So last Saturday morning T and I drove up to California again to visit Max. This time, we decided that the prudent thing to do was to spend the night. We didn’t rent a car because there were only 2 of us. Petrol in California is more expensive than in Nevada and we didn’t want to drive back and forth since it’ll cost us twice as much than if we were to stay in a budget hotel. T found a Motel 6 that was less than 10 minutes away from the hospital and booked it online the night before we left. We got to see Max on Saturday afternoon and again on Sunday!
The drive through the desert was boring after about an hour or so. I tried to entertain T (and myself) by clapping. T was puzzled but didn’t ask me why I clapped repeatedly. He has long come to accept that I’m a special snowflake and there are just some things that I do that defies logic. I saw that we drove through Zzyxz Road (Cool name right?) and I spotted a sign for Penny’s Diner! We dropped in for lunch (will write another post on this) and headed straight for the hospital to play with Max.
When we finally got to check in, we drove to the wrong Motel 6. There are apparently more than one of them within a short distance. T said that he didn’t like the first one because the reception area smelled bad and he was glad the one we stayed was better.
I think the Motel6 website for this particular establishment has outdated pictures. Our room was definitely much nicer. At the very least, the sheets and decor was more modern. We had a queen-sized bed, a TV (with many cable channels for FREE), an area with shelves, hanging rail and 6 hangers for clothes, ensuite bathroom with toilet and bath tub, a spacious vanity/sink outside the bathroom (very handy when you have more than 1 person in the room) as well as a small corner table with 2 seats (suitable for a proper sit-down meal or just throwing all your stuff). Outside, there are some vending machines, an ice machine and also a pool.
We paid just over USD60 inclusive of taxes and I think it was a decent price. It’s basic and clean. For the amount of time we spent in there, I think the room served us just fine. We checked in at about 4pm on Saturday, rested for about an hour, then headed out to have dinner with my friends Noel and Stella (and their baby Kate) who’ve just moved to LA from Singapore. LA is a 90-minute drive from Carlsbad and by the time we got back to the hotel, it was close to midnight. A quick shower, some TV and it was lights out till about 9.30am on Sunday. Check out time is 12 noon and we dilly-dallied watching more TV until it was just about 5 minutes to check out.
They provide more than an adequate number of towels (wash cloth, bath towels, face towel, floor towel for the bathroom), 4 plastic cups and a plastic container (similar to a generic ice cream tub) for ice. There’s no in-room mini-bar, and there are no toiletries except for 2 small bars of soap (one at the sink, one at the bathtub). But that’s okay, right?
Staying in a motel is definitely not as good as being in your own bed at home. I couldn’t wait to get back to our house but I’d say Motel 6 wasn’t too bad. If it’s necessary, we might stay at a Motel 6 again sometime soon.
Motel 6 Carlsbad South #471
750 Raintree Drive
I-5/San Diego Freeway at Poinsettia Lane
Carlsbad CA 92011
Phone: (760) 431-0745
An Exercise In Trivial Pursuits 
There is an Aunt Molly Road near me and driving past it reminds me of you! I never had the chance to take a photo of it.
Cool!!! Take a picture when you can!
Hi Chloe Masada,
I know what you mean, Doing a road trip towards a destination and want to make a stop at carlsbad caverns..I think we’ll stay the night there and go in the morning so how long does it take to walk through, not rushing though?
Also are there any hotels or motels around it?
Anything else I should know about traveling there?
Wishes
Lonnie Gibson
Hey there, so sorry Lonnie, we didn’t go to Calsbad Caverns. It’s just straight to motel and looking for our dog. Motel6 has been kind to us though. You might like it.