spring break

Trump Tower: Good Start, Bad Ending

June 26, 2009 by Shelli

NOTE: This may look like a rant, smell like a rant and seem like a rant. But it’s not a rant. But it could be… and that’s the point of this post.

Our family went on a 2,200-mile road trip adventure over our Spring Break last April that involved camping and touring 6 states in 7 days. (See posts here: Spring Break 1, Spring Break Post 2, Spring Break Post 3, Spring Break Post 4, Spring Break Post 5, Spring Break Post 6, Spring Break Post 7, Spring Break Post 8, and Spring Break Post 9.

Our three young sons: Dirty, riled up and tired from roughing it for 6 days. Destination? 5-star luxury resort in Las Vegas. — Our three young sons: Dirty, riled up & tired from "roughing it" for 6 days.

We “roughed it,” camping along the way. Las Vegas was our last stop before returning back to Lander, WY. It would be the first real civilization since our trip started. We thought we’d treat the boys to the opposite extreme. So before our trip started, we splurged. On Priceline, we were able to get a night at the 5-star, 1-year-old Trump Tower in Vegas for $90.

Our three boys in front of Trump Tower... OR... Our country bumpkin sons have arrived.

Arriving with 6 days worth of red dirt and grime on our bodies and in our orifices, Trump Tower was exactly what the doctor ordered. And well deserved, I might add. We had hiked hard and the boys never complained. We were in need of some special treatment, a hot shower, good meal and a swimming pool.

It was exquisite. Robes for the entire family, and a huge outdoor swimming pool. The boys were in heaven and we felt we had arrived.

Hayden and Wolfie posing in front of some famous person's ride. (Every time they saw a stretch they were certain it was Miley Cyrus or Zac Efron!)

The stay was a perfect end to a perfect Spring Break family adventure.

Until, that is, we went to check out. There was a single person attending to all checkouts and there were about 25 people in line waiting to check out. We stood in line for 35 minutes.

The boys, who had watched The Apprentice with us a couple of years earlier, remarked “When Donald Trump finds out about this, that person at the counter will be so fired.”

We were angry, though. I wanted my 35 minutes back. That was 35 minutes of sightseeing we couldn’t get back and 35 minutes of road that remained in front of us instead of behind us.

We left, disgruntled. Which is a shame given the stay was absolutely wonderful.

About halfway back home, I was checking email on my Blackberry Storm and there was one with the subject line: “The Donald Thanks You for Staying at Trump Tower.” I showed the boys. Although I knew this was just good marketing, they thought it was awesome and special that The Donald would personally send a note to us.

Of course I know it as email marketing, but it's the fact our boys thought Donald Trump really wrote us a personal note within hours of checking out of Trump Tower that makes it great.

As a result of the aforementioned, I decided to give the Trump Tower a pass. But most wouldn’t. We had a perfect stay and then had to go through the painful activity of waiting in a long line for 35 minutes. Given today’s technology and the fact it was a 5-star luxury resort, no one should have to wait in line for 35 minutes to check out of a hotel.

In today’s social media landscape, many customers would rant about it on TripAdvisor and Yelp, their blogs and Twitter, etc. (Again, donâ€™t view this as a rant as much as an example of something that started out great but ended poorly. I will not be posting a negative review to TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc.)

The moral of the story is respect people’s time and apologize if you’re going to waste it. As we waiting in that long line, sitting on our suitcases, a simple apology by someone would have gone a long ways. Not an apology once we arrived at the counter, after 35 minutes, but during the long wait. A simple “I’m so sorry about the inconvenience and the long line” would have probably resolved my frustration a great deal. And it wouldnâ€™t have cost the business or staff anything to do that.

A Snowy Spring Break

April 5, 2009 by Shelli

Well, our grand plans for a “Spring” Spring Break vacation were dampened right from the start.

Our family’s plan was to go on a major road trip and camping adventure that would take us through 6 states in 7 days. Most of that would be in warmer, desert climes. Our destination was Grand Canyon, but this was a trip where truly the journey would be the trip.

But boy, was it ever not shaping up that way. It was looking like we may not even get on the road.

We barely got out of dodge (Lander, WY) on Friday late afternoon after Jerry, a teacher, and our boys got out of school. We left in a blizzard in hopes of covering at least half of our original Day 1 miles so that we might just make it to the yurt in Ridgway State Park on April 3, which would mark the official start of our adventure.

It took us 7 hours to travel 250 miles but finally we made it safe and sound to Craig, Colorado. Finally! Our ears were ringing with Are we there yet??

