#5- Tallahasse's Holiday Inn!

A Very Grand Holiday Inn

This is my last nostalgic entry, before the blog switches focus to the quirky places Don and I have discovered recently!  This hotel memory is a silly one, from my teen years.

The memory is from​ 1970, when a brand new Holiday Inn opened on Tennessee Street in Tallahassee. My friend Ginnie and I were in 8th grade. A time when most girls were focusing on boys, makeup and popularity. Ginnie and I were focussed on a spiffy 12-story hotel. 

Ginnie & Me
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Ginnie and I knew the first thing we had to do was to convince our parents (and the hotel manager) that two 13-year-old girls should be allowed to rent a hotel room... for the fun of it.

The fact that our parents said yes, tells a lot about how tame (or nerdy) we were

The Big Night

On a sunny Saturday, Ginnie and I checked into our 11th floor room and unloaded our bags filled with snacks, teen magazines, games, candy and cigarettes for photo ops. Ginnie had a Poloroid. We also packed some formalwear for our buffet dinner in the rooftop lounge. I posed with a glass of milk in front of the dazzling drapes.

The drapes didn't stay closed long. And lucky for us the windows opened up, so we could spend a lot of time waving and yoohoo-ing to the people on the sidewalk far below. ​

At one point, a group of "boys" passed below and hollered up. They said they had our room number, which meant Ginnie and I freaked and moved our supply of entertainment into the bathroom where we stayed put, until the knocking stopped.

Morning Entertainment
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The next morning we ordered room service for breakfast and perfected a few gymnastic stunts using the two double beds as trampolines. Ginnie found the bible in the drawer and made me pose studiously.I

In the elevator heading down to check out, we did one more "jump test" to see if we could detect the floor "falling".  

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The fine postcard above,(with an X on our window) has not been tossed after all these years. I love the goofy image with palm trees and mountains. I Googled recently and see the property is now owned by Sheraton and doesn't look too bad. I might have to return to try out my trampoline skills as an adult!
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