OMG: What a dump!

I broke my own rule about staying in crummy hotels. I hadn't made a reservation until yesterday, and I have to say a lot of places were fully booked. So I was spending too much time and said the heck with it and just picked this Econolodge in Washington, PA.

This is how bad it is: there is no commercial sign. The sign is one of those yellow boards where you put letters on them and tow it behind your car. It's the kind of sign you'd see that says CARWASH TODAY or something. You can see the sign smack dab in the middle of the top picture.

The guy behind the counter didn't really speak English. I asked him if there were any cases of bed bugs and he didn't know what the word meant (which I took as a good sign) and I pantomined it and he got what I was saying and said "Oh noooooo, noooo."

This is the kind of place where you'd put your 6-man traveling drywall crew or something. On the bright side, I am just steps from my car! [see photo -- now's that's close!] That's also the only window in the room.

Two guys were hanging out next door, drinking beer. Both had fully tattooed arms and cut off sleeve T-shirts. One guy's shirt said "My Momma Thinks I'm Special."

The room is remarkably clean -- honestly. Yes, the carpet is stained and there are no doubt alien life forms on the bedspreads, but the bathroom is as clean as any hotel. The towels are clean and smell good. There's a microwave and a refrigerator, an old, but working TV with remote control and HBO. The air conditioner is noisy but works well. Even too well... I put it on high and I'm about to turn it down. And there's two little bottles of shampoo.

Continuing on the bright side, there's a Taco Bell right across the street, and I would definitely recommend #8 value meal which is 3 tacos (hard or soft, and I recommend soft) washed down with their icy Cherry Limeade. Quite a refreshing combination.

I am about 30 miles into Pennsylvania from the Ohio border, heading East, of course -- which brings me to another positive -- I won't be tempted to linger in this room.

I was also thinking that I am glad I'm not a girly girl who would be too squeamish to stay here. OK, it pushed my boundaries a bit and I held my breath for a second when I pushed open the door not knowing how bad it would be, but for tonight, this is Home Sweet Home.