Remember The Alamo

The Road Less Traveled

We set out on the road straight from Newark Airport, hoping to put as much road behind us as we could today. Some of the mountain views in Maryland and West Virginia were breathtaking. Today, though, they were breathtaking and snow-covered, too. From Maryland westward, we journeyed (kinda white-knuckled) in a persistent snowfall until we decided the wiser course would be to stop for the day.

We couldn’t find the Holiday Inn that the highway sign promised, so we turned back, retreating from the slippery mountain roads, and we settled into a cozy hotel further up the highway. After checking in (Woohoo! Free WiFi!) and grabbing a tasty burger in the diner across the way, we came back to watch a little Jeopardy and type up this blog post.

Ah, but the fun was just getting started…

After a few quiet minutes, a big crash of glass came from the hallway just outside our room. Investigation revealed that there was a fire somewhere – we could smell the smoke – and the broken glass was the liberation of the fire extinguisher by the Fire Marshall. While he went seeking out the source of the smell, the desk clerk pulled the fire alarm and a throng of confused guests came spilling into the hallways. It felt good to be in-the-know ;). The fire department arrived and required everyone to exit the building. Into the snow.

There were a couple of blanket-wrapped folks who had been in the middle of their workout. As people headed into the parking lot to sit in their cars until the incident was under control, their cry went up: “I didn’t bring my keys!” The nice folks in the SUV invited them in… (people come together in a crisis.)

Well, things settled down and folks were allowed back in to their rooms. It turned out that a malfunctioning heater was the culprit. Not very exotic, but it made for an exciting evening.

That’s all for today!

Cheddar’s ready for bed.