America the Beautiful and the Internet Scam

After Urbana, we found ourselves on two lane roads through small towns on the way to Nauvoo. This was actually a really beautiful drive. It was nice to be off of the freeway and to see some of less-noticed sights of the farms and homes. Most of the pictures don’t turn out well while driving, but I would definitely recommend checking out the world from off the main road. We saw lots of nice farms and enjoyed the time together, driving through open fields and listening to good music.

We also learned not to trust Priceline for hotels. We expected Hotel #1 (the Star Motel in Macomb, IL) to be old and cheap, which it was, but we did not expect a cop out front and a price jump to get the two beds we thought we had already booked online. Hotel #2 (Days Inn in Osceloa, IA) was almost double the price to get two beds and a crib. By Hotel #3 (Ramada in Cheyenne, WY), we were wary, but this one took the cake. We had tried to splurge for one with a nice pool to let the kids swim, but the doors were outside and it looked like a re-furbished factory. The hotel manager said we could park by his car, one of the only ones out front, and the only other customer was a construction worker that was booking for 4 guys for the week. I should have seen all of these as warning signs, but I was tired and giving them the benefit of the doubt. When we walked in the room Cristian said, “Doesn’t something look funny to you?” The beds were not made. We went back, tried room #2, and found it smoked though it was supposed to be non-smoking. As the last try, and hauling both kids up and down the outside (freezing) stairs, we went in room #3. Beds made, no smoke, this might work out. Then we hear a funny noise. Drip, drip, drip. A full stream of water coming out of the ceiling!!! Needless to say, I told manager we were sorry, but we just had to go somewhere else. Cristian was dying laughing by now. And we both learned to get hotels the old-fashioned way: pull into town, check out a few hotels, tell them it’s cheaper across the way, and get a normal hotel for a normal rate at a normal hour. Yep. That’s what we did on the way back.