Thursday Doors- The Sherlock Holmes

Copyright ©2021 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Back in 2019 the day after Christmas He-Man, myself, and Big Baby Boy headed to London for a little British Christmas and New Year’s fun.

Early one morning while on our way to…I’ve forgotten which museum we were heading to I spotted this pub and stopped for a quick photo. While the doors are open I’m not really sure if it was open or not. Don’t you love the flower baskets of greenery?

December 29, 2019

I did a quick online search to see if there was any information about the pub and found this,

“”The Sherlock Holmes pub is a traditional English pub serving pints and pub food. As well as a bar and restaurant, the pub has a secret – a complete recreation of Holmes and Watson’s study and sitting room with a large collection of objects and photographs related to the characters from the books and adaptations. The collection was put together for the Festival of Great Britain and moved to this permanent home at the Sherlock Holmes pub in 1957.” ~https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/place/48927-sherlock-holmes-pub”.

I wish we had gone back this route and stopped in for a drink and lunch! I would have loved to see that interior now that I know what it is.

This post is part of Thursday Doors which is hosted by Dan Antion. His blog is No Facilities. Click here to get to his blog to see many other doors from all over the world that other door lovers have shared this week.

Nikon Df| Nikkor 24-120mm| PS CC 23.0.0

more to come…

Whatever Weds. San Clemente Pier Plus 1 more…

Copyright ©2021 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

He-Man and I have been traveling between our children’s homes in April which has been fun, and wonderful. Our latest trip we went to see our son in SoCal for several days. One evening we went down to the pier hoping for a good sunset. It wasn’t bad, but the company was perfect.

San Clemente Pier at Sunset

We dined out in restaurants and it was grand! Really. I missed dining out. We ate in places that we don’t have at home like Thai, Greek, and fresh Seafood. I was bad and didn’t take any images of the food at these places. Sorry!

We took after dinner hikes up in the canyon near Big Baby Boy’s and The Dark Haired Beauty’s place, and it was lovely. Spring wildflowers were in bloom.

Here’s a Sweet Pea of some sort- Sandy Beach or Chaparral? They are the largest flowers in the Pea family I’ve ever seen before.

I only took my Fuji X-T3 and my newest lens for it the Fujinon XF 16-80mm.

I’ve had the lens a couple of months now and really haven’t used it all that much, but this trip it got some love. I think it did a good job and its small, as well as light weight so it made a great travel kit.

There’s a nesting Red-tailed Hawk in a tree at the Golf Course where we live. I am hoping to get some good images of the chick and the parents bringing in food. So far I’ve not been lucky.

I hope you’re all having a good week so far. What’s new with you?

Fuji X-T3| Fuji 16-80mm| PS CC 22.3.0

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Thurs. Doors- Hampton Court Palace

Copyright ©2020 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

It seems like an age ago that I shared an image for Thursday Doors or from our trip to London which was just this past January!

I’ve let some of these images marinate long enough. ☺ Here’s one.

One day we Ubered out to Hampton Court Palace the favorite palace of King Henry VIII. It’s 12 miles southwest and upstream from central London on the Thames River.

The drive there was lovely passing small towns and beautiful countryside.

This is an entrance to one side of the palace through the left door and the courtyard entrance in the center. I think the door on the right was a cloak closet, but it’s been awhile since being there that I’ve forgotten! I should have made more notes. It’s a palace I’d like to tour again one day.

Thursday Doors is the creation of Norm 2.0 Head on over to his blog to see many other doors from all over the world that other door lovers have shared.

Nikon Df| Nikkor 24-120mm| PS CC 22.0.0

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Whatever Weds. The Santa Train

Copyright ©2019 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

In December the Nevada State Railroad Museum located in Carson City, NV rolls out N°25 to drive The Santa Train.

You know when I went to the Railroad Museum before she wasn’t out that time. click here to see that post.  I’ve wanted to get back up here to see the Steamie since.

