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Road trip review
The week before Labor Day I took myself on a trip to (surprise!) North Carolina, and this time I did some things different.
1. I stayed at a different property in Charleston. Pretty sure I selected this based on price alone. it put me in downtown Charleston vs slightly farther south and a stone's throw from the Turnpike. The room was OK - King bed, kitchenette with cooktop and sink plus fridge/freezer, but no pots or pans to use on the cooktop. Very poor lighting - one lamp didn't work at all, and another was tied to the switch at the door. bathroom was small and lacked counterspace and an exhaust fan (but the cooktop had one...). Full hot breakfast, but very slim pickings - and that was before the lady with the rolling walker came down and cleaned out everything she could. The eggs and sausage weren't what I'd consider "safe" temp, but the sausage gravy was. Staff was friendly enough (especially when I left my purse in the breakfast room!). The location had a lot of foot traffic, and I had to be careful driving back to the highway as I encountered groups of people loitering/fighting in the streets. Not sure it's worth the $10-15 I might have saved.
2. I packed two bags. Actually, I packed more than two. But I packed a small bag for that layover stop in WV so I didn't have to cart my whole over-stuffed suitcase into the hotel with me. I did worry that my suitcase in my car might attract attention, but I was parked 10 feet from the entrance. That really helped with the schlepping stuff in and out.
3. I put my "personal items" in my backpack. Normally I have a tote bag for notebook/books/postcards and whatever device I might be using, but that bag gets over-stuffed, and I have a perfectly serviceable backpack and a shiny new Chromebook, so why not use them? So my survival kits and stuff all went into an easier-to-carry backpack. definite win.
4. all the food went into one bag. I thought I came prepared for meals on the road, but a loaf of bread w/o peanut butter doesn't do much good. I did have other snacks and shelf-stable food, plus a few protein shakes in my cooler. Next time, make the sandwiches in advance. having my baby "snackle box" helps, too. It's a small pencil box that is just the right size for packs of crackers and such, to keep them from getting squashed.
5. booked a single NC hotel as close to the center of everything as I could. I love being close to events, but I loathe having to check out, and then kill time before check in at the new property. It was nearly 100 degrees every single day, so having a chilled hotel room to hide out in was a nice perk. That Quality Inn at RDU is a stone's throw from I-40, and while Hillsborough was a bit of a haul, the other two places weren't awful.
6. Played tourist! I had three shows to attend, which gave me two days to pretty much do as I pleased. on arrival, I hit up Yarn etc to show off the blanket. Thursday I decided to hit the art museum in Raleigh. it was easy to find the location, but figuring out where to enter the building was near impossible. It was fun to wander around and see paintings I'm not familiar with. They had a whole gallery of Judaic art and artifacts! plus Rodin sculptures, some Eqyptian stuff, and a cool hands-on exhibit on the color red. I'll save the outside stuff for a time when mother nature isn't trying to char-broil me.
7. I recorded two of the events. Nikki Meets the Hibachi at 401 Main in Carrborro and then John Gillespie, Jeffrey Dean Foster, and Lynn Blakey (and her stolen German!) at the Eno House. Now, I'm no videographer, and I won't be quitting my day job anytime soon, but I felt compelled to capture those shows, and I'm glad I did.
1. I stayed at a different property in Charleston. Pretty sure I selected this based on price alone. it put me in downtown Charleston vs slightly farther south and a stone's throw from the Turnpike. The room was OK - King bed, kitchenette with cooktop and sink plus fridge/freezer, but no pots or pans to use on the cooktop. Very poor lighting - one lamp didn't work at all, and another was tied to the switch at the door. bathroom was small and lacked counterspace and an exhaust fan (but the cooktop had one...). Full hot breakfast, but very slim pickings - and that was before the lady with the rolling walker came down and cleaned out everything she could. The eggs and sausage weren't what I'd consider "safe" temp, but the sausage gravy was. Staff was friendly enough (especially when I left my purse in the breakfast room!). The location had a lot of foot traffic, and I had to be careful driving back to the highway as I encountered groups of people loitering/fighting in the streets. Not sure it's worth the $10-15 I might have saved.
2. I packed two bags. Actually, I packed more than two. But I packed a small bag for that layover stop in WV so I didn't have to cart my whole over-stuffed suitcase into the hotel with me. I did worry that my suitcase in my car might attract attention, but I was parked 10 feet from the entrance. That really helped with the schlepping stuff in and out.
3. I put my "personal items" in my backpack. Normally I have a tote bag for notebook/books/postcards and whatever device I might be using, but that bag gets over-stuffed, and I have a perfectly serviceable backpack and a shiny new Chromebook, so why not use them? So my survival kits and stuff all went into an easier-to-carry backpack. definite win.
4. all the food went into one bag. I thought I came prepared for meals on the road, but a loaf of bread w/o peanut butter doesn't do much good. I did have other snacks and shelf-stable food, plus a few protein shakes in my cooler. Next time, make the sandwiches in advance. having my baby "snackle box" helps, too. It's a small pencil box that is just the right size for packs of crackers and such, to keep them from getting squashed.
5. booked a single NC hotel as close to the center of everything as I could. I love being close to events, but I loathe having to check out, and then kill time before check in at the new property. It was nearly 100 degrees every single day, so having a chilled hotel room to hide out in was a nice perk. That Quality Inn at RDU is a stone's throw from I-40, and while Hillsborough was a bit of a haul, the other two places weren't awful.
6. Played tourist! I had three shows to attend, which gave me two days to pretty much do as I pleased. on arrival, I hit up Yarn etc to show off the blanket. Thursday I decided to hit the art museum in Raleigh. it was easy to find the location, but figuring out where to enter the building was near impossible. It was fun to wander around and see paintings I'm not familiar with. They had a whole gallery of Judaic art and artifacts! plus Rodin sculptures, some Eqyptian stuff, and a cool hands-on exhibit on the color red. I'll save the outside stuff for a time when mother nature isn't trying to char-broil me.
7. I recorded two of the events. Nikki Meets the Hibachi at 401 Main in Carrborro and then John Gillespie, Jeffrey Dean Foster, and Lynn Blakey (and her stolen German!) at the Eno House. Now, I'm no videographer, and I won't be quitting my day job anytime soon, but I felt compelled to capture those shows, and I'm glad I did.