Socrates -

Thanks for the welcome and heads-up.

Before registering I took a "spin" through this Forum and it was obvious (and wholly justified) why you're held in such high regard by participants in it.

And BTW, I've been a Marriott fan since way back in 1980 - ran across my old (and somewhat bent) Club Marquis luggage tags buried in a desk drawer a couple of weeks ago.

It was that same year that a young Marriott employee in the original Marina Del Ray hotel (called a "Marriott Inn") went so above and beyond what would be expected that I wrote a letter to Mr. M praising him and got a most gracious response).

There have been some dips in the road to be sure, but far more often than not Marriott lodgings and the people who staff them meet or exceed expectations.

So, I'm new here, and have found this board among the most illumninating online travel forums I've run across. And your posts, which I always make a point of reading, (I wish you hadn't deleted so many before I got here), have much to do with making me feel that way.

-Rah