HOPE THIS GIVES YOU A SMILE

A chuckle found online recently.

Thanks for dropping by and don’t forget to tell your human to behave the next time a hotel is in your future. We will try to do the same 😎.  Have a very enjoyable day!  

THEY WENT TO LAS VEGAS AND COMPUTER PROBLEMS...

It has been a while but I am having trouble with my laptop. It is getting rather ancient but like an old sweater, I love it and I do hate change. It has been a bit finicky before but has come back after leaving it alone for a few days. However, the screen remains dark and still has the shaking of the image, though I can see the outline of the start-up page. No arrow to start it off even if I could see the screen properly. I have my iPad but I am an awful slowpoke on this thing and much faster with my laptop. Thank you for all the lovely comments. I will be plodding along on my iPad catching up with your blogs. I seem to be getting slower and slower returning comments, and apologies for that! I miss my laptop as I'm pretty fast on it. I’ll get there eventually though. I already had this post started off and a few more already set up, just a little finishing up here and there. Enough winging on my part, now for the fun stuff!

 In a post a few days ago, I finished off saying that it was our Daughter-in-Law's birthday on December 27th. They have been before and decided to go back to Las Vegas to celebrate. They are not gamblers but they do enjoy the shows, going to a variety of fun restaurants, and walking up and down the Strip exploring. They also met up with a good friend who was in town this time. Here are a few photos to be going on with. I will put together others soon. They are very sweet letting me share their photos.  The first three is of their hotel, 'New York New York Las Vegas Hotel and Casino'. It has a whopping 2,025 rooms including 104 suites. There are 12 towers ranging from 26 to 45 stories. There are 84,000 square feet of casinos, featuring 60 plus casino table games and over 1,000 slot/video machines. It has 23 restaurants from fine dining to casual. The roller coaster ride is a view from their bedroom. It is called The Big Apple Coaster and there is also an arcade.

Next shows part of "The Hotel Paris Las Vegas"

These decorations are in the Bellagio Conservatory. Their theme is the Nutcracker.  Just a little look as I have others to share that are as delightful as this.

I will be sharing more of their photos next Tuesday.

Thanks for visiting and I hope the start of your 

New Year is a great one.

THE GAYLORD RESORT AND CONVENTION CENTER, NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND

We only decided to go to National Harbor a few days previously.  Perhaps I should have done more research on our hotel, but as we were within a 30-mile radius, I jumped in.  We were both ready for a trip as it has been a while.  To Gregg I said, "What do you think about going over to National Harbor and stay overnight somewhere?"  

We have talked about it several times over the past year.  He was on his laptop and had booked the hotel, plus tickets for the ice show I had been telling him about.  I was very surprised when we pulled up to the place.  It was a lot larger than any we have stayed at before.  The top photo shows only a small part of it.  I had forgotten it was also a convention center.  Me in the planning stage: "The hotel where the ice show takes place, wouldn't it be a good idea to stay overnight, so that we didn't have to drive home late and in the dark?"  It was also very nice that we didn't have to worry about parking.  It was a hike to the exhibit but mostly inside the hotel, with a short walk from there to the large enclosure (my idea of a hike may be different than yours).  The weather was quite dreary, but all our entertainment was at the hotel for our short stay, so no walking around in the rain.

There are two buildings inside the atrium that look like regular sized homes.  They are shops.In the photo below, halfway down the large atrium window, you can make out the arches supporting the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.  Virginia is on one side of the Potomac River, Maryland is on the other.  We were in Maryland where National Harbor is located.  This is also the view from our room.Just to give you an idea of how big this place is, there are 1,996 rooms and 110 suites, seven restaurants, and a 19-story glass atrium with views of the Potomac River.  As mentioned, it is also a convention center and it has 95 event rooms, 537,430 square feet of meeting space, and a 20,000 square-foot spa.  It also employs 2,000 people. 

We went on a weekday thinking this would be a quieter time.  It was but I can only imagine what it must be like on the weekend.  There were lots of families there for the ice show.  

