How do you tell you've booked yourself into a Cheap Motel? :)

So after about 11 hours on the road, Harry and I decide to stop for the night. I suggest an exit with lots of motel choices (the competition should bring better prices). "Oh look! Here's one! There's a Day's Inn, a Quality Inn, a Hampton Inn..." and Harry says, "Yah and a Super 8".

To which he passes by all my suggestions and pulls into the Super 8. "See honey? It says "Free Wi-Fi, Free Breakfast and lowest prices in town!"

Ok, so we are here.

We pull in and my first clue is that it looks....dark. (Hey, I thought they were supposed to "leave the light on for you?" :)

Before we can get out of the car, a big, black car pulls up to the door of the reception and a large black woman jumps out in her too swollenly filled jeans and she dashes into the motel. When we get in, we find that she is registering. She is VERY polite to the desk lady, with a "yes, ma'am" and a "no, ma'am" , and "a smoking room please ma'am" and "I'll pay cash ma'am".
She finishes her transaction and the desk clerk starts dealing with us. During the course of the conversation, she asks us if we'd like an upstairs room or a downstairs room. (realizing that we have guitars to unload, we instantly say, "Downstairs" in one voice).
The clerk says, "Don't worry, I put her upstairs. She's a local regular....and she won't be staying long".

Ah.

So as Harry and I unload, we see a big black fellow, head to toe dressed in leather, coming down from the upstairs room and is on his cell phone, seemingly inviting some more friends over.

We unload our instruments, bags, Florida oranges (it may freeze here during the night) and lock up and pray that the rest will be ok till we get out there in the morning.

The room smells like soap (thankfully) and there is TV, Internet, and clean, fresh beds made up tight in the military style.I am grateful for these things.

How'ere.....there are other things that I am not so grateful for:

The sticky bathroom floor (thank the Gods I brought my slippers)

The running like a tap bathtub (thank the Gods there is a door so I don't have to hear it drip all night)

The activity at 4am upstairs with showers being taken and THEN the squeaky bed, then the quick exit. (second shift?)

It all reminds me of a song called "Cheap Motel" which I'd love to learn!

"There's no swimming pool, no service,
no restaurant, no bar
Just a bed and a bath
and a place to park your car
You have to carry your own bags
up at least one flight
but what do you expect
for $50 buck a night?
Now, why would you ever want anything more?
When first thing in the morning
you'll be right back out the door...
So save a little money....
raise a little hell....
Let's go find a Cheap Motel!"

And we have a Free breakfast this morning...Harry went down and came back with coffee and a couple of packaged plain danish. He said, "There was an Indian lady down there as the clerk It reminded me of the book you are reading to me, "Eat, Pray, Love". She had on her sarong and bindi. She definately did things at her own pace, that's for sure. Oh, by the way...there's no cheese danish, cream or milk products of any kind down there. The cow is Sacred."

Jumping from this we are leaving to drive to Beaufort, N.C. this morning.
We are going to the Maritime Museum there on the ocean before traveling home to the frozen north.
It's a visit to Blackbeard we are planning.

By the sounds of the goings on around here at this motel....
I think he slept here last night.