Note: I'm gonna combine days four and five since they were spent basically driving!
A fairly uneventful day full of driving and eating at fast food today for us! Although, we did take advantage of the "free" breakfast at La Quinta this morning ("free" because I'm sure they jack up the room rates somewhat to accommodate for some of the cost of providing it). But, it wasn't bad at all, in fact, it was a lot better than I thought it would be; they even had sausage gravy and biscuits (but I had my eye on a waffle with blueberry syrup; don't ask me why since usually I never go in for such sweetie stuff!)
As we were walking down the hallway towards the elevator to go to breakfast, we could hear Lucy whimpering in the room; I guess she might have been worried that we were going to leave her again all day. When we got back (and I brought her a small muffin as a treat (and her only food until we got to Nashville)) she was quiet.
Not so the jerks in the room next to us last night! At around 12:30 am, both mom and I were awakened by either their TV or clock radio BLARING. I could hear voices murmuring in the background and it kept on and on so it was obviously intentional. After a few minutes, I called down to the front desk to complain. The guy who answered the phone wanted me to go check and make sure of the room number. What? Frankly, I think he could have figured out (or should have known) what room I was talking about. But, out in my PJs I went; #220. A few minutes later, the noise softened considerably (but I could still slightly hear it; so, the walls at La Quinta are none too thick, it seems). Thank God they weren't going at it over there; that is REALLY annoying to listen to when you're trying to get some shut-eye.
So, we left Springfield just before 8:00 am local time. Basically, we drove, drove, drove. We stopped to let Lucy do her thing (make mental note to self: ALWAYS check poop bags for holes before using (you can infer what happened by this note, right?)) We ate lunch at a Taco Bell somewhere in Kentucky. Yum, Taco Bell! Since Mr. B isn't a huge fan, it's nice to eat there when I get the chance! Anyway, we probably ended up eating too much because later on we didn't feel like going out to the restaurant we'd planned on going to in Nashville.
We pulled into The Red Roof Inn in Nashville (same one we stayed at on our way to Springfield) at 4:40 pm; having driven 488 miles. A dull day license plate-wise, only picked up two (both sort of far away, CO and NV).
The room we got this time, #108, was on the OTHER side of the building and a lot quieter BUT there is a lot of airplane noise at this place so I'd probably not ever stay here again.
As noted earlier, we were too tired to get gussied up for The Plantation House so we opted for Arby's (we were BAD). Now it's (only) 8:30 pm; we've both talked to husbands and we're gonna hit the hay soon; 5:45 am will come early.
Final Day
We left Nashville at 7:00 am (needed to get going earlier since we lost an hour). A long but uneventful day driving; both of us, I think, were ready to be home (and out of the car). Lucy seems fine with this routine, however!
Today was the day when all license plates count in an attempt to get all 50. Alas, we failed miserably, coming in with only 37. At least we got South Dakota today; was surprised, too, to get New Mexico.
After driving 511 miles, we arrived back at mom and dad's at 4:25 pm. After a quick restroom break for me, I jumped back into the car and Lucy and I got to our house less than an hour later. We walked into the house; where's Mark? His car was in the garage but no sign of him. As we were standing in the kitchen, his head popped up from the couch in the family room and Lucy started barking, startled. It startled me, too, but I think he was the most startled of all!
Anyway, home again; glad to be here but certainly real happy we took this road trip! I think we should make an annual trek somewhere with Grammy, what do you think, Lucy?
Mrs. B
Apr 21, 2008
My mom, dog Lucy and I traveled to Springfield, MO for the sole purpose of visiting the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum/home in nearby Mansfield (we might have stayed IN Mansfield but it appeared to be a REAL small town and I was concerned about finding a place that would accept my dog). We were there two nights and I booked it by calling La Quinta's 800 number (you need to add this option to your selection above; it is not the same thing as booking directly with the property).So, I found out that La Quinta accepts pets (and doesn't charge a fee for them like some motels/hotels). I would have liked a bit of a cheaper rate (we paid $79+ tax which was an AARP rate) but, the room was larger than the Red Roof Inn was stayed at in Nashville and the beds (queen-sized) were real comfortable. The bathroom was so-so; a weird latch on the door. But, it served its purpose.The room was clean and we didn't notice anything out of order anywhere in the motel EXCEPT the elevator always smelled a bit like cat urine. There must have been one unhappy cat in that elevator at one point in time (and I sure wouldn't have wanted to get the room it was in!)Reception was friendly; they even greeted my dog. There was some weird charge of $1.50 per day for using the safe which I was told we could have removed when we checked out (which I did; the whole thing made no sense to me at all). The motel was convenient to many restaurants and this huge Bass Pro place. My mom and I drove into "downtown" Springfield for breakfast and dinner one day; very nice places, both (see separate reviews).Back to La Quinta. There was a nice grassy area to walk dogs; too bad not all of the guests were responsible enough to pick up after their dogs (I, of course, always do).Our room was quiet enough however the 2nd night of our stay, the folks in the room turned their TV or radio on REALLY REALLY loud around 12:30 am. I called the front desk; the guy who was there asked me to go make sure what room it was so that he wouldn't disturb the wrong people. I did think he could have figured out what room it was without making me go out into the hall in my PJs to check, but, they DID turn the radio down so that's all that matters (so, the walls might be a tad thin but I never ding a property for rude guests).We partook of the "free" breakfast on the morning we left. I was impressed; they even had biscuits and sausage gravy (I opted for a waffle, though). The girl that was working the breakfast area was very diligent about keeping things stocked.When we checked out, we asked reception to split the bill between two different credit cards and they did so with no issues.All in all, I liked this place well enough. I doubt I'll ever be back in Springfield, MO, but, if for some reason I am (and especially if I have a pet with me), I'd certainly stay there again.
My mom, my dog and I traveled from Durham, NC to Springfield, MO. We stopped in Nashville because it was roughly 1/2 way. I usually try to stay at Red Roof Inns when I take my dog because they are pet friendly. I picked this particular motel (near the airport) because it was just off I-40, which is the route we were traveling. The motel was fine; they'd refurbished the rooms so they were fairly modern. We took a double room, non-smoking. Actually, we stayed there twice, on the way to Springfield and then a few day later on the way home.I am a Redi Card member so that is how I booked the rooms; directly with the Redi Card folks. We got decent rates (around $47/night + taxes). The room(s) were fine, comfortable, clean, etc. However, I'd definitely suggest asking for a room behind the office (on that side of the building); a lot less noise (we stayed on the office side the first time, on the other side the 2nd time).We really like their coffee machine in the office! It makes lattes, mochas, etc. Yum.Having said all of this, I doubt I'd stay at this particular motel again. NOT that there was anything wrong with it (other than the walking area for dogs wasn't the best; sort of sloping landscape which was a bit difficult to manage) but mostly because of the airport noise. The motel seems to be located directly under the flight patterns.But, there were a lot of restaurants, gas stations, etc., nearby, so, it's convenient from that regard.
This TripAdvisor Member:
Liked — Pet friendly, convenient to the interstate, lots of restaurants, etc., near by
Disliked — The only thing we didn't like was we could hear airplanes all of the time; very loud
2 comments:
A fun trip, Amy!
U might think about travelling w/earplugs in your suitcase. & use them if noise that u can't do anything about occurs.
Not the hard rubber swim plugs; something like Mack's pillow soft that you can get in most pharmacies.
I can't hardly believe you passed up sausage gravy and biscuits for a waffle! I'm not sure I have ever witnessed you make that choice before.
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