 

There is a 55-ft tree suspended from the ceiling.  It comes to life when it gets dark and all the lights are switched on.  There is also a stage and we were treated to Christmas carols later that evening, along with a laser light show when the singing had stopped.  The people above must have been in the preparation stage as that show didn't take place until later.  I took videos of the laser lights and have included short movies of them below.  Here are three photos to be going on with.  This display is free.  My photos and the two short videos don't do it justice.  (If anyone has a problem with flashing lights, I would skip the movies.)

The lights and music are synchronized with a fountain that shoots 60 feet high. 

There is also a nightly indoor snowfall.

It is very pretty at nighttime.

We stopped off at this place.  No tables inside but plenty in front. It is well stocked with beverages and food, and other items.  A coffee for me and a cold drink for Gregg.  Neither of us were feeling that hungry and by that time were a little tired, so we decided not to go to the restaurant for a sit-down meal. Instead we bought chicken salad sandwiches to share, and took them up to our room.  They were excellent!

We walked by a duck pin bowling alley with a bar.

Close-up of the mural.I enjoyed the hotel very much.  There are a lot of hotels in this area.  Within walking distance if you go out the front doors, the MGM National Harbor Resort and Casino is just up the road to the right.  

Now for the videos.

If you go here it will take you to a website called Fun in Fairfax VA where I got some information, and I enjoyed their photos.  

I can see where the flashing lights might be a problem for those who have issues, so please don't play them if you think they would affect you.

On select days, Christmas on the Potomac features two Christmas shows in the Atrium. Both shows are free to watch but guaranteed ticketed seats have the best view, so I read. We were in our hotel room while taking these.  If we come here again next year, we thought we would reserve a room more in the center of the atrium’s back wall looking straight on, and probably not much higher than the fifth floor.  Our room was on that floor but in the corner with an okay view.  We could open the doors which had a rail but no balcony, and decided that we would prefer looking down from a more central position.  The center rooms and those on the side of the atrium have the balconies.  It would be great to sit out and listen to the choir from above, and watch the laser show afterwards.  I expect these rooms would go fast, and booking them well ahead of time would be the way to go. Just something to think about.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing a little bit of our hotel.  This link will take you to the original built in Nashville, Tennessee, with its history. That hotel was built to support the Grand Ole Opry. Similar hotels have been built in Texas and Florida.

(more photos to follow soon)

FATHER AND SON TOOK A RIDE INTO WASHINGTON DC 11-17-21

 I was more than happy to stay home and potter around here for a few hours, but I enjoyed the photos they sent me.  I thought I would share them here today.

Gregg is standing next to The Lone Sailor Statue.  You can read its history at this link. It was sculpted by Stanley Bleifeld who was an enlisted man in the Navy during World War II.  Mr. Bleifeld was assigned to illustrate Navy training manuals. Standing at 7 feet tall, there are 17 other identical statues in other locations, and you can see those in photographs if you go to this website.  The one here is standing in front of The United States Navy Memorial at 701 Pennsylvania Avenue (7th and Pennsylvania Ave) NW, Washington, DC 20004, and is the original.  It arrived on October 13th, 1987 for the celebration of the 212th birthday of the United States Navy.

Our son Brad is standing in front of this interesting sculpture, but unfortunately he couldn't find a marker identifying it, and searches I have done have proved fruitless.  Update 11-20-21:  Thank you Anni at Hootin' Anni's Day Trippin' for ID'ing the statue above.  It is appropriately called "Man with Briefcase."  I found a website that describes it: "Jonathan Borofsky 1987-1988, Cor-Ten steel."  Also, "the artist was inspired in 1979 by a newspaper advertisement for men's suits and subsequently made this archetypal office worker a recurring theme in his work."  You can read more and see photos at this website.

The above photo shows the decorative touches on one of the buildings, and the explanation for that follows.

Here we can see one of the many electric bicycle rentals.  The lads said they 'were all over the place'.

The electric bicycle Gregg is standing next to was left by someone who had made good use of it, not placed on any stand, just on the street. The company sends out a van to pick them up and do maintenance when needed.  We are assuming they use GPS to find it?  This website from the actual company tells you more about the bike and where you can rent them.  All rental bikes, still more regular ones than electric I believe, were taken off the streets during the pandemic, but they seem to be making a comeback.

