Month: August 2019

Since we left Coeur d’Alene at a reasonable hour, we drove on a little further before stopping for the night.  This was the first of two “hotel toilet troubles” on our trip.  🙂  The toilet would not flush at all but luckily the maintenance guy came up with a mini rotor rooter and took care of the problem right away. We were impressed and I think Rich wants one of those for our house. 🙂  The next morning we set out for Olympia WA.  Our original plans included a stop in Seattle where I have a cousin and we have a few friends. After finding out my cousin would be gone and so would my friend Pipa, we made plans to meet our friends Linda and Ed in Olympia instead.  They live in Sequim and said it didn’t matter where we met so Olympia would put us closer to our next destination.  We met Linda and Ed at a place called Anthony’s right on the water, with beautiful views, and had much fun discussing the state of the world and everything else with our friends.  They are great and we always enjoy our time with them–plus they are nice enough to drive a couple of hours to come see us!  The next morning none of us were in a big hurry so we met at a coffee shop for about an hour before leaving town.

Olympia was also night #2 of bathroom troubles. When we got to our hotel, the toilet wouldn’t flush. The desk clerk came up and plunged it but it didn’t seem to work very well. We left for dinner and when we returned, it was not flushing again. We called him once more (poor guy) and he came up to try to plunge it again.  He and Rich both gave it a good try but no luck.  He didn’t have one of those cool mini rotor rooters like the guy the night before!  🙂  I asked if we could be moved and he said they had no more rooms. I was kinda surprised because I figure even when hotels say they are sold out, there’s SOMETHING.  He insisted there wasn’t.  We asked what we were supposed to do and he said we’d have to use the lobby bathroom. He could move  us tomorrow.  We said we’re not staying tomorrow!  He was very apologetic but also pretty passive and not much of a problem solver. We probably would have packed up and moved to a different hotel if it had been earlier but we were too tired to do anything else. So we stayed, used the lobby bathroom a few times, and went to bed for the night.

When we checked out the next morning, who should be working at the desk but the same clerk. He had gone home at 11 PM and come back for the morning shift. Poor guy.  I asked about a refund for our troubles and he said the most he could give us was $20. I told him that was pretty sad and he kinda looked around on his computer for a minute as if to search for a better solution.  But alas, he paused and said $20 was all he could do.  I asked to speak with a manager and he said they were all in a meeting but I could take a business card, which I did.  Later I emailed the manager from my phone in the car and after awhile he did write, apologized, and gave us half our money back. And said to contact him directly if we’re ever back in Olympia so he can give us a good rate. I somehow doubt we’ll have a reason to be there again but I am keeping his name just the same. LOL