Motel Hell and a Great Steak...

This past Thursday I traveled to Wichita Falls, Tx for yet another funeral. All the reputable hotels in WF were booked. So finally we found the Econo Lodge. The Econo Lodge makes the Motel 6 look like the Ritz Carlton. We were tired and just decided to settle. After all it was just one night. We had a box of wine (I know that is soooo wrong but I din’t bring it and it travels easy) so we didn’t care at this point. I knew this was going to be bad when the key cards they gave us were actually coupons for Pizza Hut. We drove over to the room to find it was on a corner-that is always a plus. We use our Pizza Hut keys and walked in. The room was about the same temperature inside as it was outside-34 degrees with a wind chill of 14. I immediately turn on the heater. The room itself was like any standard hotel room. Table and two chairs, two full sized beds, a dresser, TV, small fridge, and bathroom. The color scheme was blue and burgundy. The patterned wallpaper resembled that of an old western whore house. The bed pillows were as flat as a pancake. I knew I would not be sleeping on 350 count Egyptian Cotton sheets so I sucked it up. The bed spread was also a blue and burgundy with a paisley swirl. I was secretly hoping that the bed would vibrate but no suck luck. So we settled in and decided to head out for dinner at McBride’s Land and Cattle-an institution of Wichita Falls. The restaurant was so warm, fireplace roaring. We were seated by a lovely buxom youngin hostess. We both ordered the petite sirloin medium rare. I had a Caesar. OMG is was the best Caesar ever. Then the steak came. Perfect choice of meat wrapped in bacon, a baked potato cooked to perfection. After asking for extra butter for my potato I loaded it full of cheese, bacon bits, and chives. I also ordered the house red which was sooo good and smooth and served at the correct temperature. The steak was so tender. I ate every bite and cleaned my plate. The bill was a pleasant surprise. A meal like this in Dallas would have been at least $50-75. Not in Wichita Falls. The meal was $14 each. The wine was 3.95 and we had 3 glasses between us. Total bill: $40. Can’t beat that! Then we braved the cold and went back to that motel. We had more wine and chatted. I was surprised to find that there was free wi-fi. Then off to bed. Around 3:30am we woke up to the yelling of a woman next door. She was saying “I am NOT YOU FUCKING WHORE.” She repeated this several times and then continued to laugh until about 4:15am. It didn’t matter. I did not get any sleep anyway with the thought of bed bugs and the lack of neck support due to a flat pillow. That morning we decided to head over and partake in the free breakfast. We dressed for a funeral mind you. We walk in and everyone turns around. We grab a donut and a diet coke, turned in our Pizza Hut keys and left immediately. For 45 dollars, the Econo Lodge is exactly what you would expect for that price. I am just glad to be back in my own bed.