I walked into the spa area of the Astoria Holiday Inn, hoping to find it
vacant as it often is. No such luck tonight. A trio of splashing,
shouting kids in the pool met my eyes. And, worse, here were their
parents taking up space in the hot tub. All I wanted to do was to sit
my tired ass in the steaming water and let it soak my aching bones. At
52, I have noticed increasing problems with aches and pains in them
bones.
The spa here is roughly a triangle shape with the narrow end holding the
3 steps down into the water and maybe 10 feet along each side to the
back which is about 7 feet wide. The best jets are along the back on
the right side. Of course, that became my favorite spot. The back left
side has OK jets too but putting my feet up on the right side bench
allows those side jets to massage my calves just right.
So, here are these folks sitting right in the middle of the back. There
was maybe enough room for 1 more on either side of them but it would be
tight and intrusive. Both had their eyes closed, enjoying the steaming
bubbling water. She was on his right and I noticed a pretty face, blond
hair, delicate features and graceful long neck. Her hair was tied up in
a bun on top of her head to keep it out of the chlorine. He had a