Brad is standing near the Chinatown entrance which you can see above his head. That large gate is beautiful and a cultural work of art.  Here you can read about its history.  I haven't been here in several years, but it is a wonderful area to walk through and I would like to do it again.

Another interesting sculpture with an explanation below.

Next is the Hotel Harrington.  

The restaurant you can see on street level is advertised as Ollie's Trolley: An Old School DC Burger Mainstay.  The article says that it was started in the 1930s on North Collins Avenue in North Miami Beach by Oliver Gleichenhaus. He was the owner and chef and his girlfriend was a waitress. If anyone asked for ketchup, he would throw them out of the restaurant and use profanity. If anyone wanted their burger cooked any way other than medium rare, he would throw them out of the restaurant and use profanity.  And now you know about the original owner of this chain and if you go to the link you can read its entire history.  The story did make me smile.  I would have been thrown out asking for ketchup, and another secret I keep to myself usually, I don't like the mustard they put on burgers over here (I do like Colemans and Dijon), but would much rather have ketchup on my burgers.  Ah well, sorry if I disappointed you but we like what we like and don't what we don't.  'Nuff said!  

Getting back to the hotel as I digress as usual, it is in a good location as it is steps from Ford's Theater (where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, and if you click on its name you can read other interesting information).  

It is 8 minutes by foot to Capital One Arena. This is home to the NBA's Washington Wizards (basketball for those of you who are overseas), but it also holds many other events.  There will be one performer who is very much my cup of tea, Andrea Bocelli in December.  I would love to see him, but am not ready for a large crowd just yet.  

Hotel Harrington is also 0.9 miles from The White House and 0.9 miles from The Washington Monument.  I know nothing about the hotel itself and if people are thinking of coming to DC and this sounds inviting, it would be a good idea to look at reviews online beforehand.

Gregg took this photo as they left Washington DC (waiting at a traffic light).  The Washington Monument was bathed in a golden glow at sunset.

And that's all from Washington DC.  My thanks to husband and son for letting me share these photos.

(The lines I used for the top of my logo is from a speech given by Abraham Lincoln.  It was taken from the last paragraph of his Second Inaugural Address.  If interested in seeing that speech you can find it here.  The photograph in my logo came from Pixabay.com)

WE HAVE RECENTLY RETURNED...

from a trip down south.  It was for a wedding within the family.  We have not seen family members and close friends in well over a year, longer with some who live out of state.  It was a wonderful gathering to see a very special young couple get married.  

My photos were taken at the Williamsburg Inn (opened in 1937), and is where the wedding rehearsal dinner took place. There was hardly anyone around towards the end of the evening in this part of the inn, so I felt I could comfortably take photos of a few of the pieces that caught my attention.  I wasn't leaving there without photos!

Everything was very colonial...

even the wallpaper and curtains.  

I loved looking at all the beautiful flowers in their vases.

There is a video about the history of the hotel here.

Colonial Williamsburg is only a short walk away, and if you would like to see what you can expect if you ever visit or would like to revisit, there is a nice video at this link.  A walking tour down the Duke of Gloucester Street can be seen here.

I was very interested to come across photos of Queen Elizabeth II, who visited here in 1957 and again in 2007.

.

Part of the history at the Inn's website had the following: "In 1943 General George C. Marshall arranged to host the British Joint Chiefs of Staff at the inn as part of a strategy to strength the alliance between America and Great Britain during World War II. Then, in 1946, future President Dwight D. Eisenhower entertained the former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill inside the building following the latter’s famous “Sinews of Peace” speech in Washington. Perhaps one of the grandest visits to ever take place transpired nearly two decades later, when Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, stayed at the Williamsburg Inn amid Virginia’s 350th anniversary. Touring both Williamsburg and neighboring Jamestown, some 40,000 people had traveled just to catch a glimpse of the royal couple. (The Queen and Prince returned in 2007 to observe the commonwealth’s 400th birthday, too.)

I have no idea who are in these paintings, or the artist who painted them.

The birds were hung in one of the hallways.

That's all for today.  Thank you for stopping by and Happy Thursday!