one of the more recent crappy motels (recent as in twelve years ago!) I stayed in was in detroit, off the highway. Hadn't turned the TV on until late night/early am. TV had only two channels. One channel was kids shows and the other channel was porno --which appeared to have been filmed at that very motel, even the parking lot was the same... same towels. Pretty sure filmed there.
That trip (there for funeral) everywhere I went, walls were plastered with 'No Smoking' signs hanging just above the dense clouds of cigarette smoke. That whole trip was stained yellow and made my tongue taste bad.
The part about petting the dog reminded me of a funny thing. About 20 years ago I took my young daughter and dog for a walk and we wandered past a Ben & Jerry's. It was a hot day, and an ice cream cone seemed ideal. But, since we had our dog I couldn't enter the shop.
There were many people there that day, and another patron and her daughter had a similar problem. We resolved it by allowing my daughter to go into the shop with them, while I stayed outside with both dogs. While sitting on a bench waiting, a stranger came over eager to pet the seemingly friendly and very cute dogs. But, instead of asking if he could pet the dogs, he asked 'Does your dog bite?'. All I could think of in that moment was the scene from a Pink Panther movie when Inspector Clouseau asks a similar question, gets 'no' for an answer, and proceeds to be bitten by the dog while petting it. He then says, 'I thought you said that your dog doesn't bite?!', to which the dog holder says, "My dog does not bite! But, that is not my dog". So, of course I started laughing so much that I couldn't answer his question. The man smiled and said, "Let me guess, it's not your dog," to which I could only nod in agreement. Other people around us had witnessed the entire interaction, and within a minute everyone was laughing hysterically.
If you ever end up back in Salina again, there's a giant former quarry in the middle of town that has become a tiny nature preserve canyon full of wild animals. Still can't recommend any nearby motels, though.
Many years ago, I took a road trip from Chicago to Savannah, GA. We were overzealous and thought we could drive straight through, but just across the border from South Carolina to Georgia, it was late and we were tired. This was the days before google maps on phones and printed Mapquest directions were your guide. It is one of the only times I have ever pulled up to a hotel by chance and no plan.
It was a dingy old Days Inn(I think). I went in, asked for a room and I swear we were the only one staying over that night. The clerk gives me the key, room number and directions. I needed directions because it was all the way, way back of the motel, near the woods, very far from the front office. Yep, this seems fine(sarcasm).
We went in, I turned on the TV, I heard a pop/snap, a cloud of smoke floated up from the back of the TV and realized the tube blew out.
It was so late and we were so exhausted from the drive, a creepy murder motel with exploding TV tubes didn’t even matter. I locked the door, put a chair against the door knob and hoped for the best. Off to sleep we went.
I was happy to leave very early the next morning.
I will say, as it pertains to shitty hotels, I’m jealous of your thunderstorm and not yet biting dog.
Sounds a lot like that Jeff Daniels' movie. I remember this place I stayed in Germany. Small town, and the only restaurant in town was the one in the Gasthaus/Hotel. I had travelled around the county, and taking into account regional differences, it was hard to find a bad place to eat. The first night, I was so amazed at how bad it was, I went back the next night and it was again so bad I just checked out the next morning, and after my work finished that afternoon, found another place, about five miles closer to the site, and had some of the best food I had during the 8 total years I spent in Germany. Go figure. It was also cheaper...
Had to stay at a crappy hotel in Seligman, AZ a few years ago when I-40 was shut down because of snow/ice. We were desperate because we had been sitting on the freeway for hours, and there were no rooms left in the entire town. Tiny, dirty room. The water stopped working 5 minutes after we got there and never came back on (apparently it was shut down in the entire city but maybe that was a lie, who knows). The room was freezing - the dog was so cold. Loud people next door. TV barely worked. I was 99% sure my car would be gone by morning. Thank god it was still there, and we slipped and slided out of the incredibly long and icy driveway and I was so happy to white-knuckle my way out of that hell.
the crappiest hotel room I had ever was on the outskirts of Nashville on the east side. I wish I could remember it s name. I was moving back east, had a large truck, and just needed a cheap bed. I kept hearing noise and eventually figured out a prostitute was using the room next door. I swear to god I talked to her nicely after knocking on the door between clients and she said she would get her clients to be less noisy. Never heard another peap the rest of the night. There also was no hot water as the corroded old faucet in the bathroom the next AM on the hot side didn't work. In hindsight I probably should have paid for a better room or slept on plastic on the bed. lol
one of the more recent crappy motels (recent as in twelve years ago!) I stayed in was in detroit, off the highway. Hadn't turned the TV on until late night/early am. TV had only two channels. One channel was kids shows and the other channel was porno --which appeared to have been filmed at that very motel, even the parking lot was the same... same towels. Pretty sure filmed there.
