TRAVEL THERE – WHY I STAYED IN AWFUL ACCOMODATIONS
When I am shopping travel accommodations I have three categories I work with: I just need a place to sleep, I’m going to live it up and this has historical significance.
The historical significant category is easy. I expect to pay more, as in whatever it takes, to stay at the Mena House next to the Pyramids or Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood. Places like these will have a strong demand in any season, the location is out of this world and it takes more money to maintain these places in their historically correct state. I say “whatever it takes”, but that’s only up to a point and the point is flexible, depending on what the going rate is in the area and how much of my travel budget I have already eaten up. In some cases, I may have to settle for having lunch there, like we did at the Grand Hotel.
‘I’m going to live it up’ is often coupled with historical significance, such as our stay at The Cecil Hotel in Alexandria, but there are other reasons I will open our pocketbook. Take the Sanctuary Beach Resort for instance, which is all about location, location, location. The rooms are huge, luxurious and your door opens onto the beach. You are so far removed from the every day that you turn your car in for a golf cart. Delightful! I am more likely to live it up when I’m with Bill, because we share a travel budget and I don’t like to hog it for travels without him.
When I just need a place to sleep, I can get pretty cheap. On this particular trip, I figured out how much was too cheap. In fact, I can only think of one time that was worse and that was a Motel 6 on Sunset Strip. Major mistake.
I will blame it, to an extent, on Covid. While I’m no longer sitting around pining for the old normal, the pandemic has made a significant impact on travel. I always thought if you stayed in a well-known, mainstream motel/hotel you’d be OK. In fact, I assumed the biggest concern was the neighborhood. For this trip, I chose Days Inn, Travel Lodge and La Quinta and they were all awful. Here’s what I said on Facebook when I got home:
The Travel Lodge was the best overall, but they allowed some homeless lady and all her belongings in the teeny tiny lobby, which was also the only way in or out of the motel. I felt really sorry for her and made an effort to help her, but management should never have allowed her to be there for hours on end. They claimed they didn’t know how she got there. How does a lady with a stack of belongings taller than I am, a tub of sodas on ice and empty pet crates get into a lobby and management doesn’t know how she got there? Is that what they are going to say when I’ve been chopped up by the axe murderer? And in this day and age, how do you have a multi-story hotel without an elevator???
Self Provided In Room Snacks at the Travel Lodge
The La Quinta was pathetic. Close to the Little Rock Convention Center, it had once been a very elegant hotel. You could tell by the marble floors and elaborate woodwork, but it needed a complete overhaul. Sliding glass doors that didn’t slide, lights out throughout most of the garage, ice machine didn’t work, dirty furniture in the lobby, an empty pool. Our free breakfast was a bowl of oranges and slices of bread. They put out a toaster, but it had an “out of order” sign on it. How ridiculous is that? Our room was OK, but everything else seemed to be falling down around us. As we left in the morning, it seemed as if the local homeless population thought the exterior areas were a great place to hang out.
And then there was the Days Inn! From the outside it looked OK, but our room was in total disrepair. It was clean. I will give them that, but there wasn’t even a rod in the closet to hang my clothes on and some dog had been locked in the bathroom which clawed off the paint and the door frame. How does that happen in a Wyndham Hotel? I posted a picture of the bathroom on Wyndham’s Facebook page and didn’t even get a sad face emoji from them! Then there was the covered pool with plants growing over it. Don’t get me started!!
Jane Sadek: Facebook 9/26/2022
That pretty much covers it. I was targeting rooms for less than $100 a night. In the future, that will be more like under $200 a night. I might have to cut back elsewhere, but I’m not doing this again.
About fifteen years of my life was spent in the office equipment industry and most of that with AIS/IKON. There are people I knew in those days which are closer to me than some of my family. So, when I heard about a jam/reunion that was happening up in Pilot Point, I couldn’t resist going. Initially, the jam was supposed to be held in someone’s house, but the attendee list got so long they decided to move it to the Point Bank Community Center. It was also recommended that attendees book a room at the Lone Star Lodge and Marina. Too busy to do much more than let them know I was coming and making a reservation at the Lodge, I wasn’t too sure what I was getting Bill and I into. On the appointed day, Bill and I loaded up the car and headed to Pilot Point, about an hour and a half from our home on the eastern side of DFW.
Lone Star Lodge and Marina
I cannot say enough good things about this little lodge. It isn’t swanky or luxurious, but it was delightful. Most of the rooms are on the ground floor and at least half of them look out into the woods or have a lake view. The rooms are a bit rustic with a western flair – no frills, but nothing to complain about. For $114 we had a great place to stay and beautiful grounds to explore.
Check-in was a breeze. We ran into friends on the parking lot and let them know we would be on our way to the jam, right behind them. We moved into our room, freshened up a little and them headed off to the jam.
