I stayed in a hotel room in Arlington VA for 10 days with a wet carpet. It was not really wet – it was soaked! The area in the hallway entrance by the bathroom was so wet it sloshed and water got high enough to get into your shoes. It never improved for the whole time and who knows what was in that gross water.

I called the desk for no help at all and they would not change my room. It was a prepaid deal from some online booking mistake and they told me no other rooms could be had at my $29 rate. They were already mad I was staying there so cheap.

I was lucky I had a printout of my payment and booking. The manager was called and he let it go through telling me I should be paying over $100 a night there.

So too bad lady, you get the wet carpet room.

Ha! I can deal with it.

I was there with my son who was seven at the time and we were on vacation. Every time we came and went or needed to use the bathroom, we had to splash through that mess. He could jump, I just walked on the wet edge as best I could.

The hotel was less than a block from Roslyn Subway Station and so we could tour Washington DC easily. My rate also got us a great free breakfast in a giant banquet room each morning (as stated on the booking paper) so we were set to go out after that. With a transit pass and many free museums and monuments, we only had to get dinner each night as cheap as I could find.

I had just lost my good accounting job in San Diego due to fallout from a bad economy due to 911. I took the trip anyway with no money or knowledge of what was to come. The plane tickets and hotel were already paid and I would lose that if I canceled. I had several chances to visit DC before and all had fallen through. So we were going. We had a lot of fun and swam in a nice pool each evening if we got back to the hotel in time.

Little did I know I was about to get a job with the US Navy. They had lots of money due to fallout from 911. The Navy sent me to DC so many times in the next six years that both my son and I got sick of the place. I always took him out of school and we would tour more places we had not seen yet on days before and after my work. One year I went four times for conferences; most years I went at least twice.

The Navy paid much more than $100 a night each and every time.

My post is for the #freewrite daily challenge by @mariannewest. Freewrite is a great way to post on steemit when you do not think you have the time, or talent, or anything to say. It’s a great way to start regular posting on steemit. I know you can do this too! Here is Marianne’s freewrite prompt post for today. Give it a try and surprise yourself.

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