You Get What You Pay for...and Sometimes Less

Our 20th anniversary is next week and we have been trying to put together a cruise to celebrate. For one reason or another, we haven't been able to get it done. Maybe this summer. Anyway, I didn't want the occasion to pass without some sort of celebration. I got this little offer in my email for a $350 per night hotel room for $129. The pictures looked nice so I thought "what the heck!" It's in Phoenix so we decided to go while Chelsey was still in town to take care of the family. If nothing else, this "deal" provided us with a memorable 20th.

The hotel is OLD. Doesn't even look nice from the outside. Look at those couches, doesn't it make you just want to curl up and snuggle?? The artwork was weird and the one you see above is actually a sliding window covering. Upon further investigation, I found that it was a hotspot for "hipsters, artist and the like" and a frequent gathering place for the GLTB community. Even had I not known all this, I still would have been disappointed in what we got. First, I have stayed in many Holiday Inn Express and always had a much nicer, cozier environment than this. Not to mention...breakfast! In their defense, it was clean and the man in the beret and scarf that checked us in was very nice. But seriously, $350 a night for this?? The walls were the kind that if you rubbed against it, you would certainly have an abrasion to attend to. I won't lie, I was a little creeped out by the whole thing. I was sort of expecting something a little more...

Then we (Glade) saw this in the lobby bathroom. Nice, eh? This about sums up the atmosphere at this "upscale" hotel. We did not spend much time here needless to say. We had dinner, went to a movie (How do You Know), and left first thing in the morning. Again, I won't soon forget our trip to he Clarendon!

We were supposed to take Chelsey back to Flagstaff the next day but due to winter storm advisories, we decided to leave on Tuesday and just go up and back. We packed the whole family and made the drive. It was cold up there! We settled Chelsey in and got her internet up and running (2.5 hours later) and fed the kids some pizza before heading home. Because of the difficulties getting the router to work, the kids had ample time to play outside in the snow. By snow I mean big pile of dirty snow/ice that had been plowed to the end of the parking lot. Poor Bo gets cold so easily and has a hard time warming back up. He went out twice and came back both times with bright red cheeks and purple lips. The second time he was crying so I put his jacket, gloves, socks and headband in the dryer and then wrapped him up in them a few minutes later. Katy wasn't cold but said she needed one on her cheeks like Bo.

He didn't last long in all that warmth, out like a light. We didn't get home until just after midnight, but well worth it since it began snowing in the night. We left Whitley up there with Chels so she wouldn't have to be in the storm alone. They are both coming back on Saturday to go to the Fiesta Bowl. Stay warm sweet girls!!