Point Bank Community Centerand the Jam
If you ever need some place to have an event in the Pilot Point vicinity, I recommend you check this venue out. It’s nothing fancy, but really is nice. There’s a big community room, restrooms and a kitchen, as well as a storeroom. It did a great job as a venue for this jam/reunion.
I had been warned this wasn’t a reunion in the traditional sense, just the outgrowth of something a group of them used to do – get together and play music. I was also warned some of my best friends from those days weren’t able to come, but I still thought it would be worth it – and it was.
Bill and I walked in just as the band was beginning to play. The band was an odd assortment of people playing drums, guitar and keyboard, but I won’t try to convince you they were good. As I adjusted to the light of the room, I began to see faces I recognized, but even more which were unfamiliar to me. We took our beverages to the kitchen, served ourselves and looked for a place to light.
I was soon up again, going around the room to get some hugs from those familiar to me and was introduced to others. I checked back in with Bill and he was ready to go. He knew virtually no one and those he did know were only slight acquaintances. The music was loud, so starting up a conversation was difficult. I thought the music was fun, but mostly because I knew and loved those who were playing. I excused him from further torture and told him I’d either come back to the lodge with friends or call him when I was ready to go.
I enjoyed visiting with those I knew, but with the loud music, it was hard to chat. The performances were not intimidating in the least and guest musicians took over various instruments from time to time. My friend Tammy and I decided that under those circumstances, we should probably contribute to the jam by singing. The picture above highlights our performance which was nothing to write home about, but a lot of fun.
Having hugged all the necks I needed to hug and contributing musically to the jam, there really wasn’t much more to do, since there was really no way to talk to the people I had come to see. I eventually called Bill to come get me. When he stuck his head in to let me know he was there, laughter, cat calls and innuendo bounced around the room.
Back at the Lodge
We had a good night’s sleep and then headed out of our room to explore more of the Lodge. I can see it being a great place for a wedding , reunion or other event.
As you can see, the scenery is beautiful and the grounds are well kept. There’s a nice ballroom, the gazebo and even several levels of patios. The lobby area is attractive, also.
The lake you see is Lake Ray Roberts and the Lodge is a part of Ray Roberts Lake State Park. We had our morning caffeine and a snack as we enjoyed the beauty of the place.
Then we went back to room, got ready for the day and packed up to go. We visited with some of my friends who were also enjoying their stay at the Lodge as we went to turn in our key.
Ray Roberts Lake State Park
Before heading home, we decided to check out Ray Roberts Lake State Park. It was lovely. Deer gazed out at us from the edges of the wood. It was very, very quiet – perhaps because school had just started. We turned off the main road and went to a picnic area. There we parked and walked around the shore of the lake. It was a great way to spend a morning.
It was time to head back home, but first we needed lunch. Come back next week and find out about a great little restaurant you can enjoy if you decide to visit Pilot Point.
Our days were blissful and busy at Club Med Punta Cana. Along with the great food, wonderful entertainment and daily water games, Bill had free tennis lessons, free golf lessons and free access to an archery range. He’s an active sort of guy and he loved making the rounds each day. There was so much to do and it was all free.
Sandpiper Bay was a whole different story. I’ve already told you about the non-existent water games. There were water sports, but they were limited to a tiny bay. Their gym was quite nice, but few of us want to work out all day. Instead instead of spending our days going from one entertainment to the next, we were just killing time.
From the moment we arrived until the time we left, it was one big disappointment. We missed the warm welcome we’d gotten in Punta Cana. The grounds didn’t have the same luxurious tropical feel, because the whole property needed re-landscaping. Our room was sub-par. The food was mediocre and the wait staff was worse. The nightly entertainment was awful. In Punta Cana the G.O.’s (employees) had a friendly attitude and a desire to serve. The Florida G.O.’s (for the most part) had a bad attitude and behaved as if they resented our presence.
There was no archery, which Bill really missed. There were tennis courts, but since I don’t play, Bill needed a partner or a teacher. There was a tournament and lessons for kids, but adults were out of luck. Kids could also take acrobatic lessons. Kids could have golf lessons, too, but if you were an adult all you could get was a bucket of balls. Are you picking up a theme here? Sandpiper Bay is great for families with kids. Bill and I were ducks out of water.
They did have a spa, but I never saw anyone darkening that door and while I love spa treatments, it’s not Bill’s thing and the idea is to do things together. And besides, we spent a fortune for those all-inclusive activities we were supposed to be enjoying.
Back to Our Lives
Four nights were more than enough of Sandpiper Bay. Because our flight home was so early, we only had two full days, but we were ready for the comforts and food of home.
