What should we talk about next

I haven't traveled lately, not since the girl trip to Coralville. I don't know what to tell you about next. I'll admit my old friend IBS has been visiting for a long time, so I haven't been terribly motivated. But one name does keep coming back to me, Best Western.

Oh, I have several hotels on my top list. I sleep well at almost all Hampton properties. I have had some of my best meals at Marriott hotels. I spent three glorious weeks at a Double Tree in Sunny Isle, Fla. I even had one nice long stay at a Westin in Jacksonville. But one of the most surprisingly consistently hotel chains I have stayed with is the Best Western.

It started with the cross-country drive to bring CaDiva to Iowa. We made it to Cheyenne. It was dark, rainy and we were very tired. But we were also a day behind schedule. We got a late start leaving Santa Rosa and I got us lost in Sacramento, so we only made it to Truckee that first night. CaDiva wanted to stop in Cheyenne but HRH and I said we should push on. CaDiva's argument was the darkness and rain. I pointed out we were driving into western Nebraska, what was there to hit? During the course of later trips we would learn that rainy nights were not so bad that I couldn't drive us, especially in mountains. But that is a different story.

We discovered many tricks to traveling cross-country but this trip we were still learning. We would drive until we were within an hour of wanting to stop, then pull out the AAA tour books and look for the mile-marker about 60 out then look for a hotel. This particular night we found the town of Ogallala, Nebraska. And I just loved the word...O-ga-lla-la. You can't really beat that. I wanted to stay there just so I could tell people I had spent the night in Ogallala. Oh, the Nishnabotna River is good too but that night we picked Ogallala and the Stagecoach Inn.

They had a King on the ground floor and a Queen on the second floor. Since the Stagecoach didn't have an elevator CaDiva and I took the lower level and HRH took the upper room. The rooms were clean, comfortable and came with a continental breakfast. I learned not to eat the Cheerios since they had Honey Nut in the little dispenser and I can't do sweet first thing in the AM. But we needed to get a start in the morning anyway. We were one day from Des Moines and I would be sleeping in my own bed that night.

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After that, we stayed at the Stagecoach every time we could. There was one trip we had to stay in Kearney instead because of some sort of state tournament took up all the rooms for 100 miles. By the way, it is apparently pronounced Carney even though they spell it Kearney.

We got to the point that we looked for Best Westerns.  We looked forward to a night in Newport, Oregon. But I took a miss turn and we drove two extra hours in the dark, through the mountains, and the woods. And no matter what she tells you, CaDiva did not see a jackalope as we rounded that one curve. Anyway, we didn't get there in time to luxuriate in the hot tub or walk the beach before our whale watching trip the next day. The hotel was under renovation but it was comfortable and welcoming as all the others we have stayed at since.

We stayed at the Best Western Canterbury in Coralville, Iowa for our first not-quite-annual Hahn Women girl trip. I fantasized about the tower suite there. Although the stairs would be have been too much for CaDiva and I. But it was a two story suite on the second story of the hotel. It had a hot tub on a private terrace. I originally proposed we rent it (way too expensive for just one of us) as a party suite for all the ladies. We still had a great time but when I get the oomph to plan another I think I'll take a few clues from that first trip and keep us with more time to bond and a little less free schedule time.

After our recent trip to California where we stayed at the Best Western Plus Bay View at Carmel by the Sea I learned there are three classes of Best Westerns. The Plus is obviously elegant but I still got a good price. It had a lovely balcony. You have seen it before. I posted a couple pictures of me and my sea gull friend, discussing who got my bowl of Cheerios. The room had a fireplace in a corner and a grand view of the bay.

We ate at Clint Eastwood's restaurant, of course that was before the empty chair incident. There was a cute little mini mart next to the hotel where we got sandwiches and drinks for noshing in the room. We took another whale watching trip and drove the 17-mile drive to CaDiva's brother's wedding.

I think there is a way on this blog to attach that map application where you can track your favorite hotels. I have had some great nights and and longer stays at some hotels. I would love to share them with you here.