Fire Alarms at 1 a.m. !!!!!!!!!!!!!

The very first night of our stay we were awakened at about 1:00 am to the sound of people running up and down the hallwayand slamming doors outside our room and what we finally recognized as the fire alarm. Jim said that when he first woke up he heard people yelling, "EVACUATE THE BUILDING!" Both of us finally threw on the first thing we could find---I put my t-shirt and pants on over my pajamas, stuck my feet into my shoes, grabbed my walking stick and my purse (although later on it didn't really have the right stuff in it!), and we walked quickly next door and banged on the Hardisons and the Parishes doors. Lynda and Cole came out but Dennis stuck his head out his door, said for us to go on and they'd catch up. We were not in the main building but in an "add-on" part, on the third floor, and so we headed for the stairwell...Once we got down to the bottom floor we first ended up in a kind of "boiler room" --- the exit door was padlocked! So we backtracked a little and went a different way. Eventually, we ended up in the inner courtyard where the pool was. From there we could see the lobby and the front door of the hotel. As we came out those doors we headed across the street and then toward the curb on the opposite side of the street where we sat down and waited. Probably in about ten minutes or so, Dennis and June finally caught up with us. Still no firemen though. After what seemed like forever, the fire trucks could be heard arriving and then the firefighters in their gear were streaming into the lobby of the hotel. There had been no smoke or fire but someone pointed out that it smelled like rubber burning near the elevator. It turned out that the elevator was the reason for the late night "fire drill." It served to remind us of those things that we all did not do when the actual time came to "evacuate." Jim and I both said that from now on we will make sure the stuff we need is together instead of spread all over the area, before we go to bede each night!