Lewis River Inn, Woodland, Washington

I stayed at a lovely little motel just off the I5.  I'd planned to stay in Portland or Vancouver but after an expresso at Starbucks was good to go.  Out on the highway barrelling north I realized it was not only dark but Friday night.  Friday and Saturday night are the nights drunken stoned drivers think the road is especially theirs.  With that thought the revery of a night drive north vanished and I began to look for lodging signs.  Woodlands offered several.  And there was Lewis River Inn.
I always worry about my Harley.  I don't want to wake up in the morning to find it's gone so I like to have it out of sight and preferably chained to something.  That's a priority when I look at a place. Does the parking seem secure.  At Lewis River Inn, it has a high hedge around the lot and parking in front of rooms.  An older man and woman manned the counter. I liked that.  I trust the wisdom of older people.  They don't like to be around theft and violence.  Young people at a front counter can mean anything but older people suggests safety to me.  They were friendly too.  Liked that I was riding a Harley. Asked where I had come from. The room was only $66.  I'd paid $110 for the Hampton Court Inn and their room wasn't that much better.  The room was impecably clean.  I like that.  Big Screen TV with lots of channels and WiFi.  What more can one ask.  Lots of tasteful beautiful photographs of Thailand too.
I walked across the street to a Burger place and got Halibut and Fries with a vanilla milkshake.  A very pleasant Woodlands Police Officer came in after me. Greeting everyone in that friendly small town, we are all living here together and want to get along , way.  I went back to my room and watch Con Air.  What a great 1997 thriller.  I'd seen it before but think this time I enjoyed it more. What a cast: Nicholas Cage, Colm Meaney, John Cusack, John Malkovitch, Rachel Ticotin, Dave Chappelle, Ving Rhames , Stever Buscerni, Nick Chinlund, Mykelti Williamson.  The Convicts take over the plane that's transporting them between prisons.  It kept me up past my bed time.
I slept like a log.  In the morning I went round the corner to the main office where they had coffee orange juice voghurt and buns. I ate there and took coffee back to the room where I wrote and read. Eventually I got ready in a leisurely fashion.  After packing the Harley I drove round to the office to say I was headed out.
"You have a really good ride," the older fellow said.
I love those little places that just do everything right. Lewis River Inn was that for me.