Day 8: Women Road Warriors from Indy Do Battle in Tulsa

Well, by now you know about the flat tire, but let me tell you about the adventure that goes with it...and continues. To preface:
1. Our maps and EZ 66 Travel Guide are in the car...which is at the tire place. All my great little notes are on the guide.
2. Somewhere in the back of Baby was some fudge. I'm sure by now we have fudge sludge in the back of Baby. Dwayne, you are going to have your work cut out for you when we get home.
3. We were hoping to make up some time yesterday, so didn't get the Flat Boys out of the car for photo opps. Didn't plan on stopping much.

So now, on with the story.

When we noticed that the tire was flat, we pulled into a QuickTrip convenience store/gas station. Once we discovered that air wouldn't stay in the tire, I whipped out my trusty AAA card and asked Officer Leddbetter if he wanted to be our Knight in Shining Armor. Fortunately, he was up for it, and made the call to AAA himself.

Now, things get jiggy, and I'm going to do a bit of venting. You may want to just skip on down to the next paragraph or two.

Once the car situation was under control, I pulled out our Fairfield Travel Directory to get us a room. Officer Leddbetter told us we might have a problem as the PGA was in Tulsa, and the town was pretty full. We have been staying in Fairfields for the majority of the trip and have been very pleased with the accommodations and staff at each one. So, no problem, right? WRONG!
1. The room rates here are triple to what we have been paying....PGA
2. They would not give us the AAA discount...PGA
3. Our car probably won't be finished by the 12:00 check-out time and we can't stay another evening...PGA.
4. The address in the guide for this specific facility says 3214 SW. 79th St., but after going to the Fairfield on 79th (thanks James. I've never had such a party riding in a tow truck before!) we found out that this facility isn't really there. We, of course went to 2 other Fairfields to find this out.
5. Needless to say, I ran out of good humor by the time we found the correct place and let the desk clerk that raising room rates for stupid golfers was nothing more than price gouging, and I'd let somebody's Attorney General know how unhappy I was. Well, it sounded good at the time.

On our way out to dinner, I sincerely apologized to Denise, and thanked her for letting me act like a raving mad woman. She was great, but I still think this whole "sucks to be you" attitude just...well...SUCKS!

I gotta tell you though, "it's an ill wind that blows no good" and we did have a great time. Here's a mental image for you...James, Hazel, Penny, luggage and laptop in the cab of an AAA flat bed tow truck! James turned a bad situation into a really great memory. He's about the funniest guy I've met and truly represented the folks in Tulsa at their best.

Then we met Garret at Ruby Tuesdays and discovered that he paid more for his room at Comfort Inn that we did here. AND, he doesn't have a desk or even a chair! Just a bed. Garrett is the Field Service Manager for APC Global (hope I got that right), and after listening to Hazel and I chatter for awhile, he introduced himself and we had a lovely time solving the problems of the world over Mojitos and Buds! Mrs. Nunemaker, your husband is a great guy, and has certainly made this rough spot in the road much more pleasant. Congratulations on the upcoming birth of your new little boy!

During the whole "so, what do you do" conversation, Hazel explained BNI. The Road Warrior networking techniques are in full swing! Garret is looking for HVAC and ACE Power People in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Baton Rouge (Tim Paulin, you will be getting a call), so we'll make some calls for him, and help him out.

Woo Hoo!!! We caught the Italians!!!! sort of. As we were entertaining the bar patrons, a group stepped up to order drinks, and I noticed the accent. Trying to be a gracious representative of the US (OK, I was on my 2nd Mojito), I smiled my best Indiana smile and asked the really hot young man, "Are you the Italians?" I love that look you get when your listener doesn't really understand what the heck you are talking about. In his wonderful accent, he replied that yes, he was Italian and did I know him?

Why yes, sort of, I replied. You could tell he was searching his mental database to try to remember me, so I had to explain that we have seen their names in the guest books at several of the stops we have made. It was also our goal yesterday to "catch the Italians." Poor guy, I'm pretty sure he doesn't have clue what I was talking about, but he was very polite and gave me a hug anyway.

Well, it's getting close to check-out time so I need to put things together and go hang out in the lobby until the car is ready.

~Penny
Woman Road Warrior