Day One: My Hajj to Huntington

My Hajj to Huntington—Day One


In my last post I introduced my trip to Huntington, Indiana. Well, I am going to leave tomorrow and it is about time that I write about my first day, even if it was only a partial day.

We arrived in Huntington mid Saturday afternoon. We had made reservations at the Vista Hotel, not far from Huntington University. We were supposed to have two adjoining rooms. I was to stay in a room with a king bed and my mother and Christina were to take the room with two doubles. It seemed like a good idea. We were originally going to stay in new Staybridge in Fort Wayne, but it seemed too expensive.

When we arrived, I was really disappointed. The hotel, which guaranteed our accommodations, gave our adjoining rooms away and gave us two rooms that we on opposite sides of the building. This just was not acceptable to me. Not only were we guaranteed two connecting rooms, but it would be difficult to spend time with Christina. My legal training (which consists of all the Law & Order shows & a few collage law courses) did not prepare me to deal with this bad business practice. At my suggestion, and slight temper tantrum, we re-confirmed our reservations at the Fort Wayne Staybridge. It really didn’t cost too much more.

We came to the hotel and we were instantly impressed. Not only is the facility new, but the staff is extra friendly and the accommodations are excellent. The high speed internet is a big plus, now that I finally have a laptop. The pull-out couch is actually pretty comfy, and the fully equipped kitchen saves us money on eating out. Oh, and did I mention the pool? Its one of the best indoor pools I’ve seen—and I’ve seen a lot of them.

When we finally settled in and took a swim it was time to go to bed. We were planning to visit several UB churches in the area so we would be getting up real early.

That’s it— my first day in the Holy City. No fasting, no prayers addressed towards 302 Lake Street, but a good day. Five hours of traveling, 1 hour of hotel problem solving, and raw nerves. But here we are.