My Trip to Toccoa, Georgia

Just got back from a three-day trip to Toccoa, Georgia, located in extreme Northeast Georgia. The town has a small-town charm that dates back to the 1950s (think Mayberry); the architecture of the various buildings in the downtown area are still in use with various shops and cafes. It was a nice place to visit, but I was glad to come back to south Georgia.

The housekeeper at our hotel was very pleasant; I wish more of them at other hotels I've stayed at were as friendly and helpful.

Instead of driving straight back home, we drove to Helen for the annual Oktoberfest and then to Cleveland to Babyland General Hospital, home of the original Cabbage Patch Babies. You can view the pictures here.

I like weekend road trips, and I've stayed at a lot of hotels/motels. There are some things I like and some things I dislike when I stay in a commercial lodging establishment.

When I stay in a hotel/motel, I like:

(1) Friendly, helpful service by staff members who don't mind answering any questions I have, however redundant they may appear to them,

(2) Decent amenities like refrigerator, microwave oven, cable television with more than a few channels, internet access, and decent air conditioning (I get overheated easily),

(3) Freebies like local telephone service, shampoo, soap, coffee, and ice.

(4) Breakfast buffets (would prefer free but will settle for reasonably priced).


When I stay in a hotel/motel, I dislike:

(1) Hard beds. I'm used to sleeping on a full-flotation waterbed, so I take an air mattress to place on top of the bed. It's the only way I can get a decent night's sleep without straining my back to the point of immobility.

(2) Water restrictors in the shower heads. I agree that we need to conserve water, but some places I've stayed in restrict the shower flow so much that you never feel completely rinsed off no matter how long you stay in the shower.

(3) Misrepresentation of amenities, services, or other perks the hotel/motel offers. For example, if an establishment offers free breakfast for each overnight stay, the owners/managers should specify what is meant by free breakfast. The customer may assume breakfast buffet when only cereal and milk is offered. Another example would be to offer cable television service, but only a few channels are available. It may seem minute and trivial to some, but little things like that can make the (potential) customer stay elsewhere in the future.

Overall, it was a good trip. My vacation will last until Tuesday the 14th when I must return to work. It's been 18 months since I took a week off for vacation. It's been nice :-)