Late-ish Start, Room Falling Apart

Pacific Northwest September Travelog #2
Vancouver, WA - Sat, 3 Sep 2022, 8:50am

Our late flight last night was late. By the time we landed, got our bags, got our rental car, and drove to our hotel across the river in Vancouver, WA it was already just past 12:30am. I wasn't ready to sleep until almost 2am. I had wanted— and paid more for the right flight— to get in 2 hours earlier and get a better night's sleep. 😣 But I got up just after 8 this morning so the day's still in decent shape.

We had a few problems / downside surprises with our room last night. For one, the "Use your phone as a room key!" thing with Marriott does not work anywhere near as well as Hilton's. First, it didn't unlock the exterior door to the hotel, despite there being a reader there that should've worked. We had to push the intercom button and wait for the night manager to answer with, "Hello, how can I help you?" I wanted to be a bit salty and say, "I'm pressing the button to get in... don't you think that means I want to get in?" but I didn't.

The "Use your phone as a room key!" thing also doesn't let you share the key with a second person. Hilton's did, and it worked really well when a friend and I stayed at a Hampton Inn a few weeks ago. David sent me an invite from his app (the room was registered to him) and I registered it in my app in a matter of seconds. The Marriott app doesn't allow electronic key sharing. Their FAQ matter-of-factly states that technologically impossible. Uh, no, it's clearly not.

Our room has a few maintenance problems. One of the kitchen cabinets is missing its door. The soap dispenser in the shower was broken and lying on the floor. There was also no ice bucket. A missing ice bucket, I could understand being overlooked. They sent me up a new one this morning 5 minutes after I asked. But how could cleaning staff not notice things like a cabinet door complete gone from the hinges, or management not decide, "You know, we should fix these problems before we assign this room to a paying customer."

Overall the hotel is fairly nice. It's fairly new. I'm concerned, though, that if these kinds of problems are being left unaddressed when the hotel is only a few years old, it's going to be a complete dump in 10 years.

A Tiring Day Full of Waterfalls. What's in a Name?

Pacific Northwest September Travelog #8
Vancouver, WA - Sat, 3 Sep 2022,11pm

I can tell right now that if I try to keep a linear blog about this trip I will fall very far behind. Partly that's because today has been just packed. After leaving the hotel at 9:30— a pretty good start after arriving late last night— we drove east up the Columbia River and then north into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest to visit a series of waterfalls.

Before leaving town, though, we stopped at an amazing local donut shop. "Are you buying a half dozen?" the cashier asked. The food looked so amazing I took the liberty of saying Yes. We each ate one in the car. Then another one later in the day. The last one each are for tomorrow morning. We might have to get more after that. 🤣

You might wonder about the name Gifford Pinchot National Forest. I've used that name a few times before , most recently when visiting a bunch of waterfalls in Washington in August. Gifford Pinchot was a person (which you might have guessed). He was the first head of the US Forest Service after it was established in 1905. He also served two terms as Governor of Pennsylvania later in his life.

Gifford Pinchot wasn't the only noticeable name today. The other was Stinky Pud. I chuckled when I saw election posters all along the roads in Vancouver for a Don Steinke. "Poor guy, his name is pronounced Stinky," I said to no one in particular.

Then I wondered what office he's running for. Is he looking to become Mayor Stinky? Assembly member Stinky? Sheriff Stinky? And that's where it got even funnier. He's running for— I kid you not— PUD. That's what it says on his campaign signs. PUD. That's Public Utility District, BTW. He's running to be one of its commissioners. But he's got PUD in bold letters on his signs. Stinky Pud!

Anyway, long day, a bunch of waterfalls. We didn't get back to our hotel until sometime after 10pm. Tomorrow will be... well, I don't know! It may be a hike along a ridge at Mount St. Helens, or maybe we'll go for some more waterfalls. Or maybe both!