Just as I did before I arrived early hoping to see the crew rolling her out of the garage, but I was a wee bit late she was already out and building pressure.  N°25 was built in 1905 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works.  She’s a 78-ton 10-wheeler. She hauled both passenger and freight cars between Carson, Virginia City, and Reno from 1911 to 1947.

Now she runs on special days throughout the year.

Copyright © Deborah M. Zajac ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

One of the special events she’s rolled out for is during December when she’s The Santa Train which is  N°25, a passenger car, and a red caboose. Passengers come for a ride around the station and Santa Claus is on the train to talk to the children, and I hear he passes out candy canes to everyone.

Here she is at the station getting some water, and passengers.

The Santa Train

I spy Santa!  He’s with the Conductor, Engineer, the Brakemen, and some Elves disguised as cowboys. 😉

Santa Claus

Here comes THE SANTA TRAIN!! TOOT! TOOT!

The Santa Train

I don’t know if I’ll be posting much anymore this year things are going to get busy pretty quick. Big Baby Boy and The Crosscourt Kitty🐈 are arriving soon for the Holidays and #1 Grandson is coming to visit too!

There’ll be kids jingle belling, holiday greetings, gay happy meetings, and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago! It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

In case I don’t get another chance to let me wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous New Year!! xx

I’m chugging out…TOOOOT! TOOT! 😍

Nikon D810| Nikkor 24-120mm| PS CC 21.0.1| Lexar Digital Film

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http://www.nsrm-friends.org/vtrr25.html

Wild Weds. 26/52 The Inn at Benton Hot Springs

Copyright ©2018 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I thought I’d change it up a bit and show you the Inn I stayed in the night before the Wild Mustangs trip.

The Inn at Benton Hot Springs

It’s lovely! The Inn features 7 rooms in an Historic 1940’s building, along with two private historic houses, with private hot tubs, and 10 private tubs for day and overnight use, and a wonderful breakfast in the morning.

The Inn is housed in a 1940’s block building constructed with local pumice materials. It was built to replace an old hotel where 10 small rooms shared one bath. The Inn was renovated in 1998, however the original structure integrity was retained. Therefore, all rooms except the Marquessa Suite (Room 7) share a bath. Two additional unique bathrooms with showers are available in a separate, adjacent building.

Prized for it’s western history, hot springs, remote settings, and  dark skies.

The family has owned and operated the ranch for more than 90 years.

This is their Mission Statement:

“Our mission is to provide
guests with a tranquil and
peaceful respite from their
fast-paced, chaotic worlds.
During their visits we
encourage calm reflection
while lingering in natural
soothing hot mineral water.
We desire that our guests
leave in a restored and
reinvigorated condition,
returning to their worlds with
enhanced balance and harmony.”

Each room at the Inn is decorated in a different theme. I was in the Victor Room, but first let me show you the place setting and crumb cake we had as a starter to our breakfast. We had eggs, and hash browns, lots of coffee, and the conversation was delightful. You eat with other guests all at one table. There are two seating’s for breakfast. 8 o’clock, or 9 o’clock. Don’t be late!  I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo of the whole table. 😕

IMG_8829

Now, onto the Victor Suite. My room was on the end of left side of the building with a street view. There was a lovely chair outside my door with a view of the front courtyard. That image is still on my cell phone.

Brass bed… pardon my jackets on the chair please!

Victor Suite Rm 2

Each room had a Teddy Bear on the Bed(s)…  after meeting some of the other guests that were also doing the Wild Mustang Trip I asked if I could see their rooms and decor and I said I’d be happy to show them my room too. We all did a little tour of each others rooms. It was neat to see 4 of the 7 rooms, plus the Miner’s cottage. The first question one of the ladies asked me was ,”Do you have a Teddy Bear on your bed? 😊

Victor Suite Rm 2

I loved the antique furniture, and collectibles in the room. That black door is to the shared bathroom. I didn’t take any photos of the bathroom.

Victor Suite Rm 2_IMG_8806

In this image below I don’t know if the thing under the table is for magazines or boots. I’m hoping it’s for boots!  Oops, forgive my Ray-Ban’s too please.

