Hotel or Airbnb
My parents lied to me. A 15-hour road trip was typical for my family. Every year, we took the road trip from North Carolina to Indiana every winter to see my grandparents for Christmas. The drive was long, but we were used to it. We would watch movies and play the alphabet game with road signs. Finding a road sign starting with the letter z was always hard.
On these road trips, occasionally, we would stop at a hotel to stay the night and break up the long journey. Our family was on a budget back then, so sometimes we would stop, and other times we would push all the way through and drive the whole route in one go.
When I was younger, I would get so giddy knowing we were staying in a hotel. For one, it made the long car trip easier for my childlike attention span, but something about sleeping somewhere new was thrilling to my younger self. The soft white beds, free notepads, and hotel waffles at the breakfast buffet in the morning enthralled me as a child.
We would pull into the carport of the hotel, and my mom would check us in. Once she got the hotel key, we would park, unload, and head to our rooms for a great night’s sleep. If I were lucky, there would be a hotel pool I could swim at, too. I would beg my mom and sister to swim with me. Overall, staying at hotels allowed me for one night to make believe I lived somewhere else or was someone else. As a kid, it was an adventure for me.
My family knew how eager I was to stay at a hotel, so they started teasing me. My mom once told me we were staying at the Murray Hotel. I got excited for the stay. Only to realize when we pulled into our driveway she was referring our home to the Murray Hotel. They lied to me. My last name is Murray, so I should have put the two and two together.
My feelings haven’t changed since I am older and can book hotel rooms for myself. Although alternatives such as Airbnb have taken over the market, there is something about hotels I will always cherish. When a hotel or Airbnb, I think first of The comfort of knowing that someone at the front desk can answer your questions and provide the toothbrush I inevitably forget.
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