That trip (there for funeral) everywhere I went, walls were plastered with 'No Smoking' signs hanging just above the dense clouds of cigarette smoke. That whole trip was stained yellow and made my tongue taste bad.
Channeling Inspector Clouseau , Does your dog bite ? No ... Snap ouch .. I thought you said your dog does not bite ! .... Its not my dog .
The part about petting the dog reminded me of a funny thing. About 20 years ago I took my young daughter and dog for a walk and we wandered past a Ben & Jerry's. It was a hot day, and an ice cream cone seemed ideal. But, since we had our dog I couldn't enter the shop.
There were many people there that day, and another patron and her daughter had a similar problem. We resolved it by allowing my daughter to go into the shop with them, while I stayed outside with both dogs. While sitting on a bench waiting, a stranger came over eager to pet the seemingly friendly and very cute dogs. But, instead of asking if he could pet the dogs, he asked 'Does your dog bite?'. All I could think of in that moment was the scene from a Pink Panther movie when Inspector Clouseau asks a similar question, gets 'no' for an answer, and proceeds to be bitten by the dog while petting it. He then says, 'I thought you said that your dog doesn't bite?!', to which the dog holder says, "My dog does not bite! But, that is not my dog". So, of course I started laughing so much that I couldn't answer his question. The man smiled and said, "Let me guess, it's not your dog," to which I could only nod in agreement. Other people around us had witnessed the entire interaction, and within a minute everyone was laughing hysterically.
If you ever end up back in Salina again, there's a giant former quarry in the middle of town that has become a tiny nature preserve canyon full of wild animals. Still can't recommend any nearby motels, though.
Oh man, I wonder whether the $17.00/night motel in Van Horn is still in business...
Many years ago, I took a road trip from Chicago to Savannah, GA. We were overzealous and thought we could drive straight through, but just across the border from South Carolina to Georgia, it was late and we were tired. This was the days before google maps on phones and printed Mapquest directions were your guide. It is one of the only times I have ever pulled up to a hotel by chance and no plan.
It was a dingy old Days Inn(I think). I went in, asked for a room and I swear we were the only one staying over that night. The clerk gives me the key, room number and directions. I needed directions because it was all the way, way back of the motel, near the woods, very far from the front office. Yep, this seems fine(sarcasm).
We went in, I turned on the TV, I heard a pop/snap, a cloud of smoke floated up from the back of the TV and realized the tube blew out.
It was so late and we were so exhausted from the drive, a creepy murder motel with exploding TV tubes didn’t even matter. I locked the door, put a chair against the door knob and hoped for the best. Off to sleep we went.
I was happy to leave very early the next morning.
I will say, as it pertains to shitty hotels, I’m jealous of your thunderstorm and not yet biting dog.
Sounds a lot like that Jeff Daniels' movie. I remember this place I stayed in Germany. Small town, and the only restaurant in town was the one in the Gasthaus/Hotel. I had travelled around the county, and taking into account regional differences, it was hard to find a bad place to eat. The first night, I was so amazed at how bad it was, I went back the next night and it was again so bad I just checked out the next morning, and after my work finished that afternoon, found another place, about five miles closer to the site, and had some of the best food I had during the 8 total years I spent in Germany. Go figure. It was also cheaper...
Had to stay at a crappy hotel in Seligman, AZ a few years ago when I-40 was shut down because of snow/ice. We were desperate because we had been sitting on the freeway for hours, and there were no rooms left in the entire town. Tiny, dirty room. The water stopped working 5 minutes after we got there and never came back on (apparently it was shut down in the entire city but maybe that was a lie, who knows). The room was freezing - the dog was so cold. Loud people next door. TV barely worked. I was 99% sure my car would be gone by morning. Thank god it was still there, and we slipped and slided out of the incredibly long and icy driveway and I was so happy to white-knuckle my way out of that hell.
the crappiest hotel room I had ever was on the outskirts of Nashville on the east side. I wish I could remember it s name. I was moving back east, had a large truck, and just needed a cheap bed. I kept hearing noise and eventually figured out a prostitute was using the room next door. I swear to god I talked to her nicely after knocking on the door between clients and she said she would get her clients to be less noisy. Never heard another peap the rest of the night. There also was no hot water as the corroded old faucet in the bathroom the next AM on the hot side didn't work. In hindsight I probably should have paid for a better room or slept on plastic on the bed. lol