Thanks to my battle over our credits, when I was finally able to book a flight home, the only thing available was a very early flight. Our driver was scheduled for 3:30 AM. How obscene is that? At least it was the weekend, so no business stuff to do.
Our driver was Mr. Chatty Cathy. That early we were barely monosyllabic, but he either didn’t notice or didn’t care. And there was an hour of that. We were so glad to get out of that car!
Then, even though the employees weren’t even behind their kiosks, we got in the ever-growing line to check our luggage and get boarding passes. Several times someone would come out and fiddle with one of the computers, but they never took down their “Next Window” signs. When they finally came out en masse and began to handle customers, I couldn’t resist starting a round of applause. Several enthusiastic folks joined me.
Never try to get breakfast at the Palm Beach airport. Expensive and bad! And get this, we had to go through Baltimore to get home, but it was a short layover. Really, just enough time to find the gate and board.
Better Luck Next Time
Whether we’re returning from a blissful Mediterranean Cruise or a quick get away here in the Metroplex, Bill and I are always happy to get home, but rarely as happy to be home as we were this time. Our attempt to use up airline credit turned out to be more effort than it was worth and gave us little in the way of memories we could cherish.
Our next adventure was only an overnight about an hour and a half away from home, but we found a treasure I can’t wait to share with you. Come back next week and we’ll go to Pilot Point, Texas!!
While the food was mediocre, the entertainment awful, the rooms only serviceable and the internet frustrating, there were good things about Sandpiper Bay. Last week I told you about the morning yoga sessions and there were other things to enjoy.
Once you escaped from your room, the pools and the bay for water sports were lovely. For the most part, our fellow vacationers were families with kids, lots of kids. They’d stake a claim around the pool and stay there most of the day.
The PoolsFirst
There are several pools at this Club Med and if you have a family with kids, lots of kids, then you might be quite happy at Sandpiper Bay. Most of the families seemed to be having a good time.
There was a water park type area next to what was called the Family Pool. We left that pool to the families, but it looked very nice.
The Main Pool was huge and it also had lots of families around it. We spent much of one day hanging out there. I found a cabana under the trees, a little removed from poolside, where I enjoyed reading for a while and Bill hung out in the water. I’m not a big one for swimming, but I did get in the water with Bill and float around a bit. It was later in the day and most of the kids were taking a nap, so it was quite pleasant.
There was one huge disappointment at the Main Pool. During our time in Punta Cana, Bill had really enjoyed the daily water games, so he was really looking forward to the same thing at Sandpiper Bay. If you looked at their schedule of activities, then it appeared as if the same thing was offered and it was offered, but Bill was the only taker.
We can’t really blame Sandpiper Bay for this, because they did offer, but it was a disappointment. Punta Cana just had a much more energetic crowd. Most of the guests were French, which may or may not be the reason. As it drew time for the Water Games, you’d see people coming to the pool from all over the resort. The pool would fill up and the games would begin. Bill, a natural athlete, was in great demand. At Sandpiper Bay, everyone just waited on their lounge chairs for the daily announcement of games to be over and then they’d let the kids go back in the water.
There’s one more pool – the Zen Pool – and it’s adults only. The day we spent at this pool things were really hopping. Perhaps they should have offered the Water Games at this pool instead. They might have had some takers.
The Zen Pool is much smaller than the Main Pool and the edges are lined with cabanas, but there are no trees. It was quiet in the morning when I took the yoga class, but as the day progressed it would fill up. While there is a bar not far from the Main Pool, with both inside and outside service, it is never as busy as the walk-up bar at the Zen Pool.
The Bay
There is a bay at Sandpiper Bay. It’s got a nice beach and plenty of free water sports. I found it amazing that it wasn’t busier. It was virtually the only thing to DO, if you didn’t want to spend all your time lying by the pool.
We took sailing lessons there and then went out for a sail with the instructor. After that, we could have taken the little catamarans out anytime we wanted to, but I don’t think Bill felt quite comfortable as captain and in truth, I wasn’t much help.
On another day, we took advantage of the two-seater kayak and made our way around the bay a few times. And there-in lies the problem. Whatever water sport you choose to enjoy, you have to enjoy it in the small bay adjacent to the resort. You are not allowed out of sight of the water sport attendants on the Sandpiper’s beach, nor can you land on the other shore at the private beaches of the palatial homes. You begin to feel as if you are sailing around your bathtub.
There is a very nice beach on the bay, but few go there. Perhaps because they only have lounge chairs on the beach. No cabanas and no umbrellas. No bar! The palm trees only offer a tiny bit of shade, so after a few minutes you are broiling.
On the other side of the bay there are more exciting water sports offered for a price, such as jet skis and motor boats. Desperate for entertainment, we walked over there, but the prices were prohibitive. Prohibitive enough that people were staying away in droves. I think the most boring job on the resort must have been the jet ski hut.
