Nebraska/Iowa Trip

It was time for our annual trek to Iowa - and since Patty and I were taking a mini-trip, Glenn decided he would haul his boat back and take his boys fishing up in South Dakota!  So since he was already hauling the boat, he decided he wanted to stop at Lake McConaughy in NE to do some fishing!

I looked online for a place to stay - the choices were not great!  Two of the places had 1star reviews so I wouldn't even consider them (keep in mind these are mostly fishing cabins that don't cater to us that would like a little bit of luxury!)  And Glenn wanted it to be close to a place where he could put the boat in!  I finally had it down to two places but one didn't have a website so with no pictures to go by, I chose the other one!!  My mistake..............

The place I chose had wi-fi (the other one didn't) which was a plus for me - but on the website it said they charged for early check in!  REALLY????  Who does that?????  I called the day before to let them know we WOULD be checking in early because Glenn wanted to fish and I wasn't about to sit outside my room for a couple of hours with all the stuff until check in time of 2:00!  The lady assured me there was a "common" area I could wait but she would see about NOT charging us the fee!

We arrived - pulled in and could not see the motel, just a sign that pointed one way and the office another way which was their house!  There was also a blue and white structure kind of on the hill which we couldn't figure out?   So we walk to the office/house and there are 2 dogs barking their heads off at the screen door and the guy inside says to wait until he puts the dogs away.  Fine by me - I'm not that fond of dogs!  We go in and the guy tells us that one of the dog bites so to be careful when we're outside as the dog will come up behind you and bite your leg - so keep a rock in your hand and turn around and pretend to throw the rock!!!  OK!!  He then proceeds to tell me the amount and assures me there IS a $9 charge for checking in early - the lady I talked to was no where to be found so I just paid it.  It wasn't about the money - it was the principle of the thing!!!

Anyway, the white/blue building is the "common" area and that's where the wi-fi is!!  I said you mean there's no wifi in the rooms - yup, that's right!!!  Definitely misleading on the website!!

We can see the motel over to the backside of the property now - and out front is very nice - a huge brick patio with tables, chairs, firepits, etc.   And the 10 or 12 rooms are all hooked together motel style!  As much as we liked the patio area, the room wasn't near as nice!   It was clean, but it just didn't FEEL clean - I wore my socks on the carpet if that tells you anything!  We unloaded (we had a kitchenette so we could cook breakfast as the restaurant a mile away didn't open till 8 and Glenn always heads out early) and Glenn headed out.

I walked over to the rec room and went in - reminded me of a party room back in the 70's!!!  Old couches and chairs, pool table, kitchen area but no food or ice, and music blaring out of large speakers!  I looked back at the glass door and there is one of the dogs glaring at me, I'm sure just waiting for me to come out so he can bite my leg!!  At least the password for the wi-fi worked and I checked my mail and such and waited around because the darn dog is still there!!!  FINALLY he leaves and I race out and walk down to the room!

One of the things I didn't like about the room were the bedspreads - those polyester type ones (there were 2 double beds) with 2 pillow shams and 4 small pillows on EACH BED!!  With only ONE place to set your bag, you know those pillows always get put on the floor - yikes!!!  12 pillows we had to find a place for!!

I had brought water but had no ice so asked the cleaning lady where the ice machine was when she walked by - oh, no ice machine - the convenience store is 1/2 mile away and you can buy it there.  Great - I have no transportation!!   And I don't generally carry ice cube trays in my luggage!

I went to shower and wash my hair late afternoon before Glenn came back as I knew we would go out to eat - NO SHAMPOO!!!  I don't generally carry shampoo either in my bag as hotels and homes where we stay always have it!  Luckily I had thrown a small shampoo in Glenn's bag for when he went fishing in So. Dakota but it was in the truck so had to wait till he got home!

No luck fishing - we headed down to Otter Creek to eat as the reviews said the food was great and it was!!!  No complaints there at all!!  Glenn asked the waitress if we could see a kitchenette room in their motel and she said sure so we walked to them after we ate.  Let's just say that after I saw that room, maybe I DID make the right choice!!

I decided to lay out Glenn's things for cooking the next morning - good thing I did as there were mice tracks on the dishes and skillet - so I washed EVERYTHING he needed to use!  

Even though the walls were paper thin, we slept pretty good as there were only a couple sets of fishermen staying there - until the next day!  I went for a walk in the morning and luckily no dog was around and sat outside by the fire pit for awhile which was nice.  The owner came over with BOTH dogs and I asked him which one bit and he said it was the little one!  So at least I knew..............

Early that afternoon after all that nice quiet time, about 30 people arrived and took over the entire patio area!!  Families with kids and babies - probably a mini reunion!!  I stayed inside the rest of the day!

We ate at the same place that evening and their broasted chicken was excellent!!!  We figured we might have trouble sleeping that night as they were all partying right outside the door on the patio BUT about 9:00 it started raining so the party was over!!

I wasn't sad to leave that place!  And I KNOW I will never stay there again!!  There are no pictures because I didn't want to be reminded - but it sure makes for a good story!!  And just in case you're interested, the place is for sale!!