I'm now sitting in my fourth hotel of this business trip and I'll try and get you all caught up on the happenings in my hectic life. My first hotel was a two-day stint in the Doubletree of Bethesda. I had a great time seeing the sights in D.C. and riding the Metro, which was much cleaner than I anticipated. While there, I saw the Vietnam Memorial and it was hard not to get a lump in my throat looking at all those names on the walls and what sacrifices they made for our country. Then I saw the World War II Memorial that had impressive water features. It's something you should see during the warmer months, I've heard it's not as impressive in the winter. I then made my way to the Korean War Memorial, which was one of my favorite aesthetic Memorials because the statues, wall art and garden was designed extremely well. Both of my grandfathers are Veterans, so it was important for me to see both the WWII and Korean War Memorials. Of course, I had to see the Lincoln Memorial and I never expected old Abe to be so big in person. Pretty cool. Unfortunately, it started to drizzle so my photography left a lot to be desired. I snapped several shots of the Washington Monument and tribute to the creators of the Declaration of Independence ... there was no
Herbie Hancock tribute, sorry Chris Farley! While I waited out the annoying drizzle I spent 35 minutes relaxing under a tree waiting for nightfall and watching a lot of joggers. People watching is mine and Tracy's favorite pastime! I wanted to see the Washington Monument and Capitol building lighted, and I'd say it was worth the wait.
After a flight from D.C. to Philly to Cleveland, I arrived at Hotel No. 2 that is a truly ghetto Holiday Inn Express in Elyria, OH. I looked out my dirty window and the view revealed a stripper bar. Nothing makes you want to climb into your Holiday Inn Express bed sheets more than the glow of stripper bar neon outside your window! Fortunately, the sheets were soft and not crunchy, but the 70s wanted the room decor back. I've stayed there before, but I got a renovated room that time and no stripper bar neons lighting up my room. This go around, I felt like I was staying in a really dumpy "That 70s Show" set with a strange neon glow.
Next up was a road trip from Elyria, OH, to Cononver, N.C., with my KTM co-worker and talented ATV R&D Technician
John Maley this past Sunday. Maley, 40ish, is an older tech who has been around for a long time and manages to talk more than me. Needless to say, we had a good time driving to Conover in the KTM ATV box van joking and ripping on just about everybody that we passed. He's a bigger smart ass than me in my prime. Very entertaining. Naturally, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Conover. This Holiday Inn Express is more reminiscient of the commercials you see on TV. It was new, the decor was much better and the towels softer. The breakfast bar was a lot better too. Off topic for a second, but didn't Holiday Inn Express do a terrific job with its commercial / marketing campaign? I'd say it usually lives up to its billing. Holiday Inn was tanking before the whole Express campaign got going. And, I actually really do like most of their renovated / new hotels, except the dump found in Elyria.
Back on topic ... We were in North Carolina to meet up with my old friends / co-workers at Ehlert Publishing for their ATV Trials shootout event. And, GNCC XC1 multi-champ dirt bike rider David Knight was testing for this weekend's season finale. He's racing an ATV, and Maley did a great job prepping and setting up an ATV for him to test and get dialed in. It was a good event, but I'm wiped out. We got up early both Monday and Tuesday, and I stayed up late battling slow Internet connection to stay caught up on all my work e-mails; it turned out to be a battle I couldn't win until tonight. After watching our 450 XC ATV score the best acceleration numbers Monday and knowing all the test riders were pleased with the ATV after riding Tuesday, I'd say everything went flawlessly. And, to top it off, Knight really liked the setup on his 525 XC he'll be racing this
Saturday.
After an 8 hour-plus ride from Conover to Vermillion, OH, I now sit in my fourth hotel, a Holiday Inn Express. This is the hotel I spent two months in when I first moved to Ohio before the temporary apartment arrangement, so I knew I could expect a clean room, no stripper bars or crunchy sheets, and a quiet stay. That, and the Internet connection is always reliable here. On Friday morning, I'll wake up and head out to Indiana for the Ironman GNCC finale. I haven't booked my hotel yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a Holiday Inn Express. And, if it's not, I'm back here in Vermillion on Sunday for two more nights before returning to California. I need all the smart I can get these days. I guess that advertising campaign really did work!
thanks Enterprise. Talk about bare bones. I didn't know they still sold cars without power windows, power locks, cruise control and radio sans CD player. A closer look will likely reveal no suspension and a "Built in Amish Country" tag. I guess it's better than taking Greyhound. It's my 10-year anniversary of being Greyhound free ... can anything beat the toxic smells aboard a Greyhound?