The pools are the main attraction at Sandpiper Bay, but we explored the other offerings, such as they were. Come back next week and I’ll give you an idea of what you can do when you’re not in the water.
One of the things I did like about our stay at Sandpiper Bay was the morning yoga. Since I always wake up long before Bill, I am at loose ends until he does. Reading is always a great way to spend my time, but if there’s a gym, I will take advantage of it. What is a hassle at home is a pleasant distraction on the road.
Yes they had a very nice gym at Sandpiper Bay, one of the very best facilities offered there, but they also had morning yoga at the Zen pool. That was my cup of tea. I’d go by the dining room, eat my breakfast bar from home and get a little caffeine to start my day, and then head to the Zen pool.
The instructors were contractors who came and stayed at the resort. Part of their compensation was their room and board. I lucked out the week I was there. Our yoga lady was a pleasant grandmotherly sort who gave us a very pleasant, easy going workout without all the nasty down dogs. I really enjoyed it. Then it was time to go back to the room and work a little.
Time to Work
If the wi-fi is working, my morning tasks for our business are easy. Download the images from the editors, format them for our clients and let Bill inspect them. If anything needed touch-ups or enhancements, he’d do them. Then I upload them and email them off. Easy peasy!
When we’d gone to Club Med Punta Cana, our business had been much smaller and Bill was our only photographer, so we just shut down for a few days. Having to work on vacation is a sign of our success and we are grateful for it, so we don’t like to complain, but I can complain about Sandpiper Bay’s free wi-fi.
Because we were having such a busy season, these tasks were taking up a little more of my mornings than usual, but it was no big deal – if the internet is working. At Sandpiper Bay, the internet was never quite robust enough for downloading and uploading images.
Each day, I’d start the job and it would look as if this time it was going to work, until it didn’t. Then we’d call the office, they’d apologize and tell us they were having technical problems. Then they’d tell us to come down to the desk and pick up a code for the premium internet – which always worked.
Why didn’t we just pay for the premium internet? Why would we pay for premium internet? Wi-fi was supposed to be a part of our package. A Club Med vacation is no bargain. With sub-par food and entertainment that was a joke, why would we want to give them more money? A better question is this, since the regular internet never worked, why didn’t they offer everyone premium internet or at least hook us up until the end of our stay? Nope, that wasn’t the way it worked.
Tricky Timing
We guarantee 24 hour turn around to our clients and usually deliver hours before that. We can do that because our editors are on the other side of the world. We send off the photos at the end of our day, which is the beginning of theirs and they send back the finished product at the beginning of our day. Only those times are based on our activities at home.
To complicate matters, you might remember we’d just lost our favorite editors earlier in the month. They were good editors, but I loved them because they delivered to me very early in the morning. When I hit my office between 5 & 6 AM, they edited photos were always in my inbox. The new editors promised our images by 9:30 and with luck we’d get them an hour or so before that.
On Florida time, everything was running an hour behind and Sandpiper Bay shut breakfast down at 9:30. Crazy right? I’d come back to the room from yoga and crank up my email waiting for the photos to arrive. When they got there, we’d fight the battle of the internet and try to get the images delivered before we started our vacation day, but it was a tight squeeze.
Breakfast is probably Bill’s favorite meal of the day, but he likes it best at say, 11, especially on vacation. At Sandpiper Bay lunch started at 11, so breakfast was truncated. In truth, their breakfast offerings were always mediocre anyway, so I was glad I had my breakfast bar before yoga. Poor Bill was newly disappointed every morning as we ran in at the last minute from all the uploading and downloading.
While I’m on the subject of work, the other end of the day was easier. The photographers email me a link and I email it on to the editors. I could do that from my phone by the pool. There were still phone calls and texts to answer, problems to solve and such, but for the most part, if the darned internet had worked, then handling our business remotely would have been a breeze.
With work done and breakfast behind us, it was time to enjoy the activities offered around the pools and lagoon of Sandpiper Bay. Come back next week and I’ll share some highlights.
TRAVEL THERE – DEFINATELY NOT ON PAR WITH PUNTA CANA
The Dining Room
The happy face you see above only appeared one time in the dining room at Sandpiper Bay and when he actually sat down to eat this delicious looking crepe, he was sadly disappointed.
At Punta Cana we had three delicious choices for dining and we thoroughly enjoyed them all at various times. If it was a buffet meal, the tables were burdened with delicious choices. Whether we should blame stingy management or Covid, we’re not sure, but the one choice we had for meals at Sandpiper Bay was disappointing by comparison.
