I love a parade.

My GPS didn't know that the Crowne Plaza San Antonio Airport was here. But it was there in San Antonio, Texas. It was a bit of a challenge to navigate because of the construction on Loop 410, but after I arrived I decided it was worth the effort. What a lovely hotel.

My room was on the "key access only" concierge floor, but it did have its share of weirdness. When I got off the elevator I couldn't help but notice that the entire hall was lined with mini-fridges. It looked like a refrigerator convention. I almost expected to see them pull out their little fezzes and head to the bar.

The room was spacious and comfortable, and had very nice "extra" amenities. But the oddities continued once I got inside. The faucet in the bathroom was hooked up backwards - hot was cold and cold was hot. Now one nice feature in most Crowne Plazas is the nifty little "chip clip" they give you for the curtains to shut out street light. It works. But in this room, I needed some kind of device to cover up the electric blue light on the air conditioner wall control. It was so bright that it would catch my eye in the night if I happened to wake up enough to roll over. It was very annoying. I actually went and bought tape to put paper over it for my second night. The room was awfully warm, too. I turned down the electric blue thermostat, but I think the hotel had set it at a range of temps, so no matter how I set it it would be what they wanted me to have. So much for choice.

There was a concierge lounge with complimentary cocktails and snacks, and it was substantial enough that I ate dinner there my first night. I also enjoyed the full breakfasts. It was nice to have servers that were exceptionally attentive and pleasant. All in all I really enjoyed my stay in this hotel. In spite of its idiosyncrasies it was enough to make me want to grab my fez and join the parade.

The top news story on TV in San Antonio was about a guy that died when he fell into a vat of chocolate. How sad. Death by chocolate. And we thought it was only a description of dessert at the local steakhouse.

The last morning when I left my room the refrigerators were gone. I guess they caught an earlier flight than me.