Hotels, Family, and Best Friends

Today was our second day in Louisville, and it was time for the actual family reunion portion of our trip. First of all, I want to take a minute to talk about hotels.  I LOVE hotels!!  I mean, I really love them.  We became Marriott people several years ago, and that is our general hotel of choice, although we used Hilton properties a few times on our recent cross country trip.  Here is my general protocol when it comes to hotels.  First of all, I always try to pack everything into a rolling overnight case, especially if I am staying two days or less.  Anything above two days will require a bigger suitcase.  I also carry a bag with my books that I never get around to reading, my iPad, my chargers, meds, and other things I feel I should have.  If I am staying a week, it is a requirement for me to carry a travel first aid kit.  Not sure when I have ever really used it, and in the event that I have found myself bleeding on a trip and needing a band aid, I generally forget about the first aid kit, and head to the nearest Walmart or drug store.  For an overnight stay, I keep everything in the overnight bag.  For two days or more, the first thing I do is unpack.  Yes, I know.  Other people's germs are everywhere and we should be very wary of that when unpacking in hotels.  However, I bite my nails, so that should tell you that I am not that concerned about other people's left behinds.  Also, I read an article a few months ago that said that people who bite their nails are sick less, so............

It is humorous to me how carefully I make sure everything has its own place in my hotel room.  Right now, it is sort of messy because we were in a hurry to get out and head to the banquet, and it is driving me nuts.  At home, however, I am perfectly fine with the clutter.  I am not fine really, but I don't want to hop up and clean either.  My biggest challenge these days when staying in Marriott properties is not being able to find the hairdryer.  Remember when they were attached to the wall?  Well, apparently that is "tacky" now, so they play a little game called "find the hair dryer."  When I finally find it, either in the closet or under the sink, or behind the towels, it is in a cloth bag that has the word "hair dryer" stitched on it.  I mean, I KNOW what a hair dryer looks like.  I just need you to leave it where I can find it!  A better idea would be to have a sign that says "hairdryer under there."  In this particular Marriott, it was in plain site and I was thrilled.  The cord was wrapped so tight and neat.

Until I used it.

I promise, that is me trying to make it look like the way it was presented.

I do the same with the iron.  There is actually a place for the cord to go, and some of them even have the retractable cords, but it never fails.  I pull past the red line of no return, and there is literally no return.

The other thing I love about hotels is the continental breakfast.  There isn't much there to eat, and it is always a nice surprise when there are actually eggs and a meat or two, but usually it is a bunch of pastries, bagels, toast and waffles you can make yourself.  This particular hotel is attached to its sister hotel Fairmont Inn and Suites, and I may or may not have eaten there, instead of at my own hotel, since I did not read the sign on the elevator saying Breakfast on the 2nd Floor.  It is possible a sign telling me where the hair dryer is would be equally ignored.

On to the picnic

Thank goodness the Garrison family does not believe in picnicking outside in July.  The picnic was in a very nice Family Life Center, complete with a fitness center, ball courts, a restaurant, store and on the other side of the building, the church.  Very very nice place.  Anthony and I were reunited with family, and Kira met some for the first time.  Everyone was very excited about Kira's move to NYC.  Oh, SHE HAS A PLACE TO LIVE!!!!  She finalized everything during the picnic and the banquet tonight.  Her ability to multi-task is pretty impressive.  

While waiting to eat, there was a serious UNO game going on.  I want to go on record here as saying it has been years since I played UNO, and Kira spent as much time trying to tell me what NOT to do than she did playing her hand.  Speaking of hand, did you know there is now a card in there that will allow you to take another player's hand?  Best card ever!

As riveting as UNO was, nothing beat the intense games of BINGO.  That lady to the right of Anthony was a BINGO expert, and seemed a bit disappointed that we were just gonna play straight BINGO.  She won twice, Anthony won twice, another lady at our table won twice, neither Mildred nor I played, and Kira came within one spot of winning every single game.  Gift cards were on the line, so the competition was fierce.

After the picnic, we went back to the hotel, and Kira and I went to see one of the best friends I have ever had.  We met at Freshman Orientation at JSU in 1982, and thanks to social media, and our refusal to lose touch completely, we maintain that friendship.  We can go months and even years without talking, except the occasional FB message, but it seems like old times the minute we see each other.  I love you bunches Dina Carroll!!!

The banquet was downtown at the old Hotel Louisville, and it was another fun time of catching up with family.  I have grown to love these family reunions, and can't wait to attend the next one.  The oldest living Garrison family member is 106 years old.  They have some really good genes.  

It has been a packed full of activities kind of weekend, and I regret not having more time to enjoy the sites of the city more, but I got to the core of what is most important:

Family, Friends, and of course.................hotels.