At Punta Cana, we wandered around multitudes of bounteous tables. We had a large plate in our hands and were allowed to serve ourselves whatever we wanted as much as we wanted. At Sandpiper Bay, they hid the food behind those irritating cough panels and dished up scanty servings of whatever was on for that particular meal.
At Punta Cana, you could always find a waitperson to get you more wine, more silverware, another napkin, whatever you needed. It wasn’t exactly five star service, but it was adequate. At Sandpiper Bay, you were virtually on your own. We figured out where they kept the opened bottles of wine and served ourselves most of the time, but the wine wasn’t as good as Punta Cana either.
At Punta Cana, meal time was one of our favorite events. At Sandpiper Bay we were lucky if we found enough of anything we liked to keep from being hungry. Not exactly the luxury experience we expected.
I hate to keep kicking Sandpiper Bay around the room, but the dining was a pretty sad situation. Before our four nights were over, we did find things to enjoy, but it just wasn’t the experience we’d anticipated from our previous Club Med stay.
The Entertainment
Another marvelous thing about Punta Cana was the entertainment. The Boss of the Village was almost a natural entertainer and you could tell he made his people rehearse. Night after night we saw great shows. They were not professional, but they were something they could be proud of.
The entertainment at Sandpiper Bay was pitiful. It was so sloppy in its execution that you knew all they’d done is have a verbal walk thru. No one had a singing voice worth anything and instead of being funny, they were silly. And sloppy. Did I mention sloppy? Costumes never fit and were barely pulled up over shorts and bathing suits. Wigs were never combed and always awry. The Boss of the Village was there, but she was among the sloppiest and the silliest. She was barely filling in the blanks, not leading the way to quality anywhere in the resort.
I’m not bothering to catalog menus or describe any of the various shows, because nothing was worth noting. We’d show up each night in hopes of something, anything to eat, to drink, to pass the time, but always left a little hungry and very disgusted. None of the other meals were any better, but it was the evenings which were the most pathetic.
Come back next week and I will try to find something worthwhile to share with you. We were together and we weren’t working all the time, so there were good moments. We just had to make them ourselves, because there was little on offer from the resort.
When we stepped off the plane in Palm Beach, we were excited about starting our luxury vacation. Our anticipation was based on our excellent experience at Club Med Punta Cana. We were going to be disappointed!
The Transfer
In Punta Cana, Club Med had provided us with the name of the transportation vendor and other contact information, but we didn’t even need it, because the pick up area was clearly marked and someone was there to greet us.
In Palm Beach, there was nothing. I started going through the paperwork and found a number to call. Suddenly, their absence was my fault. They had texted me and I didn’t reply. There had been no text, but it magically appeared a few moments after I got off the phone with them. I was assured a car was on its way and someone did show up pretty quickly, but that panic after we had picked up our luggage dulled our excitement.
In Punta Cana, the airport is a short drive from the resort and the scenery along the way gets you very excited about where you are headed. The entrance to the property is well-marked and inviting. Getting there was part of the fun.
In Palm Beach, that’s not the case. You are about an hour away from the resort and we had the joy of adding time to that, because we were in rush hour traffic. You’re stuck on a freeway that looks pretty much like any freeway and as you near the property, you start wandering through residential areas. When you finally arrive at the gate, it looks a little bit like the entry to a run down mansion that might be in a horror film.
The Arrival
In Punta Cana, our driver pulled into a drive and right by the van was a man standing at the podium to greet us. Everywhere we looked was lush greenery and attractive buildings. We were ushered from the van to a shaded seating area where we given refreshments.
At Sandpiper Bay, the driver dumped us off on the sidewalk and we made our way into a glassed-in lobby marked as “Registration.” The harried clerk raised a finger at us to let us know we’d need to wait. We stood there and no one offered us any refreshment. In front of the registration office was a rock garden with dead plants in it. Everywhere we looked resembled the dormitories of a second, maybe third rate, college.
After we’d been registered at Punta Cana, one of the GM’s walked with us to our building and let us into our room. She showed us around our accommodations while we waited for our luggage to be delivered. The room, while not luxurious, was very nice and attractive.
After we’d been registered at Sandpiper Bay, the clerk pointed at our building, which was nearby and told us we were on the third floor. The elevator was at the other end of the building from our room. The room, while not exactly awful, resembled my dorm in college with the exception that we did have our own bathroom.
The first thing we said to each other was, “Sandpiper Bay ain’t no Punta Cana,” and that pretty much sums up the entire adventure. On the ride to the resort, I’d used my phone to handle transferring the day’s shoots to our editors. I always feel nervous when I do it that way, certain something is going to go wrong, because it is a very truncated process via phone, but I was ready to start enjoying our vacation.
