At 4:00 am I was awakened by a thwacking sound over the small window in our room. It had only a shade which I had drawn down as far as the window, stopping above where we had the window open. The shade was blowing out into the room and then returning, hitting the window with a loud whack. It was right next to Tom's head, but he was snoring and obviously unaffected. I crawled out of my comfy duvet and adjusted the shade.
As I was drifting back into slumber...THWACK. The shade was at it again. I tried to be Tom and ignore it, but each time I would start to enter Sleep Land the shade would whack itself against the window again. I grudgingly got up and raised the entire shade. The morning sun was just starting to rise and the day looked clear and beautiful. I briefly considered taking a photo, but as the thought crossed my mind I realized that the top pane had fallen down in the night and was the reason for the shade's billowing. It was also the reason for the lovely cool air that was blowing in to my room and I hated to have to close it. But close it I did as I knew I was not going to get back to sleep with the noise the shade was making. Window closed and shade adjusted I went back to sleep.
When I awoke again at 8:30 it was raining. The day was cloudy and rainy and just what we had expected of this area and what we hadn't yet experienced. I got up and opened the shade and then the heavy draperies from our large window. It too had dropped its top pane and drops of water were dripping from the ledge above us. A nice steady rain fall was coming down and I climbed back under my comfy duvet to watch it.
Tom was taking advantage of the wonderful shower and was in it again. He emerged and dressed and headed downstairs to meet Darcy who had texted us that she was having breakfast. I texted Grandma Mary Anne and she agreed to meet us too. I got out of bed and looked at myself in the mirror. The lack of the hairdryer had left my hair a big poofy mess and that was not going to do. I needed to style my hair to go out into the rain and so I wet my hair and called down to the front desk.
Me: "Could I please have a hairdryer sent to my room?"
Guy: "Why certainly ma'am, but there should be one in your room."
Me: "I have searched everywhere. There is a diffuser attachment in my closet, but no dryer."
Guy: "I will send one up. Two seconds."
I did not time him, but I did put on a bra and a shirt. He knocked gently on my door and I opened it to find a young man with his own wet hair combed back and down to just above his neck. He smiled and offered me the dryer in his hand. I thanked him and off he went. I immediately plugged in the dryer, and as I raised it toward my eyes so I could see the settings I smelled a burnt scent. Great. A hairdryer that already smelled like burned hair, I thought. But beauty is important and so I turned it on and started blowing dry my bangs.
I hadn't been drying but ten seconds when this shrill, loud noise sounded in my room. I turned off the dryer and ran toward where I thought the noise was coming from which was the lamp by my side of the bed. There the noise sounded like it was coming from the bathroom, but when I got there I found the noise was somewhere else and so I was running around my room like a wind up toy from one wall to the other. The thought running through my head was that I knew I should have paid attention to the instructions in the hotel book that said to familiarized myself with the fire exits because by now I thought the hotel was on fire. By the time I looked out the window the noise stopped. My ears were ringing and my heart was pumping, and suddenly I needed to use the bathroom.
I was on the toilet thinking that thank goodness this hadn't happened in Mary Anne's room or it might have scared her to death when the knock sounded on my door. Seriously? I cleaned up and answered the door. The same guy was standing there looking sheepish.
Guy: "I'm sorry, but that was the fire alarm."
Me: "Was it my hairdryer?"
Guy: (nodding) "When I saw where the alarm was coming from my first thought was the hairdryer."
Me: "Jeez, the price of beauty. Sorry about that."
Guy: (laughing) "These alarms are really sensitive believe it or not. Open the window when you try it again."
Me: "It won't take long. I don't have much hair to dry."
Guy: (Flinging back his hair) "I have less than you!" And off he went.
I opened my window more than what it was, stretched out the cord, and bending over so I was right next to the open window, I finished blowing dry my bangs. Beautified I heading downstairs where Darcy, Tom, and Mary Anne where having breakfast in the dining room. I told them I had a funny story and then left them to load up my plate with the usual.
Back at the table they were waiting with anticipation, and so I started telling them my story. When I got to the part with the loud noise they all burst into laughter.
Darcy: "THAT was that loud noise!"
Tom: "You set off the fire alarm in the entire hotel."
Mary Anne: "THAT was that noise? I was in my room running around frantically trying to find out where it was coming from."
Yep. Set off the fire alarm in the whole hotel. Me. Trying to blow dry my hair.
Mary Anne: "You'll do anything for attention so you can write about it on your blog, I've decided."
Yep. So going to be an interesting little detail in my wrapping up of the day.
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