I pulled into Annapolis just as the sun was setting.  It was Saturday evening and the town was jumping despite a steady drizzle and clutching damp.  The Naval Academy’s football team had triumphed within the previous hours.  Before making it to the old city I stopped near the stadium and some lingering fans told me it was a great game.  They looked wet but very happy.

 

I worked late Saturday filling for Bill Rogers and then drove to Maryland straight from the office at 3:00 P.M.  My daughter was planning to go shopping with me when I arrived but a cousin called to say she had gone to The National Zoo with a gaggle of uncles and other cousins.  So I stopped to grab some dinner before crossing the Chesapeake.  And I realized the football crowd had probably booked most of the hotels on the western side of the bay and with all of these relatives crowding into Annapolis I could well find there wouldn’t be a couch for sleeping.  A small motel not far from where I dined still had a few empty rooms.  The clerk explained one wing was being renovated and told me if I didn’t book space I could be camping in the car.  And the front desk was closing at 9:00 P.M.  I knew I wouldn’t be back until much later.  I paid and was given the key in exchange.  As I was crossing the Bay Bridge heaven shed all the rain we’ve missed the last two years.  Or so it seemed.  When I looked for a parking space by the harbor I was surprised to find several near the water. 

 

Why so many spaces?  Ankle deep water was washing over the break wall.  I know it was ankle deep because I personally made a measurement. 

 

I then stood with soggy feet on the street by Steven’s Hardware, a golf umbrella tugging at my right arm and juggling some bottles of wine on the left, which were being presented as gifts to Alaine Marie’s grandfather and an uncle.  A car arrived and out scrambled my daughter and I unloaded the wine on the cousin behind the wheel.  The next several hours were spent marching up and down State Capitol Hill, loading shopping bags and dodging passing rain showers.  I should note the showers would become rare before the weekend ended.

 

My once little girl was visiting the region as a great-uncle was celebrating a birthday.  Members of her mother’s extended family were visiting from as far away as Colorado.  These aren’t my people but I got an invitation because my daughter’s mother wasn’t a member of the delegation.  I had no plans to drive Alaine back across the bridge to a strange motel with me and I left her at an aunt’s house by the Severn River with the promise of returning for breakfast.  And I drove alone across the bridge heading east.  At the motel it was dark and I fumbled for keys and finally unlocked the room. 

 

Inside it was apparent Halloween arrived early.  There were small strips of wallpaper missing along the walls.  The light over the writing table had no globe or shade.  The writing table wasn’t affixed to its pedestal.  The writing table had been sanded but not refinished.  Much the same with the nightstand and dresser.  The carpet was badly stained.  The tub was badly stained.  The tub cover had been patched.  There were no towels.  The television offered cable but the Notre Dame game and World Series appeared to be taking place in snowstorms.  I slept fully clothed atop the covers on the bed.  I didn’t dare raise them.  At 6:00 A.M. I rose fitfully and couldn’t get back to sleep.  After a drive to the local Safeway I fetched a disposable camera and took it back to the room and photographed the damage.  Even the fist sized hole in the bathroom door. 

 

At checkout the clerk asked me how I slept.  “Not very well” I replied.  “It’s the most filthy, vile and disgusting place I ever stayed”.  Many, many years ago I was in the hotel business.  So when I spoke I did it politely and didn’t swear.  It does though take some well-managed control.  The clerk was appalled.  She explained the cleaning woman doesn’t speak English and hadn’t offered the room was in disarray.  The clerk didn’t know because recently in a car accident she can’t walk the grounds.  When I explained my photographs she refunded my money.  She fears poor reviews could put struggling new owners out of business.  I’m also told I’ve a night’s free stay in the future.  This I’ll likely decline. 

 

After thanks but no thanks I drove away and headed west on Route 50.  The sun blazing in the cloudless sky behind me and I spent another day shopping with my once little girl.  Perhaps the metaphor for this closing weekend is the rain and dampness Saturday and the lack of towels for showering Sunday morning but then I certainly had no plans to step into the filthy tub.  Sunday dawned clear, the Navy football fans are still aglow and on a breezy Sunday on the streets of Annapolis it isn’t likely anyone noticed I hadn’t showered since 6:00 A.M. Saturday. 

 

Have happy days returned?  Well, I can’t make any guarantees.  November Fourth approaches with clouds and the threat of four years of dampness, however.  We do know that some Midshipmen are victorious. 

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