Home to Davenport, IA

I traveled to Davenport, IA, yesterday on my way to Wyoming for the Literature and Landscape writers’ retreat. Davenport is the home of John Deere, the tractor mogul who developed a steel-bottomed plow back in the 1800s. Davenport, for me, brings images of my German grandmother’s white-leather living room sofa, which she called a davenport.

The weather was overcast and warm when I left Pennsylvania, but by the time I hit the first service plaza in Indiana, it was rainy and 60 degrees.

I was excited to get past Chicago, because that meant I was in new country. I’ve never been past Chicago in the north. Last year, when I drove Route 66 cross country, I headed south from Chicago. It doesn’t take long to get into terrain that qualifies as “wide-open spaces.” Where I come from, if it’s not buildings that swaddle you, it’s trees, so seeing for miles is only possible if you look out at Lake Erie, and then you only see water, so the effect is not the same.

Whenever I do long road trips, I book my hotel one day in advance. So I have to figure out, realistically, how far I can get the next day. I don’t want to estimate too little or too much, because I want to be both efficient and safe.

When looking for a hotel along the way, it’s often difficult to tell whether a hotel is in a safe location or not. Hotels that are close to the Interstate will generally not be located in the ‘hood, so they’re a pretty good bet. But how do you know whether the hotel is a dive in which you won’t get a wink of sleep or a haven in which you can recharge for the next day’s drive?

I use a combination of MapQuest and Hotels.com, but don’t usually use Hotels.com to book the room since they add a 5% service charge.

MapQuest charts your route and also lets you identify hotels, restaurants, and other points along the way. I use that feature to find hotels that are located close to my destination goal for the next day. Then I go to Hotels.com and check out prices AND reviews. The other night, I was almost ready to book a hotel until I read reviews about dysfunctional bathrooms and roaming drunks. On this trip, I’m trying not to stay in stale cigarette smoke, 30-year-old carpet establishments, but I’m also trying to keep my costs down.

Since I’m a germ-phoebe, hate bugs, and have allergies, what might be passable for normal people will only cause me trauma. Last year on my Route 66 trip, I roughed it for the first three nights in $50 per night hotels. The odor of mold, sight of black mold in tubs, and dried up bugs in corners of the room finally got to me. I went out and bought Lysol spray, wipes, and whatever else I could think of to get through the night in my pre-paid room. I spent the rest of the 19-day trip in my favorite Hyatt properties and was very happy—until I reviewed my total trip costs when I got home.

So, I needed to find a happy medium for this trip. I had stayed in a Best Western on my last trip and it was one of the losers, but there was one in Davenport, IA, my destination that looked pretty good. The AAA rate was $84.99 and it had recently been renovated, winning a Quad-Cities award. As I got closer, I wasn’t looking forward to checking in. The “recline” feature on my drivers-side seat was looking more inviting.

Now, I’m not a snob. Just neurotic. Professionally, I’ve stayed in more hotels that I could never afford than I can count. You get used to that. Then you remember that someone else was paying for that. Whenever I was headed to a conference held at a hotel where the rooms went for less than $200 per night, I felt I was slumming.

Good news! If you ever find yourself in Davenport, IA, check out the Best Western Steeplegate Inn. While not the Fairmont in Santa Monica, it’s damn wonderful for $84.99. My room could easily rival rooms in Hyatt properties. There’s no hotel-room smell, the furniture is dark and rich and the bedding is fresh. The hotel has a clean indoor pool, hot tub, and fitness center.

This Best Western has a restaurant and a bar also. Last night was Cantina Taco Buffet night in the bar with $2 pints and $2 wells (whatever they are), which sounded all too inviting, but if I had gone there, I probably wouldn’t make it to my next destination today. So, I opted for the restaurant and a diet coke. The special was a sliced-sirloin sandwich with peppers, onions, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese accompanied by steak fries. The menu was expansive and I knew I should eat some vegetables, so somehow I convinced myself that I’d be getting some on that sandwich. I’m usually wary of sliced steak sandwiches because I imagine that they consist of meat they made the night before, but tried not to think about that. I was the only one in the restaurant and so figured that the food would be both old and taste of cardboard. It wasn’t. I can’t attest to the meat timeline, but the fries were still sizzling when they got to me. The sandwich was tasty and the bread was some croissant-ish type variety. I’d like to make something like it at home. The steak was tossed in A-1 sauce, which I figured would be disgusting, but actually was not overpowering. The meal didn’t fit into anyone’s imagination of heart-healthy food, but it was comforting and I restrained myself from ordering a piece of chocolate cream pie in the end.

So, now I’m ready to start my day and can’t wait to see what’s on the free hot breakfast buffet this morning!

Wyoming Trip 2009

Home to Davenport, IA (May 29, 2009)

Davenport, IA to Ogallala, NE (May 30, 2009)

Literature and Landscape Writers’ Retreat (May 30, 2009)

“Lollipop” (June 1, 2009)

Pictures (June 2, 2009)