We slept, but not very soundly. I very rarely sleep well away from my own bed.
So, we get another big vacation breakfast in and head for the lake country. Now, as much as I bitch about price-gouging on the road (4.99/gal for unleaded gas) I will say that the portions almost make up for it. The problem is, you definitely need the ability to reheat the food. Our room did not come with a kitchen, although it was advertised as having one. These type of things don’t affect me, but the Domestic Despot was not happy. I am not going to bash and leave a scathing review although the lame excuses offered by the owners certainly merit one. However, maybe it was the Rocky Mountain High (getting stoned at 10,000 feet up is WAY more effective than smoking on the desert floor!) but I opted instead to go on a ten-minute lecture to these septuagenarians about the ethics of doing business and the importance of semiotics in the branding of their business, and by association, themselves and how they were raised to do things by their parents and grandparents. They had enough after the first two minutes, but uncomfortably shifted and otherwise let it be known how much they hated what was going on. I continued for eight more minutes before I left them with “but if that’s the way your parents raised you, I guess it’s not your fault, which I’m sure is all you want to hear.”
Karen says once again, I went over the top and once again, I disagree.
I can write, and I could have made a mess on the ratings for the various travel sites, but a lot of people really should think before they write bad reviews for a business. I understand things happen, and sometimes they are things that merit letting others know, especially if you get resistance or reticence to deal with your legitimate concern. But at least allow the process to play out before putting pen to paper. Sometimes the owners are unaware of their agents’ actions and the owners of the business are ultimately affected, so at least give them the chance to make things right (refund, return stay). THEN, if they don’t take the opportunity to satisfy their customers’ concerns, go get ’em. Millions of people read those reviews. The economic effects are exponential.
I felt seventy-year olds having to stand there and listen to my admonishments would be punishment enough. I know I would be hard-pressed not to walk away after a couple minutes if I was in the old guy’s shoes. I was talking to them like children and I even think the old wife wanted a piece of me.
And not in a good way.
They both had the fakest smiles on their faces.
Feeling great, we swing through Lake Mary, then over to Horseshoe Lake, Arrowhead Lake, Big Pine Lake, Lake Barrett, and then over to June Lake.
Check out this video:
We headed home and went to a Mexican restaurant which had authentic food and was a good place for Karen to down a couple Tecates before heading back to our room.
I spent much of my time outside on the patio.
The smoking section.
I joke about a lot of things, but NOT about smoking out in the natural woods of our country.
Or any country.
Don’t do it.
If you have ever had the unfortunate occurrence of driving by or through a large acreage of burned forest, you can’t help but feel a great sense of loss for our planet and its peoples.
So, get stoned in your car. Then go out in the forest and run stark naked screaming into a huge Sequoia tree.
Stay well.
Mark's Playhouse 