Part 4

Angie and Rollie took two steps into the hotel and stopped suddenly in the entranceway. In a state of shock, both started looking around like they couldn’t believe their eyes. The hotel lobby was one of the elegant they had ever seen. It seemed like a lobby from a movie set, instead of reality. Almost everything was white; the carpets, the walls, the furniture, and even the staff wore all-white uniforms. The break the monotony, a few gold accents were located at strategic locations throughout the lobby.

The focal point of the whole room was a large pond made from glossy white ceramic tiles and contained the bluest water imaginable. The pond covered a quarter of the floor space inside the lobby and extended into an outdoor patio. Through the glass wall at the rear, a series of fountains cascaded down a crystal structure creating a gentle mist. In the middle of the pond, a white grand piano sat complete with a pianist playing softly. Five small white swans swam around the base of the platform the pianist was on.

The cumulative effect of everything was quite overwhelming. In fact, the F/X artists felt out of place with their jeans and mismatched bags while the other patrons were all wearing designer outfits and carried matching designer luggage. They made their was to the check-in counter, which was white marble with gold trim. Even the painting on the wall behind the counter was done in white, relying of different textures to convey its message.

The hotel clerk obviously thought the two of them would fit in better at the Holiday Inn down the place but still treated them very respectfully. They filled in the necessary paperwork and were given two keycards for suite 3801. A short elevator ride brought them to the top floor of the hotel and to the door of their suite. The staff member who accompanied them upstairs gave them a brief tour and then left them alone to settle in.

"Pretty fancy digs." Rollie said.

"It’s certainly better than that last place we stayed in. Remember those chickens in the next room? How about the fact it was 20 below, snowing and the hotel didn’t even have a heating system. Not to mention the durian…

"As if I could forget. It took weeks to get rid of the smell entirely." Rollie said as he carried his baggage into his room. Angie did likewise. Not bothering to unpack, as they were only going to be there one night, she changed something more suitable to rollerblade in. After calling a quick good-bye to Rollie, she proceeded to the lobby where she found Alex waiting for her.

Alex led Angie through the downtown core to a local park. The park, while not as big as Central Park in New York, was still quite large. It took several minutes for them to reach their destination, not because the park was far away, but because they had to avoid the huge crowds of tourists that had just gotten off a cruise ship.

They reached the park without incident and stood under a large wooden archway while deciding which trail they wanted to follow. They selected the longest, most scenic route. They started off down a steep embankment, which took them to trail’s starting point. This particular trail was bordered by the ocean on one side and by large, dendridic trees on the other. Benches, statues, water fountains and other little things were also located at the edge of the trail.

"Whoa, slow down." Alex warned Angie.

Why? Can't you keep up?" she said, teasingly.

"I can keep up just fine. I just don't want another speeding ticket. I doubt you want one either."

"A Speeding ticket? On rollerblades? You're joking, right?" she said incredulously. She took another look at his face. "You're serious."

"Yep, the police have a radar gun set-ups along this portion of the trail. If you get caught going over 15 km/hr, it's a 75-dollar fine. "

A moment later, they passed a police officer hiding among the trees with a radar gun pointed at the trail. A LCD display which revealed the blader’s speed sat on the ground beside him. A second officer stood a few feet down the trail with her ticket book and pen poised to site anyone violating the speed limit. As soon as Alex and Angie rounded the next corner, out of sight of the officers, they sped up to a normal speed.