The Peoria Castle Lodge is notorious. Designed and styled in early Medieval Germanic Baroque the furnishings date from the 60s I can almost hear the theme from the Munsters. The dark woods, gothic tapestries, gas lanterns, deep reds lend the place a haunting atmosphere. The rooms are creepy with narrow stain glass windows and an oil picture portrait on the wall whose staring eyes seem to scan and follow your movements around the place. Our FA (a first time guest) had heard all of this from crew room chatter and was a little bit freaked. Its reputation was cemented when the night clerk behind the desk asked during sign-in if he wanted the haunted room 😉

Check-in complete we waited for the lobby elevator to take us up to our rooms. They are just large enough to handle the three of us. The elevator door blends inconspicuously into the side paneling and is just wide enough for one of us to squeeze. The FO stepped in and then the door rumpled closed at about twice speed. He was unable to halt the closure as the rest of us were reaching for our bags and the FA and I were left standing there in silence. I broke the tension by explaining how these places work — Like an Abbott and Costello movie they separate us one-by-one, then they…

That was enough the FA bolted and was last seen heading for the lounge.

I?m afraid that we will be one of the last to see the place in its grand old form. We are told that the Pedullas (owner & operators) have sold out! The Radisson chain is to gut and renovate.

play by play action from the Washington Postÿ — Mesa is not in the business of doing favors for United.” a confident and smiling Jonathan G. Ornstein, Mesa’s chairman testified.

It helps to have friends in high places: District of Columbia and the State of Virginia Attorney General

…about a Florida woman who was trampled in a mad stampede of people scrambling to buy a $30 DVD player at the local Wal-Mart. It was one of those stories that perfectly symbolized our nation’s unhealthy obsession with shopping, right? Well, we might be unheathily obsessed with shopping, but there is growing evidence that the woman, who is a “frequent faller” who has managed to injure herself nine times before at various Wal-Marts around Florida, is faking it. Over the years she’s also filed injury claims against six other businesses, as well. [ read ]

If you ever wondered — On a busy day, a skycap could assist about 20 travelers an hour. If each traveler tips $2, the skycap earns $40 per hour. In an eight-hour day, that?s $320 in tips. Or $1,600 per week. $6,400 a month. $76,800 per year. [ read ]

Employees Take a Stand

Let’s hope that they can keep it civilized.
No effigy burnings at the rally okay boys?

I’m eating dried Turkish Figs. A holiday Apple Pie leftover lingering in the refrig sure looked good to the eye.ÿ(like Momma used to make) The thought crossed my mind to come out of exile. It was a test. A batch of tangy homemade apple sauce kept me on the wagon. The figs are quite fine.

From the things that go bump in the nite department: I was stirred (0130 hrs.) by a pounding on the door next room over. The gal outside was pleading for the occupant to OPEN UP and when the feller inside finally obliged she laid into him. Thus, I was treated to a domestic disturbance for the next half hour. Everybody is sleeping quietly now.

The Discovery Channel can be good entertainment. The task for this episode’s crew (an all female group — well, actually half were Rosie Riveter types and the other – SuicideGirls) was to convert an old Cadillac sled into a demolition derby entrant. They got real creative with some iron black widow spider-web treatment for the windows, knife like daggers for the tailfins and a massive steel cowcatcher grill guard. All of this hype looked really trick on the studio set but if you observed closely, all of their hard work and ornamentation was stripped off for the final event. Derby cars, aside from their safety fuel tank, race harnesses and required removal of bumpers and glass, must be stock.