Vegas Baby!

 

Vegas is another destination I didn't discover until later in life, but once I did it is hard to keep me away!

 

 

2020 is the first year  we haven't visited Sin City in almost 20 years, so I have quite the collection of photos. Did I forget to mention, I really don't gamble much when we go to Vegas. I do, however, love to wander the casinos and see them "thru my looking glass", so to speak.

Don't get me wrong, I love the tourist shots. The NYNY casino is one of my favorites.

The Paris Casino at night is another must see!

 

 The Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in the Bellagio Casino is always a colorful destination.

 

 Their themes change with the seasons, but their Autumn displays are a favorite of mine.

 

 

 

 

 But my favorite way to experience Las Vegas is to wake up at sunrise to roam the casinos as the sun starts shining in their windows.

 

 

 

 

 

 Enjoying the rare silence before the rest of the tourists start their day is like seeing a different side of the glitz and glam that is usually Las Vegas.

 

 

 

 Plus, when else could I take pictures of the elegant bathrooms in some of the casinos without getting a few strange looks.
 

 

 

Remember, when you plan your trip to Las Vegas, enjoy that glitz but look for the artistic mixed in with the glam. 

 

 

 

 

 

Jet Plane Jaunts

 

 Oh how I miss Jets, airports, and all air travel. Although I enjoy road tripping, there is an excitement that builds when a trip through the sky is drawing near. We have recently booked our first trip via jet plane since 2019, and although it is just a short jaunt to the Midwest for some much needed family time, I am looking forward to soaring above the clouds again! 

 

In honor of the imminent return of safe air travel, some shots of previous "Jet Jaunting" would be a wonderful way to celebrate the letter J don't you think?

 

 Living in a remote area, airline travel can be pretty complicated. We have one small airport with currently only one airline(United). Travel out of the area usually begins at sunrise with a short jaunt to San Francisco to catch a connecting flight.

 Definitely worth the time if we are flying to tropical destinations, like Hawaii.

 

 

The only down side is we usually have to dedicate two days of our vacation time to travel.

 

 

 

 

If we want to fly on our favorite airline, a five hour drive to Sacramento is necessary. Here we can catch a direct flight just about anywhere in the US.  

 

(Above is a portion of Lake Meade)

 

 

 

To be honest, we spend many of our Southwest points on trips to Las Vegas,  a ninety minute jaunt by plane from Sacramento.

 

 

 

 Like roadtripping, I like to find something to make the journey fun during air travel. As you might have noticed, in this case it is a window seat and a 

camera. I have been lucky to have captured a few cool cloud formations during our travels.  The one above is one of my favorites!!

 

 

 

 

Capturing the top of a thunderhead to the rain below was really a treat.

 

 

 

 Of course, air travel isn't always fun. Turbulence, sitting for long periods of time on the tarmac, missed flights and unexpected delays have lead to more than a few frustrated days of travel. I am willing to put up with almost anything to be able to travel the skies again(at least for a little while ;-).

 

 I never knew how much I would miss the hustle and bustle of air travel until 2020 came along and now

 I can't wait to soar above the clouds again!

 

 

 

Travel Tuesday - Downtown Woodland

 Woodland haa an interesting general history, as I talked about last week, but it was fun to delve into the history of a few of the sights I glimpsed along my stroll down Main Street.

With an Old West feel, the Capital Hotel sign marks Woodland's  "oldest commercial building*". The Capital Hotel was also the first hotel to open in town. The hotel may no longer open to visitors, but the downstairs floor is now home to the popular, Burger Saloon restaurant!

*credit

 

 

 Originally the, "New York Store" from 1890 until 1895, the Corner Drug Store was opened by Wallace Pond in 1897. It wasn't until after the Physician's Building was renovated in 1912 building, however, that it was renamed the Corner Drug Company. 

*Read More Here (credit)

 

 

 

 

 Although not as old as some of the businesses, Timothy's Bakery recently celebrated over 40 years in Woodland. It's worthy to note the building was originally opened as a bakery in 1908 though.

*credit

 

 

 

The Porter Building, designed in 1913, is said to be haunted by a group of small children...

It does look a bit spooky, don't you think??

*read more

 

 

 

 

 

Our last stop is the Hotel Woodland. Now a venue for weddings and similar large parties, the Hotel Woodland was ready for guests in 1928. It was initially created to fill the need for a more upscale hotel in the area. Eventually it suffered from disrepair and it wasn't until 1997 that the building went under major renovations making it into the beautiful venue it is today!

 *read more

 

 

 

Thanks for exploring Woodland with me!! 

 

 

Travel Tuesday - Historical Woodland California

 

 

In the past couple of weeks, we have had the chance to finally venture out of the area and do a bit of local sightseeing(socially distanced and masked of course) during our search for our new RV. Our most recent shopping adventure took us near the historical California town of Woodland.

 

 

The County Seat of Yolo County, Woodland was originally inhabited by the Patwin.  A native people who moved into the valley area from the north, the Patwin enjoyed the warmer climate along with the rich farming soil found this central California valley. The Patwin people enjoyed their solitude until the early 1800s when British and American trappers made their way to the area in search of beaver and otter pelts. The trappers found what they were looking for and unfortunately they also passed on a disease which decimated the Patwin.

 

 

 

 

 In the Mid 1800s Frank Freeman acquired the then "Yolo City Store" from Henry Wyckoff with aspirations of building a large trading town for the large grain producing area.  In 1851 Freeman fomally petitioned a post office for "Woodland, CA."  Freeman's wife Gertrude thought the name was perfect for the wooded country that surrounded the area when she suggested it to her husband.

 

 

The Woodland Opera House, designed by San Francisco architect Thomas Welsh, was built during 1885 and opened 1886.  It was the first opera house in the Sacramento Valley, and the center of theatrical entertainment for the large farming community.  Little did they know tragedy would destroy the building less than 10 years later.

 

 

 

 

 

Behind the Woodland Opera District, in the Chinese section of the alley, fire broke out on July 1, 1892.  The flames were fanned by strong winds and, in addition to a block of homes, the Opera House along with businesses along with a large area of Main Street were destroyed. Due to the ongoing country wide depression, people feared rebuilding might not happen. Luckily,  David Hershey and other prominent businessmen of Woodland pulled together to rebuild, not only the Woodland Opera House, but by 1896 the rest of Main Street was ready for business as well!

Join me next week for a walk down Woodland's Historical Main Street!

 

 

Historical Data collected from:

https://strollthroughhistory.com/about-us/history/ 

https://woodlandchamber.org/woodland-history-2/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodland_Opera_House