Our FastCAT trials were in Amana Iowa last weekend. Even though we went there last year, Mom didn’t get to do any shopping. You know how humans can be about shopping…insert big yawn. For some reason, Saturday she was in shopping mode.
We found that Amana Iowa isn’t very dog friendly when it comes to their stores and stuff. Mom always asked if they were dog friendly and they had no idea what she meant. She would then ask if we could come in and they were baffled and then would say no. Luckily we had our hands free leashes along so she could attach us to something when she went in the stores. A friend was also shopping with us, so she and Mom could take turns watching the dogs while the other shopped.
They have a wonderful butcher shop, but of course, we were not allowed in their either. We hung out in front of the place and waited. Taking photos helped pass the time.
Amana has a lot of antique shops. Mom likes to see some of the old things even if they aren’t anything she would ever buy. I got to wait outside amidst some antiques. The little wheelbarrow is just my size but Mom said I would never use it, so she wasn’t going to buy it for me. Bummer.
There was an iron work place that has a lot of really cool things outside to look at, but we couldn’t go in there either. At least they had a nice old wagon for us to take a photo in front of, right?
Shopping is quite exhausting really. Once we got back to our hotel, Olivia and I crashed, snoring and all, until it was dinner time.
Speaking of hotels, we had a really bad hotel weekend in Cedar Rapids. Baymont is not a place Mom likes to stay, but they were the only place she could get a room for the weekend. When we arrived Friday afternoon they told us we only could stay one night. Cedar Rapids doesn’t have many dog friendly hotels, some have closed because they can’t find enough employees. After an hour of calling all the hotels in the area, Mom found us a room at the Econolodge for Saturday night.
The Baymont room was nothing great, but alright for a night. The Econolodge was awful and we have added it to our list of places we will never stay at. Motel 6 is the other one on our list. Mom would sleep in the car before she would sleep in a Motel 6 or Econolodge again. The refrigerator had ants in it, dog poo all over the grounds, bathroom fan was super loud and screaching, and the final straw was the moldy shower curtain where when Mom pulled it closed, a pair of dirty underwear from another guest fell into the tub. They didn’t offer any reduced hotel fee or anything. Just disgusting. We know there may be nicer ones somewhere, but we won’t ever stay at one again.
We found a dog friendly hotel in Amana Iowa, and if we go to trials there again we will gladly pay a bit more to stay in that hotel! Despite the nasty hotels, it was still a fun weekend and we are thankful we get to travel!
My GBGV Life is joining Brian’s Home Blog in the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
what? they were surprised as your mom asked if you come in? tztztz….. our stores are not that dogfriendly too… seems this point goes to germany… they even said, you can bring the dogs if they saw us in the car (they have no clue what kind of dogs we are)
Germany is very dog friendly. Mom says dogs have more rights than children there but we have never been there.
What a sad city! Lousy motels and not dog welcoming! The pictures are pretty cool though.
Amana is a cute town outside Cedar Rapids which we do like but those hotels in the city were nasty!
Well, you girls do look wonderful and those are grand photos. But yikes on that hotel experience, goodness, that’s bad. Thanks for joining our Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
The hotels were about 20 mins from Amana and Amana is a nice place. We hope to stay there in the new hotel next time.
You girls do have adventures! But YUCK! leave the yucky hotels in the past!! Have a great day! your friend Lilly
Mom was really at the end of her rope with the hotel situation. The weekend was great except for that part.
OMD! Some very disgusting hotels! We are trying not to gag! You got some beautiful pictures even thought the town was not dog friendly. Happier travels next trip. XOXO 🥰😘❤ Sparkle
Mom really didn’t know what to do, it was so bad and the people at the desk could have cared less. Amana is a nice little old town about 20 mins from the terrible sleeping accommodations.
So true abt these hotels, nasty, dirty, high crime, etc. My insurance co wanted to put me in one of these places for several mos while my house was being repaired. I said NO!. I love antique shopping though. My mother and I loved to go antique shopping and to auctions. At least you had fun at FastTrack. So glad your mom had someone with you while shopping. I was worried when you said you could not go in. I was worried abt dog nappers.
Amana is an adorable little town about 20 mins from Cedar Rapids. We like that town but it isn’t real dog friendly. Mom likes to look at old stuff but rarely buys any of it. We had a great trip despite the lousy hotels. If they can’t find people to keep a place clean, then don’t rent out rooms!
I would never go back to Iowa again. I would sleep in the car.
It is the first time we have had such trouble in Iowa and they have a lot of trials we want to go to. We just know our instincts were right and Econolodge is terrible.
I love all the old stuff. I think we had the same kind of washer when I was a kid. It’s good to see you in so many wonderful places. I’m sorry you had a bad night in the second place. I won’t stay in either of those places either. They are nasty.
Have a fabulous Thankful Thursday. Scritches all around and a hug to your wonderful mom. ♥
Mom figured it was the only room around and it couldn’t be that bad for a night, but it sure was!
What a shame about those dirty nasty hotels but at least you girls had some fun for yourselves!
The hotels were terrible. We won’t be staying at them ever again, that is for sure!
I am thinking the pups were likely better behaved and with more manners than the previous “guests” (using the word loosely) at those
various hotels. A place that is not dog-friendly (or cat-friendly) is also not people-friendly in our opinion. Bye bye I-O-Way!
We learned a lot about hotels that trip for sure! It’s just hard to find hotels for dogs but we usually do manage alright, not this time, though.
glad shopping was fun for mom. Bummer about the little wheelbarrow – she COULD have planted flowers in it or used it for scent hide. Maybe hotels will improve by next time. Or you could look for campgrounds??? Traveling can be fun or disasterous. Just glad you made it home safely.
Mom will never camp but we will find other hotels next time. We’ve never had such bad luck and you know we travel a lot. Olivia actually had a small wheelbarrow like that in one of her searches two weeks ago and she found the hide.
OMD I cannot believe what you found in that hotel!!! You need to pursue that further…….you should contact corporate! That is horrific!!
It was just awful but we never want to go to one again, so we are not going to bother with it. We emailed the GM and have heard nothing. Just terrible that place!
Motel 6, Econolodge and Red Roof inns are all on our no stay list, and a bunch of the LaQuintas have really gone down hill…This is the main reason we now have CeCe 😉
xoxo,
Arty and the Gang
We know most of the LQs we go to and they are pretty nice. There are also some really nice Red Roofs too but you have to be careful when booking if you haven’t been there before. Mom doesn’t want a camper or RV, so we will continue to use hotels. Most of the time we have a choice but this past weekend we only had the econolodge left after calling everywhere so we were stucki.
What a mixed bag of a weekend! Hope that in the end the good outweighed the bad.
The good definitely outweighed the bad, but we have a new appreciation for nice hotels!
Bad hotel experiences can ruin everything! When our Dad was in the hospital, Mom used to take Cinnamon with her every weekend and there are a few places Mom stayed that she will NEVER E|VER stay again (One was an Econolodge…)
It was so nasty and we even emailed the GM and have not even received a response. They obviously do not care!
Well, that does not sound like a fun place for dogs at all! Or humans when it comes to the motels! We hope the next place is better.
That was probably the worst hotel Mom has ever had to stay in!