I’m angry.  I hate to start a post that way, especially on a holiday but it’s the truth and I can’t shake it.  I can’t figure out if it’s totally my anger or something else.  I think a good portion of it is left over from our vacation rental.
It was a cute enough when we walked in, but as we began to settling in to make it our home for a week the shortcomings became more noticeable.
The walls…what was with all the weird ass artwork and random framed photos? Or the pencil drawing of the two kids mean mugging us as we sat on the couch? Or the creepy ass painting of slightly mutated dancing bears hanging over Princess Grace’s bed??  And let’s not forget the silver garland wreath on the wall as you walked into the kitchen…um, it’s July.
Speaking of the kitchen….I haven’t been in a kitchen this poorly organized and stocked since college.  The randomness of how things were placed in the cabinets made it feel like the house had been ransacked. What few dishes were there were chipped…mismatched…odd sized.  The only matching items were 3 coffee mugs…and even 2 of those were chipped.  With only 4 of us staying at the house, we were forced to do dishes every day.  I would have hand washed the dishes but there were no dish towels…not a single one. Â
The dining room sat between the kitchen and the outdoor patio.  It might have been the most normal room in the house except for the AC unit that roared like a small jet engine.  It was so loud, we’d shut it off to be able to talk until the room got so hot we had no choice but to crank it back up.
The outdoor patio was quite possibly the saving grace. Â It was quaint and had more seating capacity than the entire house. Â Be careful pulling the door closed behind you. It auto locks and the key pad has a different combo than the front door. Â Thank goodness I had my phone with me. Â Yep, we locked ourselves out of the house.
Upstairs were two bedrooms…with no real closets, meaning there was only some makeshift free standing storage with barely any hangers.  The bathroom had a claw foot tub with a rain shower head…that sat in the middle of the room and was half wrapped with a plexiglass like bubble barrier to keep in half the water that was pouring out of the shower head.  Did I mention the see through shower sat in front of 2 windows on the side of the house facing the street?!? Right….my sentiment exactly.  The bathroom had 4 towels, 1 wash cloth and 1 hand towel.  It was severely under stocked.
Each bedroom had it’s own AC unit and a fan to blow the semi-cool air around. Don’t close your bedroom door, though. It’ll lock and there’s no key…no shit.
If all of that wasn’t enough, on the front door…on the outside…was a taped post it note that said to remove your shoes upon entering the house. Annoying…
Best of all, we realized on day 3 that the owner was living in a tiny cottage house on the property next to the main house. Nothing like having the person you’re renting from right there…watching.
As if all the awkwardness of the house wasn’t enough, we got a visit from an officer of the court about halfway through our stay.  He was looking for the owner and wanted to know why we were at the house.  I’d had enough.
Tonight, we’re in Denver….at the Sheraton.  I couldn’t take another night. Kilo said I was nesting…I think I just felt the negative energy of the house.  Whatever the reason, the thought of spending another night there was too much.
I’ve rented lots of vacation homes and this is the first bad experience.  Guess it was bound to happen.
There, now I feel better. Â Peace out, CarolAnn!
Day 6 in Boulder 🙂