BOA Week Six

Our first day drive after a very strenuous weekend was filled with errands and miles but we decided to spend an extra day at our first stop to get those well needed massages. Life has to be filled with those little moments that make things feel right again.

Horseshoe Casino & Hotel in Elizabeth, Indiana This room also had a “breathing” fridge that sounded more like the waves of an ocean, but at times it was intense. It was also spacious, had a comfortable bed, a Huge TV, and the softest towels and water. Customer service was excellent, but lots of complaints because of the new owner taking over fighting with the Union. 

Our drive to our next location was mostly on I-65 South and it was so bumpy and felt as if we were bucking on a horse for most of the drive. 

Sleep Inn in Smyrna, Tennessee was a pleasant surprise, our room was clean, spacious, with a great walk in shower. It’s always a great thing when checking in early, the front desk doesn’t immediately say no, but instead they look if it’s available, which it was, so we were able to get to our huge load of laundry. There was a distinct smell of mold while we slept, not sure where it was coming from since we didn’t see any mold, but it was there and I was uncomfortable.

WHAT A CRAZY DRIVE TODAY…we had truckers everywhere…that’s what is so apparent back east is the congestion, construction EVERYWHERE…missing the open roads out west. In addition to all that, this year we are having major issues with the weight of our trailer we are hauling, it’s not about being able to tow it, it’s being able to stop it and it was scary today coming down a downgrade with the trailers brakes heating up, lighting up, shaking and wheel hopping and not being able to slow us down. Never in all our years of driving our motorhome, trailers, trucks, cars and any sort of vehicle have I ever feared our safety, but today changed all that in an instant. It was a breath of fresh air to finally make it to our event destination.

LaQuinta in Douglasville, Georgia We stayed here last year and this year was even better, our room was HUGE…it was at the end and top floor so the noise was nonexistent. The bed was so comfortable, the shower head was explosive in such a soothing way, the couch was enough to spread out, and they even had a wet bar. Customer service was excellent!

Our event was soggy, all day drizzle and windy, we were setup outdoors but were under somewhat of a cover. Several of our items got drenched from torrential rain leaks and then they canceled the finals so we only worked 16 hours instead of 22. Unfortunately, as we were loading the trailer there was a 20 minute downpour, so the entire trailer contents are drenched. 

Now we head to San Antonio with only 3 days to get there and one of those days is my birthday, so we will try to get some me time in as well, will let you all know how well that goes next week.

BOA Week Five

This week is travel time, 1,000 miles in 3 days, so we are enjoying the ride. Our first day was Orlando to Perry, Georgia with errands along the way.

We stopped at LaQuinta in Perry, Georgia and we just missed the Fair so the area was just catching their breathes, which meant rooms weren’t ready by check in time, so we settled for 2 Queens instead of our usual King. Very friendly customer service, the room was clean, spacious and the beds were outstanding.

More miles today and through, more like around, 3 major cities. Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Nashville, the worse being Nashville, but we made it through and then had a restful evening with our next stay.

Best Western Plus in Clarksville, Tennessee Great location right off the freeway but far enough away that you don’t hear the traffic noise. Very friendly staff, but being in Tennessee, the friendliest State, it’s almost expected. Room was spacious, clean, and such a perfectly comfortable bed. The only issue was the refrigerator made an awful whining noise periodically throughout the night.

Our third travel day got us to our event location in St Louis at Casino Queen in East St Louis, IL.  The hotel is a bit dated and definitely needs some remodel but it’s still a good location for our needs. We had a shower breakdown at no o’clock in the morning when we got in from a VERY long day of work and their maintenance guy was there and replaced the broken part almost immediately. 

This event was a Super Regional which meant one full day of setup, and two long days of working the event.

It was a difficult one, due to our helper situation, if we could change one thing about this entire route we do annually it would absolutely be the pool of helpers they get for us. This year we made a pact with ourselves that because we have been doing this now for 5 years and every year they promise change and it doesn’t happen, so we were going to speak up which we have been doing. Not by complaining, but after every event we always include our notes about event, well this year those notes are facts, not the rose colored glasses as in the past, so now it’s been brought to our attention that we are being “salty”…SO BE IT! 

It’s crazy to think if anyone continues doing the same things over and over but expects a different result is just ludicrous, so we are changing what we do so then possibly our results will be different.

BOA Week Four

Because of our errands that needed to be done, we only planned a short travel day with about 175 miles, but we ran into traffic several times, so it took longer than usual.

