Roanoke

 Destination Roanoke...

For my first day on the road I drove up to Roanoke... I have been there many times on business trips and really like the town... Sometimes while there, I walk the trails near  The Star which is a local landmark. By the time I got there it was late in the day so I decided to get an evening walk in near the hotel while I found some supper.. I did take this pic trying to get it lit up at night... came out a little blurry but you get the point... I included a canned daytime pic as a reference..

Instead of walking in the park below the Star, I walked about a mile and back to get a Subway  I noticed several times around town that the homeless population has seemed to increase since the last time I was in Roanoke (pre-COVID)... On my walk, there were many folks hanging around the various corners, deserted businesses, and empty lots... One thing that really struck me was an older Ramada that was previously one of their Conference Centers. It is still on line and taking reservations but has turned into a flop house. This was sad to me and I wondered if this will be the fate of many hotel that are out of the mainstream of premium hotels probably struggling before COVID... In this case the hotel was open for business with the welcome sign all lit up and the lobby lights on... But the parking lot had a bunch of beat up cars in it, some with flat tires, and old dirty clothes and linen scattered about... The Lobby buggy was in the empty lot next door being guarded by a confused looking man... There was a woman wondering towards the rooms with a bag of freshly gathered items and many people on the balcony outside their room door. They looked like they were just passing time while smoking and watching people like me walk by.... 

On my way back the most disturbing situation was a scantily clad woman/girl coming from the hotel with too much makeup and not enough clothes... She had three little girls with her that called her mom and together, they were heading up the sidewalk hill to find supper. Made me feel bad...

Now maybe I have just not been in this part of town before, or happened by on a bad day, but I wondered if somehow the craziness of 2020 played a part in this. I had this vision of many older, lightly used hotels trying to make a comeback, but now deteriorating into nothingness... They are being filled up by the recently homeless and the entrapments that so offer accompany this environment...   I really hope I am wrong... 

Moving on... it has been a while since I stayed in a hotel and those who know me know, I am a Marriott Platinum Elite for Life and a Hilton Diamond member... So I have stayed in 1000s of hotels and can profile them quickly... I use to travel weekly and I can't remember a time I went this long without staying in a hotel... The reduced services and recently trained staff were struggling to function at this SpringHill Suites... I know they will get better but I think they are as out of practice as I am...

The drive was great and very relaxing... The trees in Virginia are just starting to turn, like Tennessee. It was so nice to be out on the road cruising and listening to some great music...