4th of July Weekend: From the beginning

I had a bad feeling form the start regarding this trip. The original plan was to go in t3h wag00n. It would be my wife, her brother, and myself all going.

About a month ago my car became unreliable due to the overheating problem. At that time my brother-in-law stepped up and offered to drive his 1991 Chevy Lumina. It ran fine, but he wanted to make sure all was well so he started a bunch of improvements on the car.

Each week was another job. New radiator. New thermostat. New power steering pump and high pressure hose. Removed the faulty after-market alarm system. Struts. Oxygen sensor. Brakes, rotors, and hoses. A ton of work was done. Then the day we're supposed to go, his check engine light goes on. The TPS, throttle position sensor, is the culprit. But there's no time for a fix.

Stacey went on the hunt for a rental. Even though she said that we'd use her car as a last resort, she didn't want to put the highway miles on the Mustang. In some great timing she called the local Enterprise dealer right when there was a cancellation. She got a Suzuki Aerio. I was pleased with this, as that was one of the cars on my list of wag00n replacements.

We pile into the car and got going. It was getting close to 7:00PM when we hit the road. I was expecting all the roads to be hammered with serious traffic. Friday night of the 4th of July weekend? It's always a mess.

Well.

Except this year. We were able to zip on out of the city and get into NJ pretty quick. We grabbed a bite to eat and gassed up along the way and got to the hotel in Harrisburg around 10:30 or so.

We get to our room at the Howard Johnson's. Open the door. They had the air conditioning on full blast. The room was very cool, and dry. Immediately Manny and Stacey get upset. They can't sleep in the cold. They require a nice warm temperature. So I lower the level of the a/c.

"Can you shut it off?" I was asked.

"It's gonna get real hot real quick," I answered.

"Can you shut it off? I can't sleep in the cold. I'll get sick," I was told.

"Well, by 2 o'clock it's gonna be like an armpit in here," I said. "Don't expect to find me in the room when that happens. I'll sleep in the car instead," I stated as I shut down the a/c.

By 3:oo AM the room had become unbearably steamy. I'm paying for a room and the honor to not sleep, but I do get to sweat and be uncomfortable. Fuggit. I got up, got dressed, grabbed my book, "Tale of the Body Thief" and the keys and headed off.

I moved the car to a better spot. I went to the front desk and requested that they drop off some extra blankets for those who are body-heat-impaired the next day.

I sat in the car. Tried to doze. Couldn't. Tried to read. Couldn't Let me tire myself out. It's about 4 AM now. I wandered the building. I wandered the grounds. I wandered around the restaurant next door. Then I repeated the entire process. As I'm going in through one of the entrances I see some big dude standing about 50 feet away on the cell phone. He looked over as I was walking in, so I nodded. I noticed earlier that people were very friendly in these parts and offered hellos here and there.

It was getting close to 4:30 when I decided to head back to the room. I felt weary from the long day and I might've even been able to go to sleep in that hot room. I turn up my corridor and that big dude I had seen earlier is at the other end of the corridor heading in my direction. I quickly size up the situation. It's 4:30. This guy is huge, about 6.5 feet tall, and freakishly muscular. I decided that even though the room is dead in the middle between the two of us I won't make a dash for it. He could overpower me and get into the room if he's a criminal, then we'd all be in trouble.

"What you readin'?" he calls over to me.

Puzzling!?! Without thinking I said, "Oh, some gay book."

"Hmm, are you?" he responds, we're now about 6 feet apart.

"Oh no, that's not my thing," I say, "it's just these vampire books, they are all about these bi vampires. A lot of gay stuff."

"Are you?" he asks again.

"Oh no, that's not my thing," I croak. At this point I pass by him in the hallway. I pass by my room. I'm putting together an escape plan in my head, if need be. I noticed he's way bigger than I am. He's a huge, muscular, black man with a shaved head. I don't remember if he had any facial hair, but he had creepy little eyebrows that were shaped like he was always angry. I felt uncomfortable and frightened. This man can beat me to a pulp in a single punch. I might be better off making a run for it. Head to the main lobby, maybe. Even though the car is right outside the nearest door, it could be like one of those horror films where the villain apprehends his quarry as they fumble with keys trying to get into a car or room.

As I pass by him he follows me and says, "Don't worry, I ain't followin' you or nothin'."

"That's okay, it's a free country," I say while hurrying along.

Then at the intersection of corridors where an exit is he asks me to hold up a moment. He's very slowly heading to the far corridor. "Lemme jack you off," he offers.

"No thanks, that's not my thing, " said as I headed for the exit. "G'nite," and I ran through the door.

I dash out along the side of the building. I'm halfway to the next entrance. I look over my shoulder. No one there. I walk in cautiously. I look around the corner. All's clear. I have the room key in my hand. No one behind me. I dash for the door. I didn't even STOP when I had the key in the door. It's open. I squeeze through the door and shut it quick. I'm already out of my sandals and dashing across the room. I notice the room is cool. THEY TURNED ON THE AIR CONDITIONING WHILE I WAS OUT. Drat! If it was on form the start, I wouldn't have come across that odd situation. I leap into the bed and pull up the sheets over my head. I stayed there with my eyes wide open with fear.

Not the best way to start off a weekend getaway.