Midnight Motel Horror Show

My S.O. had another interview this morning. As I had to be at work by 1pm, this presented several problems.

However, we had some help from klasek1987, providing taxi service back to Farmington.

Last night I hosted a meeting for the doll con, then packed up and headed out to Farmington. I'd rather be close and get up stupid early down there, then drive for ten minutes to pick him up than get up ridiculously early up here and drive for an hour and a half while bleary-eyed.

I cruised into the Rosener's motel again. I figured it was worth a shot. This time they tried to sell me a double-queen for $89 per night.
HELL NO.

So I decided that it was time I checked in to...

THE RED CEDAR LODGE.
(dun dun duuuuuun.)

Located at the top of a hill with no obvious access along Highway 67, and lit eerily in last night's fog, this Motel has *everything.*
Flush toilets (sort of.)
Rustic Archetecture
A second floor
A shower that simulates being peed upon
Weekly rates and "Kitchenettes available"
A miniature version of the hotel in the lobby behind glass
A playful urchin kitten
Accidental turn-down service
Recent renovations


"Wait," I hear you say. "What's Accidental Turnd Down Service?"

Oh, it's that THING, of when someone inspects the room, and peeks at the sheets to see if they're clean, then rejects the room, so when you check in it's already turned down for you.

Setting aside my Stefon impression, it was actually not that bad. Keep in mind that it was not that GOOD either, but it was like $38.
I took my key, went up to the room, and noticed a ghostly shadow stalking me on the steps. Hmm. I inspected the room, and it seemed fine except that on of the beds had been mussed. The coverlet had been turned back, and the pillows had been moved.
hrm.

Down to the lobby I went, and asked about it. The kind Indian fellow behind the glass double-checked his notes and said that the room was not occupied, and that it had indeed been cleaned that morning. He pulled in a young man (possibly his son?) who explained that someone had inspected the room earlier and had decided to get a different room.
"And... why did he want another room?"
"He wanted a room with just one bed in it."

I shrugged. "Well, ok. As long as I don't have an unexpected roommate, I'm fine with it."
I carried my stuff upstairs. A ghostly shadow stalked me, but manifested as a charming greyish kitten.
I put my things down, pulled some deli-meat turkey out of the QT sandwich I'd picked up on the way, and decided to make friends with the little feral kitten.

Oh, yes. Turkey junkie and I got along famously.

After sharing some bits of turkey, I went to settle in for the night. I realized that I needed to document this odd room, so I took pictures. I captured the images of the recent remodeling: Patches on the walls, indicating where a body might be hiding in the plaster, some oddly reddish paint that did not match the peach paint in the bathroom (no, no, we're not hiding a murder scene here, no!) and some... just randomness.
It was run-down and shabby, but clean.

Hey. Just like me!

So I opened the door to see if Turkey Junkie was nearby for pictures. The kitty raced down to my room, calling to me and then sauntered right in my door, happy as you please.
"Hey there, new friend! Mind if I come in? I do this all the time. Hey, you got turn-down service, neat! So where is the rest of that bird?"

I got some blurry pics of the kitty until I could get it to slow down a bit, and then got some cute shots of it being fierce and eating turkey. It tired to go for the whole sandwich, and I had to explain that there will be None Of That, and Cats Do Not Belong On Tables.
Eventually, I let it back out. I did consider having it sleep with me, but I was afraid of fleas. (Not that I wasn't ALREADY afraid of fleas or bedbugs, but I didn't want to add a certainty.)

I went to the bathroom and discovered that there was not much left of the TP, so I again went to the front desk to ask for a roll. They happily gave me one.

I was still feeling a bit weird about sleeping *in* the bed, so I opted to curl up *on* it.
Yeah, that wasn't comfy.
So I burrowed under the comforter and slept as well as I could.
I awoke with a start around 5am(earlier than my alarm) and texted my S.O. about timing. He suggested 7:15 so I vowed to make that happen, and went back to sleep. When my alarm went off, I got up and tried the shower.

Have you ever had a shower experience that made you feel like perhaps being peed on would actually be more beneficial? The shower dribbled on me with water that shifted temperature in ways that didn't correspond with my twisting the knob in any way. I managed to get more or less clean, eventually, and discovered that the toilet was having trouble with the, er, load I had given it the night before.
Oh dear.
So I flushed again, and it didn't get much better. Sigh. Well, I'm leaving anyway.

I grabbed my purse and bag but left my pillow and suitcase, and headed out the door. The dribbly shower robbed me of some of my time, unfortunately, so I was a little later to pick him up. I did bring him back to the motel but we weren't able to take advantage of it. He did "admire" the eccentric nature of the place, and made fast friends with the Turkey Junkie, not even needing to give the kitty food to get it to love all over him and want to play.

I admit, I was tempted to snatch that kitty and bring it home.
I am glad that I did not, but it was cute as hell.