We’d arrived after happy hour, which was always one of our favorite times on Punta Cana, but I changed into an fresh outfit, touched up my make-up and headed out to have fun. So far, we were less than impressed with Sandpiper Bay, but hopeful things would get better.
Come back next week and join us for dinner. Then you’ll find out if our beach vacation was getting any better.
Well, my bestie’s big weekend arrived, The Texas Lone Star Ball. Some time in the Fall she had gotten a new dance partner and I’ve been sharing her with him on weekends as they took lessons and practiced.
Around the first of the year, Deborah asked if I’d be available to go with her to their first competition in mid-March. I love any excuse to hang with my bestie and I try to see her dance any time I can, but I’d never seen behind the curtain at a competition, so sure, I was ready to check it out.
Friday, she picked me up around two and we headed off to the Galleria Westin. We checked in, took our luggage to the room and unpacked for the weekend. Then we hit the mall. Now, we are big shoppers, that’s for sure, but we weren’t casually checking the sales. We were on a mission. Deb needed pantyhose – not the big box store variety with reinforced panty, but sheer toe-to-waist pair.
See, while Dancing with the Stars competitors just come out with as little in the way of clothes as possible, in real competitions, each style of dance has a mode of dress. Deb would be dancing both Smooth and Latin numbers. Her smooth ensemble was complete, but she needed the panty hose for Latin. The ladies are supposed to wear fish net hose for Latin and apparently that’s a very uncomfortable prospect if you don’t have a regular pair on hose on underneath and in Latin, you also have open toed shoes and a very, very short skirt.
So, we hit Macy’s first and they recommended WalMart. Knowing WalMart didn’t have what Deb needed, we tried Nordstrom’s instead. Back in the day, the hosiery department was part of accessories and held pride of place on the first floor of any department store. A wide variety of brands in rows of self serve counters vied for your attention with promises of sleekness, durability and style.
Heck, I can remember when there was no self-serve. You walked up to a counter and discussed your hosiery needs with salesclerk which would then pull out selections for you to choose from. The your selection would be put in a thin box with tissue and sometimes a ribbon. I miss those days.
At Nordstrom’s we discovered hosiery had been demoted to the second floor and resided in one lonely fixture with very limited choices, but that put them lightyears ahead of Macy’s, who thought you could only get pantyhose at the big box stores.
That done we had one more small task. Though I’d been talking to Bill for days about the dance competition, he waited until thirty minutes before my departure to freak out about my absence, which resulted in me forgetting to put in a dress-up outfit for the Gala Dinner. Deb wasn’t even sure how dressed up they would get, but if everyone else was decked out, I didn’t want to be sitting there in the jeans and sweater set I’d be wearing the rest of the day.
I hit a store called Image, which had throw away fashion on the cheap, where a found a black swing jacket with silver glitter woven into it. At Lovisa I found a cheap rhinestone necklace to dress up the turtle neck sweater I’d wear under it. I was gala ready!
While Deb’s been dancing in competitions for a number of years, she’s always done it on the cheap, skipping the money eaters like Gala Dinners and expensive restaurants, but her new partner goes first class. So, she decided to go all in this time and I had the privilege of going with her. That meant dinner at Oceanaire with her partner and his teacher.
The prices on the menu were not the denominations Deb and I usually see. Sure, we’ll splurge on something like a birthday dinner, but Oceanaire was expensive, no two ways about it. There’s two ways to go about a meal like that. You can go in budget first, eat a Caesar salad and be practical. Or you can dive in with both feet and break the bank. Deb and I went for the latter.
The alarm went off at 4 AM. Deb needed to be on the floor rehearsing at seven and she had a lot to do before then. Stage make-up is the first hurdle. A little lipstick and mascara will not do on the dance floor. Then there are all the things that go on before you put on your gown – this kind of hosiery, that kind of undergarment, etc. and so on. Then getting on the gown is like suiting up for a joust.
At that point, Aimee came in to go after the hair, which had been in hot rollers while the rest of the activity was going on. This is a big deal. Hair can’t just be fluffed up, it also has to be anchored into place so that it won’t fall as Deb makes her way around the floor. Apparently, there are hair pros who start styling even earlier than Deb and I woke up, but Deb doesn’t feel as if she’s in that league yet and she also doesn’t want to spend the money. They ended up with something which looked very 40’s starlet and I doubt a pro could have done any better.
After the hair was glued into place with copious amounts of hairspray, it was time to add the jewelry. The jewelry we’d selected for her smooth performances, a shimmering full length gown in in gunmetal gray decked out with pearls and crystals, was long dangling clear rhinestones earrings and a clear rhinestone necklace. The piece d’resistance was her bright red elbow length gloves which matched her bright red lipstick.
