While we were in St. Augustine Florida for a couple of days we had to have a place to stay and so we stayed at the same hotel we had stayed at on our honeymoon. We had been pleased with the hotel then so we thought, why not try them again.
We had just as wonderful and pleasant a stay as we had before. Howard Johnson Hotel’s are great in our book. We stayed at several while honeymooning and I will talk about one of them and a Jacuzzi in a bit. But for now here is our stay in St. Augustine Florida.
Howard Johnson’s
It was a double-bedded room with bath(of course) and there was a safe for any valuables if we wanted to use it. The colors of the room were beige walls and hunter green carpet. There were very attractive curtains done in greens with beige and whites.
There was a remote control TV with the option to purchase HBO movies and of course a table with chairs and a dresser with mirror. There was also the standard mini hanger space and plenty of towels, hand towels and washcloths.
There was the standard sink outside the bath area, with a sink in the bath area, which was really nice to have and a mantel than ran beneath this long and wide mirror. I really like that mirror and that mantel. I had not seen many mantels in a bathroom of a hotel before. Most of the time there is not one or they are in the outer area. There is also a coffee maker and coffee in each room and you can get more from the front desk. Local calls are free. Ice bucket and cups as well.
The air cooled really well, I mean, it got down right cold in there, which of course meant better snuggling in my hubby’s book! Okay mine too, but tell him I said so! This room and the other one were both very nice.
If memory serves correctly, the room we were in on our honeymoon was up at the front of the hotel. The colors were the same, but the bathroom was, well a bathroom, sink, tub, shower all in one room. And there was a double door closet with mirrors on the outside of them. Double beds and a window on the back wall. And if I remember correctly the air got cold in that room as well.
There is a pool with a separate hot tub. Now I must tell you that the hot tub is only heated from 3 pm to 8 pm, don’t know why but that’s the way it is. So by the time we got there the water was cooling down. We did however use the jets and they were okay.
The pool was nice and there was a phone available in case of emergency.
There was a continental breakfast offered where we chose from fresh hot coffee, juice, toast, bagels, various fruits, and dry cereal with milk of course and cookies. I was not to impressed with the breakfast part, but it passed I suppose.
There is a tree there that is called “The Old Senator” that is over 600 hundred years old. In fact it is one of the sites on the Trolley Tours. We did not realize that at first or we could have left our car there in the hotel parking lot, but it didn’t really matter because the Trolley starting point was just 4 blocks away. But, this tree is oak and is so huge and so big! It would take 6 or 8 people holding hands to form a circle around it. It’s has branches that seems to go on forever and ever. They hotel has a picnic area set underneath it and some benches where you can sit and read or just relax if you choose.
There is a joke that comes with the tour and it goes like this:
Why is this tree called the Old Senator? Because it’s crooked and shady!
Ha, ha, ha. I know, it’s corny, and I suppose you had to be there to really get it because this tree is very crooked and very shady and very beautiful!
A Very Funny Story
Now picture yourself on your honeymoon and you want your husband to get a room with one of those Jacuzzi’s in it, thinking it would be lots of fun. Your new husband goes back to the front desk to get coffee, ice and sodas and you decide to call the front desk to find about bubble bath. NOW NOT KNOWING ANY DIFFERENT(because you have never used one), you take the advice of the front desk clerk, WHO DIDN’T KNOW ANY BETTER EITHER(and you didn’t know that at the time either), and you put bubble bath in the running water of the Jacuzzi. You then see it is almost full and turn the jets on thinking you are getting the tub ready for your husband and yourself for a little fun in the tub. No problem at all, easy to do, fun to have, love is in the air!
WELL, the next thing you know there is water coming out of the tub at all angles, and bubbles EVERYWHERE! And you are trying to shut the darn the thing off and can’t get to the controls because at this point and time there is water all over the floor. And you are trying really hard not to cry, because it seems you have messed up! And possibly broken the thing!
And the woman in you is trying to get a towel or two on the floor to clean the mess up that you have now made, and you are still trying to get the control turned off and you are now soaking wet, (which is the way your husband is going to want you anyway) and you just can’t figure it out! The front desk clerk said the bubbles would be okay so what was the problem! And the cup is not working to well either! The towels are wet, the sink and toilet are wet, your clothes are wet, you are wet and tears start to sting your eyes! And you just know that your new husband is going to think you are not to bright after all and will want a divorce!
Well you decide to try and get out of the bathroom and get away from the killer bubble hater machine, so you carefully back out of the room, grabbing the door handle with you, to close off the bubble hater, and with suds all over your now soaking wet body, clothes and all, and all in your hair, to find your new husband bent over double, laughing so hard he has tears in his eyes. Of course you see nothing funny about it in any way!
You stand straight up, and very lady like, take your hand and remove your wet, sudsy, hair from your face, then placing hands on hips and kindly say to him “Well, I see you made it back! This thing attacked me! And you have to get it to stop!” And he is still laughing at you and all the while you still do not see what is so funny! And he is saying things like “I wish I had the camera out! and Baby, you don’t put bubbles in a Jacuzzi.” Like I knew that! I know it now though…Lol! And then he comes over to you and says “Baby, you are something else, this is why I married you! You make me laugh!” And you say to him “OH! Well thank you!”
Anyway, I thought I would share that with you all because there is a valuable lesson to be learned. DO NOT, AND I MEAN DO NOT PUT BUBBLES IN YOUR JACUZZI! EVER! They don’t mix well at all. And don’t listen to the front desk clerk for her advice on bubbles either, she has no idea what she is talking about…Lol. Needless to say the evening was a great one and memories to take with us always.
How I Feel About HO JO’s
Great! I use to think that they were very expensive hotels, and I suppose in some areas they are. But the average we have ever paid to stay at a HO JO’s is around 80.00(US dollars), which is not bad considering the time of year and the location. Of course winter months all rates are cheaper at most hotels.
I hope that this has helped in some kind of way.
God Bless!
©LKD 2002