Let’s be clear about one thing: I Hate Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has never been my favorite state. My allergies flare up anytime I’m near Philadelphia, for one thing. For another, restaurants here still have smoking sections. And let’s not even get started on the fact that gas station pumps don’t have vapor-recovery systems!

Ian and I are in a Best Western in Scranton, PA tonight. They put us in a smoking room because they “don’t have any nonsmoking rooms available.” Not only is the room dirty (you should see the pile of trash behind the nightstand), but it reeks. The desk clerk wasn’t even apologetic about the smoking room.

It’s a prepaid, non-refundable reservation. Even so, I considered looking for something else in the area.

I’ve stayed in several hotels in the last year, and this is the first one in a long time that actually still has smoking rooms. The clerk said that there wasn’t a single hotel in this area that is completely nonsmoking. This establishment even has the gall to have a sign posted that this is a nonsmoking facility! What a crock.

Pennsylvania, it’s time to get out of the Dark Ages and into the Modern Era. Wake up!

In the meantime (because I am convinced that Pennsylvania will never reform itself), I’m done with Best Westerns. I’ve had too many bad experiences. There have been good experiences as well, but the bad apples have spoiled the barrel.