Meanwhile, I fell into a pair of jeans, a pair of sweaters and a pair of boots I’d brought to battle the extreme cold of the ballroom. I put on some makeup, but my hair was a total loss. That was OK, with peacocks like Deborah running around, no one was going to pay any attention to me anyway!
A Day of Dancing
At 7AM Deb and Richard, her partner, were on the floor to warm up. I was in charge of keeping up with the dance heats and videoing their performances. It’s more difficult than you might think. From 7:30 AM on into the evening, every 90 seconds there’s a new group marching out on the floor for their heat. Deb and Richard had 24 performances and then Richard has his pro had at least that many more.
Though Deb has explained how the heats work and how they score it doesn’t quite click with me. Some points are awarded for just showing up to dance and for the number of heats that you dance. When you are out on the floor, multiple judges are looking at multiple levels of competition. So, even though everyone may be dancing a Paso Dobles or a Viennese Waltz, there will be various age groups and categories of the dance competing at the same time. You and your partner may be the only Intermediate Silver in the Senior Amateur competition and you may end up with first place, but it was actually the only place.
You can usually tell some of this, like who’s dancing with a pro and whose dancing with an amateur, by the number the man wears on his back, but then there are amateurs like Richard, who dance with both and who dances in everything from Intermediate Silver to Full Gold levels. Yes, it’s confusing.
The morning was given over to smooth dances waltz, foxtrot, tango and Viennese waltz. Then while the country dancers took over the floor, Deb ran upstairs and put on her Latin outfit, changing everything from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. I have to confess, I thought the second half of the day was more fun – salsa, samba, paso dobles, bolero, even the hustle! Though I would have loved to get on the floor and rock out a bit, one look at the precise costumed dancers on the floor kept me permanently bolted to my chair, but I might have chair-danced a little.
By the end of the day, all the sambas and rumbas ran together and I did good to keep from falling asleep. The judges changed out every hour. I was glued to the table announcing heats and taking photos. I love DEb, but I was done.
Wrapping It Up
The Gala Buffet didn’t have much pizazz to it. I could have saved myself a few dollars, but we didn’t know that. After the buffet, the dancers went in to participate in the awards ceremony and see more dancing. I went to bed. I didn’t go to sleep until later, but I read while I reveled in the quiet of our hotel room, hoping the ringing in my ears would go away some day.
The next morning we got packed up and met for breakfast there in the hotel. After that we loaded up the car and headed home. I was glad to get there. I had a quiet day at the scrapbooking table and finished up my 2022 everyday album. I am now officially caught up.
Come back next week, Deb and I will be attending the Bubbles and Bunco Brunch to benefit Lone Star CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) – a fun party with bottomless mimosas and a great cause. All the other usual things will be happening, too. So, stay in touch.
Travel There – Just a Couple of Texas Girls in the Big City
As soon as we got our stuff stowed away we hit the streets of NYC. In just a few steps we figured out the Sheraton New York Times Square is the perfect place to stay. Don’t let them put you in the Four Points by Sheraton Times Square, that’s a whole ‘nother place and I am so glad a fought the battle to get where we wanted to be. We were right in the middle of everything without being in the insanity of Broadway itself.
Broadway, just a few blocks away, was insane and I am glad we had a buffer zone. They smoke pot everywhere in NYC, but on Broadway they smoke it a lot and they want to sell it to you. They also want to sell you fake designer bags. I could have done away with that whole vibe, but you just have to take New York City as it comes at you.
You also get mobs of people all the time. Later in the trip we’d be there on a weekend evening and we would really understand exactly how crazy it could get, but for our first day in the city, it was crazy enough.
We hadn’t scheduled anything specific for our day of arrival, because air travel is so unreliable these days. I didn’t want to have tickets riding on me getting there on time and we’re still stuck in the air somewhere. So the plan was to stroll Broadway and see what we could see…or eat.
Junior’s Cheesecake
Our first stop on our tour of Broadway was one of the best of the trip and we repeated it several times. I had read in my research that THE place to have authentic New York Cheesecake was Junior’s. I cannot speak to the authenticity, but oh my goodness, can I ever speak to how delicious it was. We both love cheesecake, but if possible we love Junior’s Cheesecake more than any other we’ve ever had. Deb liked it best topped with various fruits. I had mine plain, but there was nothing plain about it.
Our Key to the City
Broadway, Junior’s and a MetroCard. We were knocking it out of the park in the first few hours we were there. This was not Deb’s first NYC rodeo, so we decided we’d be brave and use the subway system. She had the app and I had the maps.
On our stroll down Broadway we dipped into the subway and purchased a MetroCard, loading it up with rides for the next week. We weren’t ready to use it, but we’d be getting up early the next morning to head to the Statue of Liberty, so we wanted to be ready!