Needless to say we were all at wits end by the time we got there. It had been white knuckle winter driving conditions for Jerry, and we survived largely thanks to Apple (iPods) and a bottle. (No, not that kind of bottle, although it would have come in handy. : > I’m referring to a bottle of milk for our 2-year-old)

Arriving at the Best Western Deer Park Inn hit the spot. It’s a nice, clean hotel with a pool and free wireless. You can tell the owners take a lot of pride. Management was out helping people clear the snow off their cars in the morning.

We arose and traveled south to Ridgway State Park located about 28 miles south of Montrose, CO, where our first “yurt” experience awaited us.

It was awesome! Nestled in some pine trees and covered in snow was our warm, cozy and very affordable retreat from the winter conditions.

Inside was a gas stove, bunk beds and two king fold-out futon-type beds, a table and chairs, microwave and refrigerator. In addition, outside was our own picnic table, bench, fire pit and grill.

The boys had fun playing games and on the bunk beds, while Jerry cooked dinner outside in the falling snow and I curled up by the stove to start some leisure reading on the Kindle. (Pillars of the Earth, a 960-page treasure I was hoping to put a good dent in on the trip)

Night came and we all slept like babies as winter put a hush on our surroundings. We woke up to about 6 inches of fresh snow and headed south.

Here’s a clip of what the yurt looked like:

Next up: Mesa Verde National Park.

Grand Canyon or Bust: 6 states in 7 days

April 1, 2009 by Shelli

We are getting ready for quite a spring break adventure.
On April 4, our family will set out in our car, with tent and camping supplies in tow, to travel through parts of 6 states in 7 days.
It’s Grand Canyon or Bust. Or, perhaps The Wyoming Griswolds’ 6-State Roadtrip.

View Larger Map

Sure, Grand Canyon is our “destination”, but no question, the journey will be the trip.

We’re traveling south from our hometown of Lander, WY, to Baggs, WY, to Craig, Grand Junction and Montrose, CO, ending Day 1 in a yurt at Ridgway State Park in southwestern Colorado. Lovers of national parks, we’ll make a quick side trip to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

Day 2 will be the Million Dollar Highway to Durango. For the record we were going to bring our camper, but after my husband, Jerry, researched the Million Dollar Highway, our plan to camp in comfort was swiftly tossed out. (The scenic byway better be worth it!) He had what we think was an anxiety attack when we traveled Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park last fall. Despite his experience at climbing to top of 13,000-foot-high mountain peaks, driving above treeline makes him uncomfortable.

Day 2 will be exploring the ancient cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park. We’ll spend our second night in another yurt at Mancos State Park.

Day 3 will mark Jerry’s birthday, so as a present, we’ll find a shower hopefully in Cortez, NM, before we head to “Four Corners”, where we have to travel for purposes of standing where the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado connect.

Then, we’ll point our vehicle to Utah’s Goosenecks State Park, Monument Valley and to the South Rim of Grand Canyon where our true “camping” adventure starts.

We’ll meet up with my parents on our third evening, who are renting an RV for the first time.

On April 7, “mommom and poppop” will head to Flagstaff, etc., to explore and be tourists with our three sons while Jerry and I do the monster hike… down South Kaibab Trail starting at 6am, stop in at Phantom Ranch for brief Snickers indulgence, then return via Bright Angel Trail. Should be a 10- to 12-hour hike for us and we can’t wait. We did it once before in 1999 but that was before we had kids and I had all my media capture gadgets and a blog to post them to. This will be part of what we are calling our We Can Still Do This Tour.
funnycar
Day 5 will be a blast. We’ll go to Williams, AZ, and watch an Old West gun fight reenactment before boarding the Grand Canyon Railway to the South Rim. Living history, interpretation and great scenery are promised during the adventure. After 2 hours, we’ll be dropped off at the South Rim to spend 3 hours on our own touring and taking shuttles to all the “grand” overlooks before riding the train back “in higher style.”

On Day 6 we’ll head West with our sights on the Historic Route 66 and Hoover Dam, before surprising our young sons with a night at Trump Tower, complete with huge swimming pool and near the circus circus festivities. (This is where we change the name of the trip to “From Rock Towers to a Trump Tower”, or from many stars to (just) five stars.)

Day 7 we’ll head to Salt Lake City, one of our favorite cities in search of another great campsite, before heading home just in time for the traditional Easter Egg hunt at my parents.