Puttin’ on a Show at our Airbnb?

Our Summer Vacation – Night 4

When the day starts off with news that a friend has unexpectedly passed away, the odds are pretty good the day has to get better from there.

It did, but it took awhile.

We had 500+ miles to travel to reach our destination.  Traffic was heavy and the weather was uncertain.  It varied between overcast and rain so heavy it was like driving in a car wash.  When the cold rain hit the hot pavement it produced clouds of steam on the interstate that had some drivers stopping in the breakdown lane.

Near Daytona Beach rain pelted our windshield and we decided to stop for lunch.  I missed the exit for Cracker Barrel and ended up at McDonald’s.  Things were tense.  I attributed the missed exit to my navigator.  My navigator disagreed with that assessment.  It was, as the wise King Solomon would advise, “a time to keep silence”.

As we neared our destination, we began to ponder where to stay.  Our first attempt at Airbnb had been a success. Why not try it again?

My wife took to the internet.  “Here is a place in Deerfield Beach that is ‘steps from the beach'”, she said.

The reviews were good.  We booked it.  We have learned there is a big difference between “Ocean-front” and “Ocean-view”.  “Step’s from the beach” turned out to be about a half-block.  We were happy.

Our “Steps from the Beach” room for the night included free parking – not always a given these days.

Any time we spend the night on the road, my wife checks things out carefully.  Security, cleanliness and bedbugs are at the top of her checklist.  On this trip, a new concern popped up.

In the bathroom was a locked door.  In the door was a small hole.

“Do you suppose there’s a camera in there?” my wife asked.  “They could be taking videos of people in the shower!”  That seemed preposterous to me.  Not to my wife.  She stuffed tissue paper in the hole.

On the news the next morning was a story about an Airbnb host who had been caught with a hidden camera positioned toward the bed in his rental unit.

There was enough time and daylight left after we unloaded the car to walk to the beach.  A light rain was falling.  We didn’t care. The clouds parted and the sun broke through.   

A day that started with bad news ended with a beautiful sunset and a cup of frozen custard.

Life goes on.

Hopefully without bedbugs for our sake.

And without pictures of me in the shower popping up on the internet for the sake of humanity.