers, little trees and many interesting holiday decorations. The lobby was old-fashioned and somehow I felt like I was stuck in a time warp.
I even felt like the arrival to the locked main door was the onset of bad things to follow. A horror movie of sorts. What would be lurking around the next corner. Was the lobby going to be smoke filled like lobbies were in the 70s? Was the clerk going to have that raspy smoker voice? Would I get a key on a weird wooden keychain?
My room was on the main floor. Literally in the parking lot. Glass door facing the lot and the road. The wall to the outside was glass. I felt like anytime a vehicle was going to just come crashing through the glass into my bed! The pool was in the basement of the lobby. This was extra odd to me. There was a sign in sheet to enter and exit. I really wanted to explore but it seemed so odd I just didn't. A hidden pool beneath the motel stuck in the 1970s. Oh I had too many questions in my mind.
The interior. Maybe it was stylish to some but I felt trapped in 1976. The lack of everything modern. The outlets or lack thereof. The heating system. The decor. It was like a carousel of progress broke in 1976 and I was just stuck in a time warp. The TV might be the only accessory updated since 2000. The picture below shows a glimpse of the bathroom. Clean of course but style was definitely outdated. The half tiled wall. The marbled sink. The plaster-type wall surface. The sink handle gave me flashbacks to childhood. It was all just too creepy for me.
I just need to circle back to the glass door and wall of glass. My entrance way to heaven or hell. It was bare to me. Left me feeling exposed. Vulnerable to a break in. Paranoid for a vehicle crash. It was cold to the touch. The outside temperature was in the teens that night adding to the ambiance. Then there was the sound. The opening and closing. Not just of my glass door, but others. Above me. Next to me. Down the way.
Clack. Slam. Vroom. The sliding. The slamming. The clacking. Is it locked? The checks. The rechecks. It seemed to go on for hours. Above me. Beside me. Near me. Click. Click. Click. Sirens they zip by here and there. The sounds of whispers on the walkway. The whisper grew louder and they were in the room with you. The environment was full of adventure if you were just still. Lord knows I was still waiting for death to come crashing through my glass doorway!
The cars outside. Zipping. Zooming. Screeching. Too close for comfort. The still of the night finally arrived and I faded off into dreamland. I absolutely never would have picked this motel as my accommodation. I definitely won't be back. I don't see myself making a recommendation unless someone wants to relive that time era.
I had a lived experience. I wrote about it. The experience was not my favorite but I lived to tell about it. I wouldn't hit the redo button but I can definitely giggle about many moments lived. Embrace the unknown, unexpected and down right weird moments of your life.
Cheers to the unexpected days life brings. This may also be my second or third excursion this year to a desolate airport. So many differences in each experience of the wee hours of night or early morning at the airport with a handful of people before the hustle and bustle of day arrives.
The photo above was my last airport picture. I enjoyed sitting by the warmth of the fireplace with the holiday decorations and gathering my thoughts before hopping on my now fixed plane to journey home.
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