Our program had its annual conference in lovely Lake George, NY, about an hour north of Albany, in mid-May.
The deadline to register with the office that was coordinating the conference was April 10. We were told we could spend an extra day or two at the conference hotel at the cheaper conference rate. However, while our folks coordinating the event had secured a bloc of rooms, they were not going to send up the list of names until April 24.
I wanted to take advantage of The Wife and me going up a day early, the Sunday of the conference being our wedding anniversary. But the person I first called, right around April 10 didn’t think it was possible, though she sent me to someone else, who gave me over to a third party who was to call me back but did not.
A week later, I called again, this time speaking to a young woman who had been working there only six days. She too noted that the bloc of rooms was secured but that my specific name wasn’t in the system yet.
“But you do see that bloc of rooms?” I asked.
“Oh, absolutely.”
“And are you likely to sell out for the night before the conference?”
“It certainly seems so.”
So she said she called me back, and, ten minutes later, she did. I had a room for the one night and a note in the system that I had three more nights in this mystery bloc.
Then she wanted to know if I wanted – and I forget the terms – but let’s say regular or premium. I asked what the difference was. The regular was in the two-story building adjacent, and the premium was the main four-story structure, which had a view of Lake George.
“What is the difference in price?”
“None.”
“I’ll take a room with a view!”
And on our trip, after The Wife dropped off The Daughter with The Uncle, The Aunt and The Twin Cousins, we got to the hotel. It was for four nights in the same room – so I didn’t have to move – and it was indeed a room with a view, a spectacular one that I enjoyed every morning.