The Biggest Department Store in the World
Confession, I am not a big fan of Macy’s. Well, to tell the truth, I’m not a big fan of department stores, with perhaps the exception of Neiman’s and Nordstrom’s – but I don’t even shop there. I just eat and browse. I am a bargain hunter, so most of my purchases actually occur at one of the stores at the outlet mall.
However, this is New York, the home of Macy’s, so I wanted to be able to say I shopped there. We’d timed our trip to attend a christening, so I planned on buying my gift at the famous store. It is big, ridiculously big, but just like the closest one at Firewheel Town Center, they are short-handed and you are going to have to help yourself.
We found the baby department and I found a darling pink cotton knit sweater with matching socks in the Ralph Lauren section. They were embroidered with the familiar logo in baby blue. They do not, however, have gift wrapping, so I ended up buying a gift bag and card a few stories up in the stationary department.
Deb and I went all the way to the top and rode all the way down on the escalators. Towards the top, they still had the old original wooden escalators. That was something to write home about.
Back Up Broadway
Our goal was Greeley Square and we made it. We tucked over to the Empire State Building just to say I’d been there. We saw Herald Square, Times Square and Duffy Square. We were ticking off the sites!
The evening had set in, but we were still full of cheesecake and the line at the Stardust Cafe was intimidating. So, we went back to the Sheraton, found the bar and celebrated our first day in New York at Happy Hour.
Here’s a few photos from our day. Come back next week and we’ll visit the Stardust Cafe.
Going to New York City has been on my bucket list for a long time and going with my bestie was a dream come true. I love to travel with Bill, too, but it just wasn’t going to be his kind of trip. We planned to get up early, stay up late, spend the day in museums and our evenings at shows, but we were never, ever going to take a nap. That just isn’t his idea of a vacation.
Even though Bill wasn’t thrilled about a week without me, he agreed to chauffeur us to the airport. I had put us on a mid-morning flight to keep him from having to do it at the crack of dawn, so instead we were in the middle of rush hour traffic. OOPS, being self employed, my commute is from the bed to my office upstairs. Should I need to be somewhere in the morning, I live in a little, teeny tiny community almost in the boonies and I know all the backroads.
So, I was a little surprised when we we rolled to a stop in the vicinity of I-30 at Jim Miller. Deb and I both pulled out our phones and checked the traffic. It looked OK for a few moments and suddenly both of our phones demanded we get off I-30 and strike out across Dallas. But as we maneuvered across the city, they didn’t always agree.
Google Maps or WAYZ
One of my current theories about life today is that we have too many choices. It’s hard to find commonality when you have nothing in common. I grew up in a world with only 3 or 4 TV channels and virtually everyone watched the same thing. There were more radio stations, but in Dallas, we all listened to KVIL. No matter who you met, you were going to have something in common to talk about.
There could be fewer people in this world who are as close as the three people in that car on its way to Love Field, but we couldn’t even get our phones to agree on how to get there. No wonder the world is in such a mess.
Bill and Deb are WAYZ people. They swear by the reliability of the app. They turn it on even when they know where they are going for the traffic updates.
I’m old school. If I know the way, I’m going to drive the way I know. If I need help getting there, I will pull out my GPS and use that, because I don’t want to be messing with a phone as I try to drive. If I do need to look something up on the fly, I’m going to Google Maps. However, if Bill’s driving, he hates Google Maps, so I have to keep WAYZ on my phone for his benefit.
What we discovered on the way to Love Field is that our WAYZ apps couldn’t even agree on which way to go. Traffic really was awful, no matter where we turned. The apps were taking us through neighborhoods and down backstreets we’d never been on. Bill was driving, but I had his phone on WAYZ, mine on Google Maps and Deb was clicking back and forth between both. Sometimes each app on each phone was telling a different story.
Then Deb said, “Turn left at the next street.” Bill said, “Are you sure it’s left.” Deb hands me her phone and that’s when we got in trouble.
In case you didn’t know, these apps with their AI get to know us and give us different instructions based on what they learn about us. They also have their own internal algorithms. So, we poor humans are actually at their mercy.
Come to find out, Deb sets her WAYZ app to always point north. We set ours to point in the direction the car is headed. When Deb handed me her phone, I interpreted according to my settings and we were soon making U turns.
We Did Arrive in Time
In spite of dueling map apps, we did manage to arrive on time, but we were happy to see the curbside check-in. I hate waiting in line to do battle with a kiosk, so it was nice to be able to tip a human to take care of us and I tipped him well.
The flight was uneventful, our luggage arrived intact and Lyft was waiting for us as scheduled. We checked into the hotel, which had our reservations, and moved into our room for the week.
Come back next week and we’ll head out on the streets of the Big Apple. What fun we’ll have!
jane sadek 