Further random thoughts from the road

1)  Attention, hotel proprietors!  Calling a small room with two treadmills (one defunct) and a stairclimber — all of which predate the premier episode of “Friends” — a “fitness center” is false advertising.  Please choose a more accurate description for the sign outside.  Might I suggest “travesty,” or perhaps “disappointment”?

2)  Childproofing a hotel room for occupancy by a curious and wily preschooler is a fascinating experience, particularly when balanced with the pressing exigencies of both naptime and housekeeping.

3)  It seems like every city of middling size or greater has at least one funky place that prides itself on its breakfast menu and features a heavily-tattooed waitstaff.  I love those places.

4)  Coming from the pious northeast, it is a little bit jarring to drive past the headquarters of a major cigarette manufacturer and see the gigantic pillar proudly displaying all their brand names out front, and to realize that tobacco is something other than a barely tolerated social ill around here and has financed a lot of the surrounding infrastructure.

5)  Given the various pressures of travel with a preschooler, among the things to slacken a bit are the usual proscriptions surrounding television viewing.  After having watched a few accumulated hours of Nick Jr with the Critter, I almost suspect that Shire Pharmaceutics is behind some of the programming, given how it seems designed to foster the development of ADHD.