How Many Tickets Do you Want?

The Ho & I did such a great job last year on the basket of cheer for St. Patty's Day at the VFW, that we were called upon this year to outdo ourselves. What you see is the result. We went with a pot o' gold theme. The array of goodies is in an ice tub from the local party store and on the gold base we put irish whiskey, Bailey's and a 6 pack of Guinness along with a ceramic beer mug and foil covered cocolate coins. I think this baby is going to generate big bucks!

On the motel front, it's been one of those weeks. In #9 the 220 line fried, putting the ac/heater out of commission. #3 leaned on the bathroom sink & it came away from the wall and he somehow overloaded the electric effectively blackening out both his room and #1. The repairman fixed #9, Dan spent 2 days replumbing and replacing the sink in #3 and the issue with the electric in #3 and #1 is temporarily ok, but need some serious looking into by a real electrician. Hopefully, he'll get here tomorrow.

The guy staying in #3 was asked to leave his previous motel, I don't know why, but I have my suspicions. Since he's been here, he broke the coffee serving table in our lobby, the sink in his room, and screwed up the electric in his room. I don't think he does these things on purpose, but we're feeling he's got a major rain cloud over his head. Just like that character in the old Lil Abner comic strip. What was his name?

Nascar Room

I know, I know, it's not HGTV worthy, but I do have a Dale, Sr throw coming for the futon. Karen & I finished a deep clean and checkered flag kitchen curtains on Monday. We were very proud.

Tuesday, a couple of workers checked in for a two night stay. Wed. morning, everything looked good, but this morning when we went to turn it over we found that the new bedspread on the twin was dotted with white paint. I tried to scrape it off with my fingernail, but no go. I washed it hoping the hot water would soften the spots, but no go. I put it back inside out. So, so depressing. The carpet was also spattered with paint spots and 2 water glasses were missing from the kitchen. These same guys have a reservation for 3 days next week in a different room. I'm going to let them know that guests who cost me money are really not welcome.

Catamaran Couple

A couple of days ago, Dan checked a couple into unit #6, but didn't say there was anything unusual about them and I didn't ask. I have very little curiosity. I'm pretty much a live & let live person.

Yesterday morning, I went in to collect the towels and was shocked to see the room jam packed full. Not just suitcases, but boxes, appliances, a computer printer still in the box and a table set up with a sewing machine, bolts of fabric and an ironing board. Now, my rooms are small to begin with, so I was wondering how this woman was actually doing sewing projects & why.

When I told Dan what I found, he, being the more inquisitive of the two of us, knew the whole story. These folks are from Washington state & they bought a used catamaran to travel on. It has a cabin for living and sleeping. But the boat was used & in need of refreshing. They are moored in the canal down the road while they paint, recover all the cushions (hence the sewing machine) and generally remodel the interior to make it liveable.

They've been working from dawn to dusk, so I haven't had the opportunity to talk with them. I went out this morning to try and find their boat, but couldn't, so in the meantime, I took a couple of pics at our marina which is about 2 miles from the motel.

Multipurposing

I don't check the pots & pans in my kitchen units after every check out. I sorta rely on my housekeeper. Today, though, I went in #11 to strip the beds, collect the towels etc. & one of the frying pans was in the dish drainer. I noticed that the teflon was pretty scratched, so I decided it needed replacing. When I picked it up, I saw that it was quite dented and the middle was pushed up from the underside.

I brought it in to Dan, showed it to him and asked, "how do you suppose this could have happened?" After one look he told me that someone had obviously used it as a hammer. I don't know about you, but I would never, ever treat someone else's property with such disrespect. Am I in the minority?

When we first bought this place, I wanted my guests to have the best I could afford, so I splurged on dishes, pots, flatware and linens. But today I went to the dollar store and bought a set of frying pans for $10. How naive I was then. I've learned the hard way, but am still capable of being shocked by peoples' behavior.

No Vacancy?

I'm truly amazed. Here it is, traditionally one of our slowest months of the year, a midweek night at that, and we are completely sold out. We have some workers on extended stays, but a surprising number of travelers as well. I think our lower winter rates have really appealed to a lot of people. Of course, our cleanliness and cuteness doesn't hurt either.

Since the winter specials were such a success, I just went through last year's spring rate schedule and lowered all prices for March and April across the board. Just call it the Dixie Belle economic stimulus plan. If we stay busy, I can keep my housekeeping staff (all 3 of us) working and pay the bills too. I'm good with that.

Rewarding Myself

Went to Panama City today on a mission to find new doormats for the rooms. The old sisal mats are falling apart & look horrible. Mission accomplished at my first stop. The new mats are made from recycled auto tires & will probably still be looking good after I'm long gone. Hit Sam's for necessities like detergent, bleach, TP, softener and of course a couple of paperbacks at $4.88 each. Gotta love that.

Stopped in Kohl's just to look mind you, and spotted this tunic top with a price tag of $56. Uh Uh, no way. It looks purple here, but it's actually dark navy with just the right amount of bling. I decided to be undecided about it. Walked around, came back. And as I was looking at something on the front of the same rack I noticed a 40% off sign. Went around the other side & there it was. I didn't see it the first time. 40% off! Got something I really love & will look terrific with my skinny jeans. When I got to the register, guess what? Another 10% off! I'm a happy camper.

Love The Deep Clean

Karen & I have been bustin' our butts since Fri morning. Oddly enough, we were no vacancy on Thurs nite. 7 turnovers Fri morning and 5 this morning. This is not a complaint, although my back is screaming at me after making all those beds.

Our biggest pleasure is doing a deep clean & today was the perfect opportunity. #6, my "dolphin" room was vacated after a 7 week stay by a latino woman and her adorable 2 year old son. We stripped that room down to the bare walls, scrubbed everything, laundered everything, including the shower curtain, shampooed the carpet, washed the windows, light fixture etc. etc. This is a routine we do on a regular basis, but when there's a long term stay, we can't get in there to do so. Just imagine how you feel after a good spring cleaning. That's how I feel this evening.

All this room needs for now is the new lamp and benches I aquired from my dear friend Ed at Atlantic Liquidators in Hammonton, NJ. As soon as my dh clears a trail in the store room I can get busy on that project.

Positive Outlook

I hate to get too optimistic, but the motel phone has been ringing off the hook today and even though it's early on a Fri eve, we've got 6 rms out of 10 occupied. We don't rely on drive ins for business, but it's possible we'll pick up a tourist or two tonight. Reservations seem to be ahead of last year. We're already booking 6 months ahead. What a great sign!



A couple of our guys who are working on the deep water port brought their wives up from Miami for a visit. It must be tough working so far away from family and paying for 2 households. It just shows how far people are willing to go to make a decent living for their families. I admire them for that reason.



The fishing in the canal is great right now. Yesterday some flounder in the 19" range were brought in. The fishermen know to read Dan's fishing report on our website and call us for reservations accordingly. I'll be updating my portion of the website soon, reflecting our new reduced rates for 2009. Gotta be flexible in hard times. That's the way we all win.