#Schummer14: Day 19 recap of Summer of Schnyder ~ nowhere to stay

In our many travel adventures we have always been able to find a hotel even if it’s at the last minute. A lot of the time we use Hotwire, Priceline, etc. because I love a deal and hate to pay full price for a room. It has always been a game with MeLinda and I when placing a bid on Priceline, trying to determine if we could have gotten that room for five dollars less. When I worked at the corporate offices of Candlewood Hotel I always had a pretty good idea of what the typical room would go for and what the Priceline price should be. We have many great deals over the years.  On this trip we decided to go ahead and book all of our rooms directly through the hotel and ahead of time due to it being a high demand period in the areas we were visiting and not wanting to spend time on the trip worrying about where to stay.

For the first two weeks we made only one audible. I had a hotel booked in Portland, Maine, and I noticed it would be better to be in the downtown area so before I cancelled the first hotel I booked the other and we were set. It turned out be a great choice and if you are ever in Portland make sure to stay at the downtown Courtyard Marriott – it had just opened about a month prior and it had very large rooms with a clean, modern feel.

Our second audible, on Day 19 of our month-long road trip, ended up being a little more complicated.

Luckily we were able to meet up with our baseball buddies Charlie and Kim for another game on our Summer of Schnyder trip – the first was the Toronto Blue Jays and the second one was in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The AAA minor league game started at 1 p.m. on Sunday and we were scheduled to arrive in Springfield, Mass., from Bar Harbor, Maine, late on Saturday so that we could visit the basketball hall of fame there the next morning. But it didn’t open until 10 a.m. and it was a two-hour drive to Pawtucket. So I made the audible and cancelled our hotel reservation in Springfield. We cancelled with a phone call while sitting next to a pond in the middle of Acadia National Park – in a spot we were finally able to get Verizon service. It was like the hotel operator was trying to make it as difficult as possible to cancel and that was likely an omen. Finally after a five-minute call during which MeLinda had to repeat all of our contact information to two different people, we had eliminated the reservation.

We had no worries at that point. The same day, Charlie and Kim booked their room at a Hilton in downtown Providence and we were planning on booking a room about an hour north of there because we had a full day of driving and a long boat excursion that day. I had done some prelim work and didn’t think it would be an issue; even though there aren’t a lot of hotels in the Rhode Island area there are a lot in the Boston area we were driving through.

So we got up that morning – Saturday – and headed out of Acadia National Park toward Rye, New Hampshire. We had our eye on a whale-watching trip that afternoon at 2 p.m. and figured we would play it by ear to see if the weather looked favorable for a long boat ride out far enough to see whales. We stopped for a quick lunch on the drive down and at that point everything was still going smoothly; we were on target for the 2 p.m. whale watching. MeLinda made a call to the whale-watching outfitter to verify openings and let them know we were going to be there so please hold a spot for us.

We decided to make a quick stop in Kennebunkport to see how the other half lives – we did the short drive along Ocean Avenue there, which is famous for its mansions and resorts. We started to realize that might have been a mistake since there was a little more traffic than we were expecting. Too many people stopping to take a picture of the Senior Bush compound was the main issue.

At that point, we realized that our grace period had disappeared. Instead of being there 30 minutes ahead of time we now were going to be lucky to be there 15 minutes ahead of time (which is the recommended sign-in time). MeLinda looked over to me and asked if she should drive since I don’t usually push the Beemer more than 5 mph over the speed limit. MeLinda is a speed demon in case you don’t know and isn’t allowed to drive my prized possession, the 2000 Honda Accord, since she would probably blow the motor. I said don’t worry about it and the next 15 minutes everything was looking good until the highway became a parking lot because of an accident near Portsmouth.

So we were in an unknown area and MapQuest let us know our destination arrival time was now 2 p.m. MeLinda’s navigation skills kicked in and we get off the backed-up highway and decided to wing it. Crushing every speed limit over the next 15 miles we still weren’t sure if we were going to make it. MeLinda called the whale watching company and they gave some last minute instructions for a shortcut. We pulled into the parking lot two minutes before 2 p.m. MeLinda jumped out of the car and went to pay while I parked and started throwing stuff out of a tote bag so I could throw warm clothes in it and take it aboard, where we would have to change. Every time I move anything in the very back of the vehicle, I have to rearrange all of our bags that I have strategically stowed.

