I’m in Minneapolis to take Al to probably the 2nd to last of his appointments to fill in his full sleeve. 
We’re staying at the Aloft Hotel again, (tho we didn’t have as magic a room no. and I couldn’t get the room heat to go on – it was 66° and dropped to 62 overnight – nor get the computer to TV connector box to work) and when we got up this morning, I couldn’t find my car key. Complete.Dry Throat.Heart Racing.Panic – 300 miles from home & no car key.
I searched through all the pockets of both my bags, every cranny in the room, and asked at the hotel desk, where they didn’t have it, but would call me if they found anything. After parking the car when we checked in, I had stopped at the desk to get the cable that never worked to connect my laptop to the TV, so we could watch Downton Abbey on the bigger screen, and thought maybe I laid the key down on the desk. It was so cold in the room that it was nicer to watch the DVD on my laptop on my lap in bed, anyways, using the computer as a heater. I called the pizza place where we ate the night before, and had the day manager calling me as soon as the cleaning crew finished if they found anything.
Making sure my phone was on loud ring for all my callbacks, I started retracing my steps to the pizza place. I found the key on a low stone wall about 2 blocks from the hotel. Where it must’ve dropped out of my pocket and someone picked it up and left it for me. Whew. I think people in Wisconsin woulda done the same – Wisconsin nice. It’s my first winter with my new L.L. Bean apple green parka, and I’ve been worried about its shallow pockets. I’m never putting anything important in there again without zipping closed!