Hampton Inn in Stony Creek, Virginia – Room was spacious and so comfortable, the bed, the chair and the couch were all perfect. The shower head was amazing. Customer service was excellent and parking was great for our trailer.

Our next day drive took us to my happy place…on the water and this time the Atlantic. We found a deal for a King Bed Condo with a balcony and an ocean view at Oceans One Resort, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. What a fantastic view, spacious, a great seating area, plenty of parking for the trailer, a great shower with a jetted tub, (the only time the jetted tub is not so nice is at midnight when your neighbor above chooses to take a long bath…oh the noise). The bed was not extremely comfortable, has seen its better days, the springs popped several times throughout the night.

While there we splurged for a Seafood Buffet at Captain Benjamin’s and we certainly got our fill of crab legs and they were awesome. I tried several new items, like mussels and crawfish, neither were I impressed with at all. We both had a yummy drink, mine was a Bahama Mama and Jerry had a Blue Maraca Margarita and they were both delicious and strong!

Another almost 300 mile drive to the Best Western Plus in Richmond Hill, Georgia – it was spacious with all the amenities, the shower head was fantabulous and customer service was excellent. Always love a hotel that doesn’t look at the clock immediately when we arrive to check in early, instead they check to see if any rooms are ready and ours was ready.

There is an Arby’s within walking distance and we both agreed that Arby’s have come a long way, and they’ve got the meat. It has been awhile since we had one so we looked at the menu and what a new selection they have and chose the Beer Cheese Triple Stack and Beer Braised Beef, these sandwiches are part of their “Meatoberfest”, so try them while they last.

Our event hotel was Comfort Inn & Suites in Orlando, Florida. Not on our favorite list due to several reasons, we DO NOT like being on the 1^St floor and they would not change it due to the type of our room we selected, we suggested changing the type but still they would not do it. Plumbing issues, not a great breakfast and parking was tighter than it looked.

Arrived at our destination for this event in Orlando under loads of stress due to our helper situation for this weekend. We ended up once again setting up ourselves and barely having enough helpers to work all day. Remind us again why we feel we love this work? But, we made it through and had Sunday to vent, to relax and to laugh it all off before our next adventure.

BOA Week Three

Monday was our perfect day, no issues on the 290 mile drive, all of our errands took less than a half an hour and then some fun play time.

We stayed at Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Flintstone, Maryland and had some relaxing play time. The Resort is on a lake and even though most of the time we were there it was foggy, it still looked very quant. Our room was spacious, even though the bathroom was not and definitely needed an update, it was still a nice room with a great view.

Vehicle issues continue, on our drive AGAIN, the check engine light came on, so we had to take time out of our vacation time to get it looked at, and again it was not an emergency code, most likely due to the weight we’re pulling, the climbing and descending, and possibly some bad gas. We purchased a Code Reader so the next time we can read it without having to go to a dealership or Auto Zone.

We stayed at Holiday Inn Express in Hyattsville, Maryland which was convenient for not only our work but also a few days of Washington DC sightseeing. There are many times Google is deceiving and this was definitely one of those times. Pulling this 25’ trailer, we always look ahead at an overview and it looked as if it had ample space, but we were so wrong. With the lots totally empty but a few cars we hardly made it in, and it was worse on our way out. The room was the smallest ever, but the shower was a walk-in and very spacious, the bed was comfy and customer service was outstanding, but we need space, not only for the trailer but for us as well. The area is not the best, but we felt safe all the time at our hotel.

Our day in Washington DC was a blast, not sure how people deal with all that traffic daily, but one day was more than enough for us. We chose to take a taxi in, then ride the Old Time Trolly while in the city. Our hotel is only 6 miles from DC, but our transportation cost us $70 for taxis and $90 for the trolley, but there is no way we were going to attempt to drive in or find a place to park. We didn’t do much walking but we seen what we came for, we ate lunch at the Wharf and enjoyed our time, but as I told Jerry, be sure to see and do all we want because there is no return trip for us. Give me a day of driving on open roads, a fun casino day with a spa treatment or a day at a hotel on the water and we are both happy campers. We are not crowd people and prefer solitude places without all the hustle and bustle of crazy drivers.

Our event was at the University of Maryland, unfortunately there was MAJOR construction on campus so navigating around with the trailer was a nightmare. The event was successful and we had a phenomenal group of helpers. Time certainly flies whenever we do the BOA route, because we really love doing this type of work, just wish we could find other things just like it more often. 

We now head south, our next event is in Orlando with several days to get there, so it will be an easy time with more things to do and see.