Check-in/check-out

I find the hotel check-in experience to be a little awkward, particularly later at night. It could be that I'm prim and proper and think that a gentleman should know his sleeping arrangements prior to the eight o'clock hour. It could also be that night desk clerks are not chosen for their customer service potential. Recently, I think it was the latter. Yes, I may have received a suspicious eye when I flashed a certain discount card that most strangers don't expect me to have, but the real awkwardness came a moment later when I gave him my address.

"DC? That's not far from here."

We were three or more hours away from home.

"I can't really get there to sleep tonight," I responded since I had just traveled three or more hours from there on my way to my final destination.

"Still. It's not far. I get up there two or three times a year to visit friends."

Did every guest who slept at the Days Inn have to travel a certain distance? Had I failed to meet that quota?

"Every trip can't be glamorous," I told him matter-of-factly.