Ice Cream Dreams

Before our vacation in South Carolina last week, I took measures to ensure I was fully prepared for the low country’s late-May heat and humidity. I packed a reliable SPF 30 sunscreen. I purchased a couple of bottles of spray-on insect repellant. I added several hats to the wardrobe. I even brought a USB-chargeable mini-fan, which hangs around the neck, operates at three speeds, and adjusts to just the right angle. But guess what? I didn’t need any of these items in South Carolina last week (for the weather gods were merciful). Instead, I should’ve left it all at home and just brought my bed.

South Carolina is nicknamed “The Palmetto State”

Is it me getting older or can we all agree on the exceptional value of a good night’s sleep?  For me, it’s a day of brain fog if I don’t get a quality 7.5 hours in la-la land the night before.  When I’m up past midnight (which is never my intention), I know I’m going to pay dearly at 7am the next morning.  Because, I wake up without fail (and without alarm clock) every morning at 7am.  Even if I don’t hit the hay until 3am.

 Stay in a hotel – any hotel – and after one night you’re reminded how the circumstances of quality sleep are frustratingly beyond your control.  My wife and I booked a charming historic inn our first night last week, and what-do-you-know, our bed was just as historic.  The seemingly elegant four-poster contained a lumpy mattress with a few squeaky springs, and a decided slope from my side of the bed to my wife’s.  Throw in the two-hour time change and we tossed and turned like a washing machine’s most violent agitation cycle.

The second day we drove over to Charleston (half asleep), where you’d think a Courtyard-by-Marriott room would deliver the Z’s just a little bit better.  No such luck.  Our fifth-floor corner space included two windows with not-so-blackout curtains.  Our first night’s sleep was interrupted by the hotel fire alarm, triggered because one of the elevators malfunctioned.  The rest of our night’s sleeps were interrupted by the several amped-up bachelorettes and wedding parties resident in the hotel.  Finally, we were adjacent to the fire exit stairs, with a bangy access door used constantly… because of the malfunctioning elevator.

Once upon a time, I was happy just to afford a bed to sleep in.  But over the years I’ve developed a respect for the crucial elements of quality sleep.  A comfortable mattress is worth the max you can afford to pay.  A mattress where you can raise/lower the head and foot is even better.  Make the room pitch black (which in our case includes a small piece of cardboard to block the fireplace pilot flame).  Adjust the temp to the high sixties °F.  Invest in a white noise machine.  And table the electronic devices and alcohol several hours before bedtime.

If there was a plus side to my Charleston sleep, it was this.  We discovered a very good ice cream place within walking distance of the hotel.  Don’t know about you but ice cream does wonders for my sleep.  Specifically, my dreams.  Maybe it’s the sugar or maybe it’s just the late-night munchies, but I’m guaranteed all kinds of REM-sleep adventures when I’ve had ice cream.  Some are haunted-house scary, others earn a movie-theater R-rating, and still others are a jumbled hodgepodge of individual memories making no sense when thrown together.  Whatever the subject, my ice cream dreams are a ton of fun.  They also disappear from memory as fast as the ice cream did the night before.  I’m not one of those who greet you at breakfast with, “You’re not gonna believe what I dreamed about last night!”  Because I’ve already forgotten.

Dreams are the topic of an entire post and alas, I’ve already used up my typical word count this time around.  But let me leave you with some dreamy trivia.  The average person enjoys three to five dreams a night.  Like me, most people quickly forget their dreams the moment they wake up.  Dreams last longer as the night progresses.  The older you get, the less you dream.  Finally, for all we know about the brain, we know next to nothing about dreaming.

I can’t fit a bed in my suitcase so I already know the next time I travel means quality sleep stays behind.  But maybe I’ll pack a little ice cream on dry ice.  If I can’t get my usual dose of Z’s, the least I can do is enjoy a forgettable sweet dream or two.

Some content sourced from Wikipedia, “the free encyclopedia”.

Author: Dave

Three hundred posts would suggest I have something to say… This blog was born from a desire to elevate the English language, highlighting eloquent words from days gone by. The stories I share are snippets of life itself, and each comes with a bonus: a dusted-off word I hope you’ll go on to use more often. Read “Deutschland-ish Improvements” to learn about my backyard European wish list. Try “Slush Fun” for the throwback years of the 7-Eleven convenience store. Or drink in "Iced Coffee" to discover the plight of the rural French cafe. On the lighter side, read "Late Night Racquet Sports" for my adventures with our latest moth invasion. As Walt Whitman said, “That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” Here then, my verse. Welcome to Life In A Word.

15 thoughts on “Ice Cream Dreams”

  3. It’s the pillows in hotel rooms that interfere with my good nights sleep. They’re always way too soft. I’ve used the same firm feather down pillows for years and have been known to travel with them if it’s a car trip!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Good point, Joni. I could’ve added that aspect to our hotel misery. They try to appease all types with their pile of pillows, but no one is as good as those we have back home. My wife now travels with her pillow wherever we go. Smart woman.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. My pillow goes with me wherever–even on planes. The trick is to pack a big suitcase but with fewer clothes. Then the pillow will fit! : ) My dad DID travel with his own bed, which he built himself–a collapsible frame and thin-but-firm pad, but still a rather bulky affair for flights. ‘Think he only did that one time–when our daughter got married. As for noise, have you tried earplugs? It was a noisy motel A.C. that prompted me to try them. I was so tired the first night wearing them, there was no issue of getting accustomed. I slept HARD! P.S. That B & B better be careful–word about their lumpy mattresses will get around on the internet!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. What a remarkable story about your dad. I made that comment assuming no one had ever done such a thing! Great idea about earplugs. I worry I wouldn’t hear important noises (ex. emergency phone call) but in the interest of quality sleep I’ll bring them along next time. Finally, for all my criticism of the first night’s B&B, the lumpy bed sort of went with the charm of the place. Creaking floors, old plumbing, etc. I’m sure the building was well over a hundred years old (and likely a protected landmark). It was worth these small inconveniences.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. There is a lot to comment on in this post, but I’ll focus on something at the very beginning: I, too, wake up every morning at 7 a.m., sans alarm clock, no matter what time I went to bed the night before. Must be genetic…!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Happened again this morning. 7:00am (and zero seconds?) It’s great to be so “on the clock” but the accuracy/consistency of this habit is a little unnerving!

      Like

  6. “Our bed was just as historic.” Loved that! We take ‘cross-country road trips every year and I actually keep a database, on my phone, of the comfort level of each hotel’s bed!

    Like

  8. It’s been ages since I’ve been on a road trip and had your experiences, but a trip you looked forward to sure had a downer as to the sleep quality you experienced, no matter how quaint that little inn sounded. I learned something: “the older you get, the less you dream.” I didn’t know that, but I can’t remember the last time I had a dream.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. I didn’t know about the “older/less” aspect of dreams either Linda (until I wrote this post). Kinda sad if you ask me. As long as we’re not talking about nightmares I find them adventurous, especially those where actual but random memories are combined into a single dream.

    Like

  10. Hmm, I have never noticed dreams and whether they are affected by ice cream consumption. I see the need for an experiment. I could see this taking several months. And then I guess I would have to go a night or two without ice cream just to be thorough.

    Like

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this: