A week off. It wasn't nearly enough, but it was sorely needed. I hope we'll be able to take our real vacation in september, we're tentatively planning to return to Kauai. I'm looking forward to burying my toes in warm sand.....
California was... California. At least we missed the worst of LA, flew in to Ontario, the airport there is about two miles from where Irma's dad lives. It was good to see Antonio, he's doing well, and can still kick both of our butts playing Dominoes...
I really liked the Stanley. Estes Park was cold and windy, but that's to be expected in January. The history of the hotel is amazing, from F.O. Stanley, who was as good as dead from tuberculosis prior to his arrival in barbaric Estes Park (little more than hunters and ranchers in 1907), who built the hotel from the ground up to celebrate his return to health (and health related exile from the wealthy high society back east), to the decay and dilapidation in the late 80's when it was essentially abandoned and occupied by homeless squatters, to the restoration that began in the late 90's. There's still a lot of work to be done, but it was one of the most comfortable hotel rooms I'd ever stayed in.
It wasn't just the amenities, in fact, the room was fairly basic. However, there was a sense of welcome there that you just don't get from gleaming steel and glass super-resorts. Being off season, the hotel was nearly empty of guests. The restaurant, Cascades, served first class breakfast and dinner, and though I didn't sample it this time, their single malt scotch list includes some of the really really exclusive scotches. (I think, though I can't remember right now, that they list a 50year old Macallan, along with 25yo, 18yo, and 12yo Macallans. Knowing what a bottle of 18yo costs, I shudder to thing what the 50 year old goes for. Perhaps I'll celebrate the completion of my first novel with a glass of 25 year old at the bar.
Then there are the ghostly episodes. I know there are skeptics out there, and sometimes I'm one, but... There were things there that I couldn't explain. The ghost/history tour was fun, we took it the day after our first night there, and the guides explanations of things that regularly happen at the stanley certainly meshed with what we experienced the first night (which was experienced without reading any other visitors accounts prior to arrival). Perhaps I can be persuaded to write about those experiences later...
Back to my own writing. I chose to leave the laptop behind on our trip so I could truly rest, I think it was a good choice, I do feel creatively refreshed. Imperfect Hope, first draft, awaits. And perhaps that tumbler of 18 year old Macallen scotch, to be shared with the ghost of F.O. Stanley at his hotel. Oh, wait, he was a teetotaler.....
Clear skies,
Jim
California was... California. At least we missed the worst of LA, flew in to Ontario, the airport there is about two miles from where Irma's dad lives. It was good to see Antonio, he's doing well, and can still kick both of our butts playing Dominoes...
I really liked the Stanley. Estes Park was cold and windy, but that's to be expected in January. The history of the hotel is amazing, from F.O. Stanley, who was as good as dead from tuberculosis prior to his arrival in barbaric Estes Park (little more than hunters and ranchers in 1907), who built the hotel from the ground up to celebrate his return to health (and health related exile from the wealthy high society back east), to the decay and dilapidation in the late 80's when it was essentially abandoned and occupied by homeless squatters, to the restoration that began in the late 90's. There's still a lot of work to be done, but it was one of the most comfortable hotel rooms I'd ever stayed in.
It wasn't just the amenities, in fact, the room was fairly basic. However, there was a sense of welcome there that you just don't get from gleaming steel and glass super-resorts. Being off season, the hotel was nearly empty of guests. The restaurant, Cascades, served first class breakfast and dinner, and though I didn't sample it this time, their single malt scotch list includes some of the really really exclusive scotches. (I think, though I can't remember right now, that they list a 50year old Macallan, along with 25yo, 18yo, and 12yo Macallans. Knowing what a bottle of 18yo costs, I shudder to thing what the 50 year old goes for. Perhaps I'll celebrate the completion of my first novel with a glass of 25 year old at the bar.
Then there are the ghostly episodes. I know there are skeptics out there, and sometimes I'm one, but... There were things there that I couldn't explain. The ghost/history tour was fun, we took it the day after our first night there, and the guides explanations of things that regularly happen at the stanley certainly meshed with what we experienced the first night (which was experienced without reading any other visitors accounts prior to arrival). Perhaps I can be persuaded to write about those experiences later...
Back to my own writing. I chose to leave the laptop behind on our trip so I could truly rest, I think it was a good choice, I do feel creatively refreshed. Imperfect Hope, first draft, awaits. And perhaps that tumbler of 18 year old Macallen scotch, to be shared with the ghost of F.O. Stanley at his hotel. Oh, wait, he was a teetotaler.....
Clear skies,
Jim
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