We stepped onto the boat at 2 p.m. and figured from this point forward the day will be less hectic. It did slow down as we had a good four-hour boat ride that wasn’t too rough and we got several opportunities to see finback and minke whales.

Once we were back on land, we had a better idea of how far we would want to drive the rest of the night so we started thinking about hotels. But it was 6 p.m., so first we wanted to get some food. We figured we’d get something to eat and then we’d book the room during dinner.

We drove for about 15 minutes while MeLinda researched pizza – we got excited about a “Detroit-style pizza” place with great reviews on Yelp but when she clicked on “Directions to Here” it showed up as 600 miles away in Virginia! We’d have to try Detroit-style another time (apparently the sauce is on top of the cheese) and she found three options for pizza in nearby Newburyport, Massachusetts. We got off the highway and passed a franchise called Papa Gino’s and I let it be known that would be our fall back in case everything else went wrong. Driving through this small harbor-side town, I noticed that everyone had lawn chairs locked down in their front yards like a parade either was about to happen or had just happened. Or we had just entered a big white trash city and this is what it looked like every day.

MeLinda’s first option was about two miles into town and as we got closer we realized we definitely picked the wrong town to stop in as traffic was backed up. Then we saw signs for today’s festival along with street closings and no parking. So the second option was implemented and we drove over to Nick’s Pizza. Luckily there was a spot right in front of this neighborhood restaurant to park; unluckily when we got inside they told us the wait might be about an hour because it’s fireworks night in the neighborhood. At that point we just accepted our fortunes and took a seat and started looking for hotels. I had never been to a pizza place until then that ran out of meat toppings before closing; our order was probably behind about 30 other pies.

While we are waiting I pulled up Priceline, TripAdvisor, Marriott, Hilton, Hotwire and started looking. I placed a few unsuccessful bids on Priceline for a hotel in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. I expanded the area and price and still struck out. OK, maybe it’s time to pay full price and expand further the search area. The pizza arrived and that distraction cost us our last chance at booking a hotel. Who would have thought a sausage and pepperoni pizza delivered on a large tray would lead to us being homeless in New England. Though I will say it was good pizza and worth the trip if you are in the area.

The clock struck 8 p.m. and we were officially screwed. MeLinda started calling any chain that didn’t have an hourly rate and the only option was paying $600 bucks for a room in Newport, Rhode Island. It was truly hard for someone from the Midwest to contemplate that an area the size of several states was sold out and there wasn’t even a major event happening. In the meantime Kim and Charlie had finished their drive up from their home in New York and were settling into their room at the Hilton. As if some cosmic spirit was guiding her, Kim had chosen a room with two beds when given the option between one or two upon check-in. Little did they know that choice would be the saving grace and keep us from sleeping in our car or spending the night at my good friend Dunkin’ Donuts.

MeLinda had sent a joking text to Kim relaying the trouble we were having getting a room and the response was that they had two beds. I hate to impose on people but at that point there wasn’t any other choice and after a quick phone call to Charlie to make sure it truly was OK, we headed to downtown Providence. When we finally arrived in Providence, we had been on the go for more than 12 hours and both of us were ready to finally relax.

True friendship is when someone calls you late at night and asks if they can share a hotel room with you. Once again, thanks Kim and Charlie!

Even after this eventful day 19 of our sabbatical, I am truly thankful for how well things have worked out on this trip. From the weather cooperating when needed to the BMW operating well to the majestic sites we have seen and the activities we have enjoyed.

We did learn our lesson this day. When I made our next schedule change, my first call was to book a hotel!

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#Schummer14 – Lee & MeLinda Schnyder are turning their home in Wichita, Kan., over to a friend and taking a month-long road trip. They’ll travel from Kansas to Ontario and Quebec, Canada; then through Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The trip home will include stops in Ohio and Missouri. Beyond the blog, you can follow #Schummer14 on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.