Day 152 – The Greedy and the Kind

Previously I’ve never had any problems w/the hotels I’ve stayed at as far as leaving my luggage there after I check out and go a ballgame that afternoon/evening. However, this morning while at breakfast I checked w/the employee at the front desk to confirm that it would be ok. They said they wouldn’t do it unless it was only for an hr or two. That did me no good since it was a night game so I wouldn’t be back possibly until midnight. They gave me two other choices I could leave my luggage in the laundry room, but of course there is no lock on the room or they would give me a discount on a room. I pleaded my case as best I could but knew I wasn’t getting anywhere when she started referencing the fact they charge you to park downtown to defend her point and only large hotels can store your luggage (which as I have experienced is completely untrue). My issue wasn’t paying to leave my bags, I would have had no problem paying a fee for it just not the same cost as a room. All they need to do is place it in a corner in their office, is that so much to ask.

Once I realized I wasn’t getting anywhere I tried phoning a couple places to see if they had locker storage, including Tropicana Field but none was available. Since that came up empty I decided to just try some of the other hotels near me and see what they would charge me to just store my stuff there. Most of them said they either didn’t do that or you had to be a guest of the hotel. On about the 8th hotel I found a generous employee who said they usually only do it for hotel guests but she would make an exception for me (and it wouldn’t even cost me anything). By that point it was probably around 10:45 or 10:50 so I was getting pretty frustrated and worried about what I would do w/my bags since I was supposed to be checked out by 11. So maybe she saw it on my face or maybe she is just a kind person, but it certainly was appreciated and gave me a sense of relief.

After my whole luggage ordeal was settled, I headed downtown and towards the bay. I spent the day just walking by the water, enjoying the view. I walked around The Pier and had lunch there. I was mostly just staying out in the fresh air and trying to find shade where I could. In my rush to find someplace to store my luggage I forgot to put on sunscreen this morning and as a result ended up w/a fairly bad burn on one side of my neck.

After the game I went back to pick up my stuff from the other hotel. There was a 24 hr diner nearby that I had spotted earlier and was saving for tonight’s supper. As a bonus they even had wireless internet access so I just put in some time working on my laptop in the diner until the shuttle to the airport arrived.