Showing posts with label Small Town Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Small Town Reviews. Show all posts
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Wakefield Farm Bed and Breakfast
..is located in Chappell Hill TX. My friends, Vicki and Debbie went with me to the Christmas home tour here and we all agreed that this was our favorite place! The 3 buildings consisted of a 150+ year old school house in its near origonal form used now as the dining room and 2 100+ year old buildings houseing the uber elegant guest bedrooms! Take a moment and delight in this beautiful establishment!!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Galveston Island, TX.
A couple of weeks ago when Don had his first appointment with his new doctor, since we both had the day off, it was really beautiful weather and we were already about half way there, we went to Galveston. The beeches are nice, but I love the historic Strand.
It had only been 8 months since the devastating hurricane Ike. I was thrilled to see how well the restoration is going and have to say that the Strand is nicer now than it was the year before the hurricane!
Another historical building.
The city was planning a re-birthday! Most of the stores were open or very close and the town was ready for a celebration!
I found this cute bear sitting on a bench just waiting for me to hug him...
This is a sign made from an actual photograph of The Strand over 100 years ago...
...and this is the exact same spot today.
If you look very closely, you will see a blue line. That line was the water line from the hurricane! The Strand is on the opposite end of the Island than the beech.
Just to give you an idea of how high it is... I am 5'6" and had to walk up a 10 inch curb to get to where I was standing.
It had only been 8 months since the devastating hurricane Ike. I was thrilled to see how well the restoration is going and have to say that the Strand is nicer now than it was the year before the hurricane!
Another historical building.
The city was planning a re-birthday! Most of the stores were open or very close and the town was ready for a celebration!
I found this cute bear sitting on a bench just waiting for me to hug him...
This is a sign made from an actual photograph of The Strand over 100 years ago...
...and this is the exact same spot today.
If you look very closely, you will see a blue line. That line was the water line from the hurricane! The Strand is on the opposite end of the Island than the beech.
Just to give you an idea of how high it is... I am 5'6" and had to walk up a 10 inch curb to get to where I was standing.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Hot Springs, AR. The Town
Here we are posing for a picture sitting by one of the many water features in the historic area of Hot Springs...
..and here is just another fountain. Beautiful huh!
The Victorian architecture was breathtaking!
..just thinking of all the detailed work that went into some of these structures..
..and that it is still here for us to enjoy!
There were many bath houses on main street like this one. Most stood empty, but this is the only one still in business...and business was thriving. By 11am, people were lined up out the door!
This was the bath house that is transformed into a museum. I have about 100 pictures from this museum! I recommend that if you ever have a chance to visit Hot Springs, place this museum on your list of things you must see! Very well maintained and with 3 floors and a basement, a gift shop and a short 10 minute movie, it was well worth the free ticket price! They do accept donations. It took us a bit over an hour to make our way through and by the time we were done, I felt as though I had been through a time warp back to 1910!
Most of the shops sadly were junky souvenir stores. In fact there were more than there were at South Padre! There were some art gallery's too, but most were very modern. This shop was different though. As you can tell by the name - it was geared towards handmade crafting.
I thought we would find great Victorian stores selling parasols, hats and crocheted gloves...instead, I had a terrible time just trying to find a traditional Christmas ornament that represented the city...a little tradition I have for what I call my "Travel Tree".
..and here is just another fountain. Beautiful huh!
The Victorian architecture was breathtaking!
..just thinking of all the detailed work that went into some of these structures..
..and that it is still here for us to enjoy!
There were many bath houses on main street like this one. Most stood empty, but this is the only one still in business...and business was thriving. By 11am, people were lined up out the door!
This was the bath house that is transformed into a museum. I have about 100 pictures from this museum! I recommend that if you ever have a chance to visit Hot Springs, place this museum on your list of things you must see! Very well maintained and with 3 floors and a basement, a gift shop and a short 10 minute movie, it was well worth the free ticket price! They do accept donations. It took us a bit over an hour to make our way through and by the time we were done, I felt as though I had been through a time warp back to 1910!
Most of the shops sadly were junky souvenir stores. In fact there were more than there were at South Padre! There were some art gallery's too, but most were very modern. This shop was different though. As you can tell by the name - it was geared towards handmade crafting.
I thought we would find great Victorian stores selling parasols, hats and crocheted gloves...instead, I had a terrible time just trying to find a traditional Christmas ornament that represented the city...a little tradition I have for what I call my "Travel Tree".
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Hot Springs AR. National Park~The Grand Promenade
Located directly across the street from the Park Hotel was The Promenade; the start of a half mile walking path created by the city for the visitors to enjoy.
At the turn of the century it was discovered that exercise was a vital part of staying healthy.
This is the inviting entrance to the park.
Along the way there are fountains of spring water for anyone to enjoy...if you don't mind drinking 140 degree water that is!
