Sometimes...

Oh my... sometimes timing is everything... I just went on Facebook and a friend had posted this... It fits so well with this... So I wanted to share... We can start the rant with a laugh... LOL



This is long... lots of my writings are... I write to try to deal with what I'm feeling.  In addition my vision is not great so I have to write BIG... so I can see it... LOL  cest la vie.... 
I'm working on putting all my pieces back together again... Its my problem... and I'm working on it.  I have a hard time letting go of the hurt.   I am sharing what happened in the hope that I can help other people who are facing similar issues.  I'm tired.  I'd rather just let it go, but I really resent that people go right on their ugly acting way.
Mostly our vacation was very nice.  I did run into a few issues because I had BG my little dog with me.  BG is a certified service animal as required by law, but there are still people who find themselves unwilling to accept me with my service animal without being ugly first. 
I'd like to advise people that the Super 8 on Lombard Street in San Francisco, CA  tried to refuse to allow us to stay in their hotels because I had my service animal with me. 
What bothered me most about this is that I had called the motel in June (I have proof of my call) to advise them my service animal would be accompanying me.  I was told that was fine as long as I had a letter from my doctor certifying that my dog was a service animal.  I had the letter and presented it first chance everywhere we went.
A woman came out of the office at the Super 8 Lombard when we pulled into their parking garage and told us no pets allowed.  I explained that BG is a service animal.  She turned around without a word and went back into the office.  A man, I think was her husband came out and told us uh uh, no way, no how were animals allowed.  I explained that BG was a service animal and handed him the letter that certifies she is a service animal.
The manager took my letter and walked off without further ado, and only a demand that we get our car out of their garage.  The traffic was horrendous.  I refused to back out of the garage. He returned about 15 to 20 minutes later.  He did allow us to stay, after I assume he sought legal counsel.  He was clearly angry and I asked him bluntly how well he thought this was going to work out with his obvious unhappiness with us being there. 
The lady had come out after the man said we could stay and told us there was not a ground floor room available.  She seemed much nicer than when we first arrived but it was obvious our being there was an unwelcome intrusion.  
When we booked the room Richard told them we needed a ground floor room as I am mobility impaired.  Richard too is getting older and a bit tottery.  The lady said she had a young man who would help Richard get our things upstairs.
I pulled myself up the stairs and Richard carried all but one load up the stairs by himself.  The young man carried one load up the stairs but then the man/manager engaged him in conversation while Richard finished carrying our things upstairs.  I had gotten a $20 bill out to give the young man for his help but believe me I didn't go chasing down the stairs to give it to him. 
I believe the manager deliberately engaged the young man in conversation as the conversation lasted exactly as long as it took Richard to carry the things up the stairs.  Richard fell by the way and sustained a nasty painful scrape on his knee and was bruised and shaken.
The manager wasn't the only one that was unhappy with our presence there.  I find it hard to be where I am not wanted, whether I have a legal right to be there or not.  I was so dismayed and unhappy that before daylight the next morning I woke Richard up.  We went for a walk and got a cup of coffee.  It was very nice that morning.  I could see that if it wasn't for the situation at our hotel I would have enjoyed walking around the area.  There were a lot of nice little stores and our coffee was very good.
Some good news.  The people at the motel did agree to cancel the remaining 3 days of our reservation without penalty.  I found and booked a room for us in El Cerrito, CA.  We went to the motel around 11am to see if there would be any chance of checking in early as we were very tired.  Its hard to sleep well when you're so emotionally unhappy.  The lady at the desk called housekeeping to see if they could get a room ready earlier than normal and they very kindly did.  I gave the lady from housekeeping $30 because I was so appreciative.  It may seem like a lot but I was just so grateful to be somewhere that the people acted like we were welcome.
Our motel in El Ceritto, CA  was 2 blocks from the BART station so Richard and I were able to go to San Francisco quite easily.  I only went on the tour of Alcatraz.  It was very interesting.  If you have to be in prison I have to say the view and the breezes were awesome.  Richard went to a baseball game and a stadium tour.  I didn't do those two activities as I have a lot of pain in pretty much all my body and have to limit my activities.
The manager at the Penny Saver Inn in Crescent City, CA was pretty awful.  We booked the room through booking.com.  The information that Penny Saver provided to booking.com said they have air conditioning.  They do not.
The manager Julie is one of those people that needs serious retraining or to be replaced. She was quite adamant that she knew the law regarding service animals but still charged us a pet fee.  It is against the law to charge a pet fee for a service animal. 
When I asked that she correct the charge she did so but it was clear she was not happy about it.  She said that service animals; wear vests, ID tags and have permits.  I tried to explain to her that while many service animals do wear vests and have ID tags they are not required to wear the vest/ID tag.  BG does have a collar with her shot tags and a micro chip tag and is on a leash at all times when we are out of the car or room.  
I thought about getting the vest and ID tag.  There are some companies that have no affiliation with the ADA selling a setup that will make your dog "look" like a service dog for $119.  The vest looks a lot like a "thunder" shirt and I thought it might help BG feel more secure with all the strange experiences she was going to be dealing with.  I honestly think $119 is over priced.  You can get very nice vests/thunder shirts for a dog for less than $50 and my gosh what is an ID tag... a laminated bit of plastic with your dogs name and picture on it... oh and the handler's name phone number... I have to be honest... I will probably spend the money.  I wish the ADA would put out a set up at a more reasonable price. 
Julie at Penny Saver Inn was quite rude and contemptuous.  Immediately after adjusting the bill we found out we had no internet service.  After several requests she finally returned my call and said she had reset the connection.  The internet service remained off.
  I have tried to reach the owner of the Penny Saver without success.  I have filed a complaint with booking.com and they have told me they will be following up.  They said they have also been unable to get a call back from anyone at Penny Saver Inn. 
Today I contacted our credit card company to dispute the charge.  I honestly would have settled for a partial refund and a written apology and assurance that Julie would either be dismissed or retrained.  Her behavior was as I said awful.