Laundry a la motel

July 9, 2023

What’s the first thing you do if staying at a motel while touring? Get your sweaty stinky clothes off and throw them in the shower or sink. Climb in and soap them up. Rinse well, ring out as much water as possible, then wash yourself.

How do you get those clothes dry by the next morning? The fastest way is to lay them out in the sun, say over some bushes or railing. But that’s usually not practical. Next best……lay a towel on the floor, lay the garment on the towel, roll it up starting at one end, and start kneading it with bare feet. Walk on it back and forth til you get it dry as you can. Then hang it up.

This is the tricky part. Most motels have those hangers that only work with those brackets permanently attached to the closet rod. But you can bypass that. Those hangers can be hung on the side of the motel ironing board with something on top to weigh it down. Or if the ironing board has a perforated top under the cover, slip that little hanger ball/stud end into a hole with the garment hanging off the side. That hanger ball/stud will also slip into a partially opened drawer.

Of course you want this stuff to dry fast so place your wet stuff in front of the AC or under the ceiling fan. Need more hanging space? Turn the ironing board upside down and use the legs as a clothes rack.

So today was another rest day. Actually a bidding my time day so I don’t get to Iowa too soon and have no place to stay while waiting for RAGBRAI. Also a saddle sore healing day. So I stayed off the bike and walked a mile to the Pioneer Auto Museum. This is really a collection of all sorts of local and regional items, not just cars. They have everything from automobiles to train stations. Toys, tractors, outboards, cameras, computers, tv’s, radios, phonographs, bikes, motorcycles, cars, pianos, signs,…..even an old gas station. You name it, they have it. Pretty impressive for s town of about 500. Stop by if you’re around.

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