Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Let's Try This Again...
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Charlotte, NC
We're at it again, this time south to the Carolinas. First stop: Charlotte, NC.
Now we have been here before and I really like this town. Last time we had dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery, which was absolutely awesome. The next day the kids and I went to a hands-on museum called Discovery place. This was so much fun the kids took Sherry there after her seminar the last day. I took that opportunity to get pampered at a men's grooming place. Haircut, shave, drinks, and a big bill. But it was nice.
This time around, we were at the Hilton in downtown Charlotte. Nice place, especially the room. The highlight was the 42" plasma TV that had hookups for game systems. Nothing like playing the Wii on the Jumbo-Tron. The beds were nice too. If Sherry and I have to share a double bed, it needs to be comfy and this on passed muster. The one problem we had with the hotel was that the pool was part of a YMCA built in to the place. We went over to check it out and not only would it have been $12 per day to use the pool, but it was an adult-only facility, except on weekends! Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the YMCA started to cater to kids – you know, the "Young Men" of "Young Men's Christian Association"? So that was a bust, but we knew we'd get some pool time in at the next hotel in Columbia, SC.
Tuesday, we went back to Rock Bottom Brewery. I had one of the best dinners I have had in a while: three kinds of wursts, sauerkraut mashed potatoes, braised red cabbage and country brown mustard. Oh, man, that was good. I have to make some of that at home. On Wednesday the kids and I went back to Discovery Place while Sherry did her thing. They had a special exhibit on Pompeii, which was very interesting. They even had plaster casts from where they found impressions in the rock of where people died. That was really sobering, knowing that we were seeing how these people came to the end of their lives.
Sherry had a temp work with her the first day. This woman was so bad, Sherry called Cross Country and cancelled the temps for the rest of the trip. So I was back at work. The crowds were manageable, so I didn't mind. It beats a lot of other things I could be doing at 7am. And, of course, it wouldn't be a Marchand road trip without someone getting sick. This time Laura decided to revisit her dinner at 12:30am. This kind of thing makes for a long night and morning. But she was better after a shower and we all survived the night.
Come Wednesday afternoon, we were off to Columbia.
Columbia, SC
Well we made it to Columbia. We didn't see much of the town since it rained on Friday and we were all a little tired with running around. Thursdays are usually slow days for us. We stayed at the Marriot Columbia, a nice place – higher end like the Hilton, but this one had a pool. Of course, whoever manages the pool needs to learn a little something about balance: the pool was cold and the hot tub was too hot! Then again, I am a big baby when it comes to hot water.
Something I can't help but wonder about hotels - why is it the more expensive the hotel is, the less you get for free? You go to a Marriot or a Hilton and you have to pay for parking, pay for Internet access, and there sure isn't a free breakfast in the morning. You go to an HIE or Comfort Suites and you get all kinds of stuff. I don't get it. I guess the swanky places figure if you're staying with them you can afford all the other stuff. One saving grace we had here was access to the concierge lounge. That was nice because we could get a hot breakfast, drinks and snacks for free. And it was a nice place to just sit and relax.
Another thing I don't understand about pricey hotels, at least this one – why don't the doors close on their own? I let my room door go and it doesn't shut and latch. It just sits there halfway through the frame. This may not seem like a big deal to most, but I see it as a serious security failure. I don't want people having access to my room while I'm gone just because my door can't seem to shut on its own. Maybe Marriot needs to take some of the money they make and invest in doors that actually latch.
In any case, the room was okay. I liked the one at the Hilton better (playing the Wii on a 42" plasma TV helps with the room rating over there). But the staff here was top-notch. They were quick to provide anything Sherry or I needed and were so friendly I almost couldn't stand it. The only problem we had was not getting Sherry's speaker fax Thursday night. We had to call for it on Friday morning and through the whole system off. And we had 75 people come on Friday, with walk-ins, folks needing certificate requests, etc. It was basically a cluster the whole morning. But if that's my biggest problem, I'll take it.
All in all, a good trip. Next time I hope to see more of Columbia. Guess that's a good excuse to make another trip south. That and the barbeque I never got!
