Good Morning,
I’m not making breakfast this morning, I’m having it made for me. 🙂 Since I had no reservations Sunday or Monday as of last Thursday, I decided to go to a trade show in Ocean City, MD. There’s several web sites that list upcoming shows and when I’ve had a free Sunday & Monday, they were always in Las Vegas, L.A. or Boston (sometimes London or Singapore). Since I wanted something I could drive to, this worked out perfectly, only six hours.
I was giving a tour to an engaged couple for a possible September wedding. This was booked for 2 p.m. before I made my new plans. I contacted them and they agreed to come an hour early so I could get on the road. They actually showed up a 1/2 earlier, thanx Shayla & Will. Dorronda’s busy scouring the rooms with a list of chores for the day and I kissed da boiz good by and was on my way. (No, I didn’t abandon da boiz. Kerry from KS Kennedy Floral www.kskenndy.bravehost.com , right down the street agreed to bring Lucy and they were all going to have a sleep over).
I know a lot of people complain about www.mapquest.com but I find it extremely useful. Mapquest may have troubles with Pittsburgh’s twisted streets and constant changing, I have trouble with Pittsburgh’s streets and directions myself. 🙂 Estimated driving time came in right at six hours (no I don’t know how they calculate drive times, but I did nine miles OVER the speed limit almost the entire trip and still arrived in six hours), maybe the web site has a heavy foot also.
So I found what appeared to be a very nice Inn right on the ocean. From web sites, you are never sure what to expect, been there done that. 🙂 I have found most times, Inns end up being AT LEAST as nice as the pictures, and this was true of Inn on the Ocean www.innontheocean.com . When I booked, I told Charlie, one of the Inn Keepers, that I should arrive by 8 p.m., but may be late because of the tour at my Inn. When he found out I was also an Inn Keeper, he offered me his least expensive room an would up grade me when I arrived to the most expensive available at the time. When I arrived, Josh their night manager greeted me and showed me around. There’s single serve coffee and tea available anytime. They have an ice machine and communal refrigerator in the basement for guest use. My room had a TV and VCR and there was a library of VCR tapes for guest use in the commons area (I assume the other guest rooms also have this amenity). The common areas were fresh and clean and well appointed. The living room has a gas fireplace controlled by a remote, nice touch. They also have fresh fruit, candies and cookies in the dining room for guests. Unfortunately, on several levels, I had a McGrease burger on the way down and didn’t feel like dinner when I arrived. A couple of hours later, the munchies attacked and I devoured several of Vicki & Charlie’s tasty cookies.
The room Josh checked me into was the Veranda Room, first floor, ocean front. Very nice, thank you Charlie. The queen bed was nice and firm, I don’t like those overly soft pillow type beds many Inns have. There was all the amenities one would expect, remote cable TV, alarm clock radio, full private bath (with jacuzzi), they’re own private label bottled water (nice touch), extra blanket, robes, luggage rack and small space heaters in the closet if you needed (the Inn was plenty warm for me).
So this morning I woke up at six and lazed around for a bit and then watched the sun rise from the ocean. Quite nice, I haven’t done that in awhile. I then took a walk on the boardwalk, right outside and then came in for coffee and to blog. They serve breakfast from nine until ten, so I think I’ll take a bit of a walk south on “the boards” and come back for b’fast. The convention center is just 2 miles away, if it’s OK with Charlie & Vicki, I’ll leave the truck in their lot and just walk up the boards for the show. I should be home fairly early, so if I have any regular fans, I’ll let you know how I made out at the show. There’s supposed to be a number of linen vendors there, which is the main reason for me to come here.
ed
