The Things I Bring

    Reed and I have been traveling together for a long time, mostly on work related trips where the hotel stays tend to be longer--one, two, even three weeks, like this one. Thankfully, though I told Reed if I could travel with him, he did not need to worry about feeding me, most of the hotels we stay in offer a free breakfast. Sometimes I contemplate how things have changed over the years through the lens of what I bring with me when I head to the breakfast room.

In my 40's--room key, pen to do crossword puzzles in the free lobby                          newspapers

          50's--room key, reading glasses, cellphone, pen for crosswords

          60's--room key, bifocals, smartphone, no pen  Newspapers are no longer offered, assuming everyone gets their news online. (Crossword puzzles on a cell phone?)

 

    Of course, Covid changed hotel stays far more than my age, vision, or smart phone. Breakfast rooms sat empty except for a pile of paper bags with granola bars, yogurt, etc. in them. Fortunately, hotel breakfasts are back to many options, which somehow still seem boring after the first week. Housekeeping at many hotels went from daily to do-it-yourself. That has since been upgraded to sporadic. The computers I used until I had my own laptop were removed from hotel business centers because of Covid. Some of them must have died of it because they never found their way back. Overzealous hotels even removed hairdryers temporarily, though everything but the air coming out of them could easily be wiped down with sanitizer. Covid gave service industries a great incentive not to serve and the down the line, downgrade diagnosis is long Covid. And though employees are no longer getting paid to stay home, the idea that filling your shift is optional was too popular a benefit for the lazy to let go of. 

    On this particular trip, a new essential for going to the lobby is my high top tennies, known as kicks to the younger crowd (who aren't wearing them for ankle support, like I am). Sporting kicks does not make me feel younger, more like the Beach Boys "Little Old Lady from Pasadena," Go granny, go granny, go granny, go! On a positive note, kicks are less cumbersome than the cane I used to need for travel after my knee replacements.

     I have savored every work trip, especially those we have taken as Reed nears retirement, knowing each could be our last. Although I have heard that retired people actually have more time to travel, Reed has not adjusted to the concept of paying all expenses ourselves. But the best trip of our lives is still ahead of us, it will be our last, is all expense paid, and I don't need to bring a thing.