Here is one of the many springs where the water surfaces out of the rocks...
...and another.
Along the way there are several information signs that we enjoyed reading.
Along with the drinking fountains, there were beautiful Victorian style basins for a quick wash of your hands.
A built in chess or checker board! I want one of these in our yard!
Several butterflies made themselves available for portraits!
At the turn of the century it was discovered that exercise was a vital part of staying healthy.
This is the inviting entrance to the park.
Along the way there are fountains of spring water for anyone to enjoy...if you don't mind drinking 140 degree water that is!
Here is one of the many springs where the water surfaces out of the rocks...
...and another.
Along the way there are several information signs that we enjoyed reading.
Along with the drinking fountains, there were beautiful Victorian style basins for a quick wash of your hands.
A built in chess or checker board! I want one of these in our yard!
Several butterflies made themselves available for portraits!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
The Park Hotel - The Good-The Bad-& The Ugly!
The GOOD:
We stayed at a Historic Hotel called the Park Hotel, located right across the street from a walking entrance to the Hot Springs National Park. As you can see, the exterior of this hotel embodies many of the Victorian ornate details that we all love.
The main lobby with all of its solid brass railings and doors, inlaid tile flooring, and fancy woodwork echoed of days past.
This is the original elevator. Sadly it was out of service and only went up to the penthouse anyway.
These are the original doors..
..and there were dumb waiters that I think were still in use.
...The BAD:
Dark creepy hallways.
A really bad view with only mini blinds! I was hoping to sleep in a bit since we had not arrived until after midnight. NOPE - I was up at the crack of dawn..with the sun shinning in my face!
...and a TINY bathroom....which left me wondering how in the world those Victorian ladies could possibly get dressed in there!
..and the shower was just as nice as the rest of the room. There was not even a soap holder in there.
...And the UGLY!
Ewwweeee - Exposed wiring!
..and this was the "control" for the air. Turn it whichever way you liked though, I don't think it made a difference. I froze that night and there was no blanket - either on the bed or in the closet!
Furniture looked like it was right out of a garage sale given by the Old Ramada Inn's discarding their cheesy Spanish 1960's style decadence.
..actually this picture makes this Pleather and scratched chair look decent.
...and this is what was hiding behind that beautiful chair!
Summary:
It was clean. It was convenient. I felt safe. They did not mind that we showed up 30 minutes past midnight and the ladies at the front desk were very nice. They did not mind that we were pulling a ginormous horse trailer behind our truck and the parking was free. It cost just under $100.00 for the night with all the taxes. We heard from many that the restaurant (only open for dinner) was one of the best in the town, but our schedule did not permit us to experience that.
Would I stay there the next time I go to Hot Springs? No. Not unless they seriously renovated the rooms. There were a couple of other historic hotels in the region, or many brand new ones a few miles away closer to the Lake that would have been more comfortable and probably close to the same price.
We stayed at a Historic Hotel called the Park Hotel, located right across the street from a walking entrance to the Hot Springs National Park. As you can see, the exterior of this hotel embodies many of the Victorian ornate details that we all love.
The main lobby with all of its solid brass railings and doors, inlaid tile flooring, and fancy woodwork echoed of days past.
This is the original elevator. Sadly it was out of service and only went up to the penthouse anyway.
These are the original doors..
..and there were dumb waiters that I think were still in use.
...The BAD:
Dark creepy hallways.
A really bad view with only mini blinds! I was hoping to sleep in a bit since we had not arrived until after midnight. NOPE - I was up at the crack of dawn..with the sun shinning in my face!
...and a TINY bathroom....which left me wondering how in the world those Victorian ladies could possibly get dressed in there!
..and the shower was just as nice as the rest of the room. There was not even a soap holder in there.
...And the UGLY!
Ewwweeee - Exposed wiring!
..and this was the "control" for the air. Turn it whichever way you liked though, I don't think it made a difference. I froze that night and there was no blanket - either on the bed or in the closet!
Furniture looked like it was right out of a garage sale given by the Old Ramada Inn's discarding their cheesy Spanish 1960's style decadence.
..actually this picture makes this Pleather and scratched chair look decent.
...and this is what was hiding behind that beautiful chair!
Summary:
It was clean. It was convenient. I felt safe. They did not mind that we showed up 30 minutes past midnight and the ladies at the front desk were very nice. They did not mind that we were pulling a ginormous horse trailer behind our truck and the parking was free. It cost just under $100.00 for the night with all the taxes. We heard from many that the restaurant (only open for dinner) was one of the best in the town, but our schedule did not permit us to experience that.
Would I stay there the next time I go to Hot Springs? No. Not unless they seriously renovated the rooms. There were a couple of other historic hotels in the region, or many brand new ones a few miles away closer to the Lake that would have been more comfortable and probably close to the same price.
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