???ville, Iowa

I have never used Hotwire to book hotels until this trip. Being the ever frugal gal, I opted for 2 and 2 1/2 star hotels. Not a super idea. When I arrived at the Days Inn ?ville, Iowa, non-smoking rooms weren't available. The manager had caught this error prior to my arrival and booked a non-smoking room at Super 8. When the Days Inn clerk showed me the smoking room and was out of earshot of the manager, she encouraged me to take the Super 8 because I would be happier.

I did. The room was clean and sparse. I unloaded and prepped for bed. After reading until an unreasonable hour of the night, I turned out the light. 15 minutes into my slumber I jumped awake to pounding and playful screaming above me. Hmmm! I've been here before at Sagebrook Apts. in Colorado Springs. The "playfulness" ceased about 2 AM.

Next morning check out took a bit of finagaling since the Super 8 day clerk could not fathom why I was leaving without paying. After a couple of phone calls I was "released."

28 minutes into my drive, I realized that I was without my camera and CDs. A quick call to the motel affirmed my guess. Traveling back to the inviting hotel, I calculated that another hour of driving would make for a long day. While waiting for the desk clerk to surface, I observed girls and women exiting the hotel and loading onto a chartered bus. They were all wearing St. Louis Slam shirts. "Lots of chaperones for this trip," I thought. A couple of 20 somethings cut in front of me at the desk. I politely asked if they were going to a tournament and was promptly told they had a football game that day. My night of entertainment was offered by a team of women football players. They were ready to play! They had the muscles and tatoos to prove it.