Our summer home
Yesterday was out 60th day in residence at Extended Stay America (ESA) in Westborough MA. The plan is to stay 90 days, then head back to Florida, if Jett is well enough to go back home. I think the chances of that are pretty good – better than 90%. While she is still very ill with incurable cancer, the treatment that she has received, first in Florida and then in Massachusetts, has stabilized her condition and, barring a sudden growth in her existing tumors or further metastasization, I think she will be able to travel.
It will be good to be back “home” in our RV. It is not a matter of space – our handicap-accessible room at ESA is larger than our RV; it is a matter of having all our “stuff” back. As I mentioned previously, we have done our best to clone our RV life by buying appliances, utensils, clothing and other things that we needed for a long-term stay, but there is still a lot we left behind. Most notably clothes. We are getting by with a minimal wardrobe. If we stayed until the cold weather hit we would have to buy a LOT of new, warmer clothing.
I will give a review of our stay at ESA, but first let me remind you why we are here rather than in a campground, in our RV. The main reason is that Jett was much too weak and ill to make the 2-week trip north in the truck. I could have gone back down and brought the RV north, alone, but we needed to be close to UMASS Memorial Hospital for treatment and the closest RV campground is over 45 minutes away. Plus Jett would have had to navigate the difficult RV steps, which would be an ordeal. And there would be no cost benefit – every campground within an hour is more expensive than ESA’s “introductory rate” (about $1300 for 30 days).
The trip north in the RV, alone, would have been an ordeal even if the truck had performed well. Given the trouble that I encountered while taking the RV back to Ft Myers, the expected 2-week trip could easily have become a 3-week trip.
So why ESA? We had other short-term stay options, including renting an apartment on a 3-month lease. The problems with those options are: (1) expense (a fully-furnished apartment in the Boston metro area is over $2,000 per month), (2) the dog (most furnished apartments don’t allow pets), (3) utilities (I would have had to arrange for electricity, cable TV and maybe gas), and (4) timing (I had to get a place quickly and some options might not be available for weeks). Just the thought of spending days running around looking at apartments was daunting. The chances of finding a suitable place were small. Meanwhile, the ESA option – perfectly suitable – was there for the taking. No hassle, no fuss. I toured the property two days after we arrived in Worcester and booked it the next day. Easy, peasy.
So what did we get for our money? A spacious, wheelchair-friendly studio apartment with a very comfortable queen bed, a small sofa, a handicap-accessible bathroom with a very nice shower, a kitchen with 2-burner stove, microwave, refrigerator and dishwasher, air conditioning and cable TV (pretty basic but with 2 Showtime channels and NESN so I can watch all the Red Sox games). We were also provided with a puny set of cooking gear – 2 pots (no covers), 2 plates, 2 cups, 2 bowls, 2 spoons, 2 knives and 2 forks. We went out and supplemented that cooking stuff pretty quickly. After 60 days we are comfortable.
The courtyard
The smoking patio
Our ESA home also comes with once-a-week housekeeping (we can get fresh towels and linens on other days, by trading used for fresh at the desk), an in-building laundromat (not cheap but effective), a small patio in an attractive courtyard where Jett can smoke and meet others sharing that vice and enough surrounding greenery to keep Rusty interested. We can also get mail delivered to us at ESA.
What doesn’t it have? First and foremost, there is no pool. Apparently one existed until recently (Google Earth shows one), but it has been filled in. There is also no on-premises restaurant or even one within walking distance. There is, however, an Owen O’Leary’s not far away which is adequate if not spectacular in its culinary offerings and has some very nice craft beers.
Combine the amenities, the cost and the location and the result is a very acceptable residence for our enforced vacation in Massachusetts.
Jett has even suggested the possibility of staying longer than 90 days, primarily to continue treatment at UMASS, which she likes very much. But the “introductory rate” has a 120-day limit after which the price just about doubles. And once you get into November the weather starts getting pretty chilly. So there is a slight possibility that our stay could extend to Oct 21 rather than Sep 21. But beyond that? Ain’t gonna happen.
Jett in our minimalist kitchen
I don’t know whether to mark this as a plus or a minus, but we have met some very interesting people in our 60 days here. As it is an “extended stay” facility, it doesn’t attract a lot of overnight travelers. Mostly the clientele consists of people staying for a week or more or, like us, one month or more. A lot of the tenants are in town on short-term work assignments. Some are waiting for housing to become available. A few of the more interesting ones are desperate cases who are one small step away from homelessness.
Very comfortable bed
Nice shower with grab bars galore
The saddest case was John, boyfriend of April and stand-in father to two very nice young children. We first became aware of John on our first weekend at ESA when he was playing with the kids loudly – and somewhat roughly – for hours on a nice afternoon, down in the patio area which is directly under our window. Jett met him shortly thereafter while on a smoke break. John bummed one of her cigarettes – the first of many. He would have you believe that he was pretty well-to-do, with two recent-model vehicles, but was always scraping for money for food. He had severe medical issues which had him relying heavily on pain pills and was disabled, on SSI. It quickly became obvious that he took more pain medication than was prescribed and that something inevitably happened that he ran out of pills before his next batch became available. One time it was his “daughter” knocking the pills into the sink and down the drain. Another time it was someone breaking into his car and stealing them. He was always desperate for more pills, was always trying to find a way to get more prescribed. And he drank. Heavily. Pills and booze are never a good combination, particularly when you are driving for Lyft (it was actually April who got the Lyft job and he was just “helping out”, but she never drove) and had no valid license. Toward the end of his month at ESA he was arrested for DUI and driving without a license and had his car towed. He had to sell his TV to get it back. He was a source of daily drama at ESA and was eventually evicted, along with April and the two kids. We liked the girlfriend and the kids, but had to wonder why she had taken him on. Sad case, but memorable.
Jett’s folding wheelchair
Lightweight wheelchair
It also had to be available within 5 days in Flagler Beach Florida. One obvious source was WalMart. They offer, via their website, a wide variety of wheelchairs and all of them can be had within a few days via pickup at a local store. I ordered the Drive Lightweight Steel Transport Wheelchair. Price was not a huge factor, but the price on this one – under $120 delivered – solidified its place at the top of my list.
I picked it up at the local WalMart – about 10 miles from our campground – the day before we boarded the train and was immediately impressed by its quality construction, its light weight (15 lbs) and the ease of folding it for transport. Jett says it is very comfortable. We have used it a lot and continue to like it very much. A good decision and a purchase that has made our difficult summer just a bit easier.