Victor Suite Rm 2

Victor Suite Rm 2

…and a closer look at what’s on the white table. I love old bottles, and railroad spikes and do-dads.

Victor Suite Rm 2

 

For the History Buffs, here’s a bit of history on the town of Benton from the Inn’s website.

~://benhttptonhotsprings.org/history.php

Benton is one of the oldest existing towns in Mono County. Benton was founded by the western Indians who came to make use of its hot springs. As the nearby towns of Bodie and Aurora grew, Benton became a check-point for travelers on the way south in 1852.

Silver was discovered in the hills of Benton in 1862, and its population quickly grew. After hitting the initial strike of silver, not much more was found, but Benton’s profits were soon primarily from silver.

Unlike other mining towns, Benton was able to provide enough for the town to thrive and flourish for about 50 years. Most of the main activity took place between 1862 and 1890.

The Carson and Colorado Railroad reached the region in 1883, and made a stop at Benton Station, just four miles away.

I have some images of the old town that’ll be sharing in the future.

I’ll be staying here again in July, and hope to get a photo of the whole breakfast table all set up for breakfast, and if I get a different room you know I’ll be taking photos to share.

Oh, and I’m packing my bathing suit this time so, I can partake of the Hot Springs tubs!😀

Nikon D810| Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G|  iPhone 7 Plus| PS CC 2018

more to come…

 

Golden Hour in Manhattan

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

While in Manhattan my sisters and I took a Twilight/City Lights cruise around the harbor on the Clipper City Tall Ship.

Manhattan Skyline

We sailed for two hours around the harbor seeing the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island,  Governor’s Island, and of  course Manhattan’s skyline. One World Observatory Tower stands gleaming with the last rays of the day’s sun shining on it, and the city beneath it.

Nikon Df| Nikkor 28-105mm| Delkin Digital Film| PS CC 2015 & On 1 Photo 10

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Radio City Music Hall

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

One of the iconic NYC buildings that I’ve always wanted to see is Radio City Music Hall.

We passed it while on the Big Bus Tour during the day, and it wasn’t as exciting as I had imagined, I knew it would look better at night.

We had tickets to see Wicked that night so, planning ahead I packed my tripod in order to stop on the way back after the play to take a photograph of Radio City Music Hall.

The NYU Arts & Science class of 2016 had their Baccalaureate Ceremony there earlier in the day. Everywhere you looked there were purple robes, and caps.  I didn’t get one good image of that though. 😦

Radio City Music Hall

It does look much better at night.

For the history buffs-

“Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city. Its interior was declared a city landmark in 1978.

The Music Hall opened to the public on December 27, 1932 with a lavish stage show featuring Ray Bolger, Doc Rockwelland Martha Graham. The opening was meant to be a return to high-class variety entertainment. The new format was not a success. The program was very long, and individual acts were lost in the cavernous hall. On January 11, 1933, the Music Hall converted to the then-familiar format of a feature film, with a spectacular stage show perfected by Rothafel at the Roxy Theatre in New York City. The first film shown on the giant screen was Frank Capra’s The Bitter Tea of General Yen, starring Barbara Stanwyck, and the Music Hall became the premiere showcase for films from the RKO-Radio Studio. The film-plus-stage-spectacle format continued at the Music Hall until 1979, with four complete performances presented every day.

By the 1970s, changes in film distribution made it difficult for Radio City to secure exclusive bookings of many films; furthermore, the theater preferred to show only G-rated movies, which further limited their film choices as the decade wore on.[4] Regular film showings at Radio City ended in 1979. Plans were made to convert the theater into office space, but a combination of preservation and commercial interests (including an irate commentary on Saturday Night Lives Weekend Update given by John Belushi) resulted in the preservation of Radio City and in 1980, after a renovation, it reopened to the public.

Radio City Music Hall is currently leased to and managed by The Madison Square Garden Company[5] Movie premieres and feature runs have occasionally taken place there such as the Harry Potter film series, but the focus of the theater throughout the year is now on concerts and live stage shows. The Radio City Christmas Spectacular continues to be an important annual event (see below). The Music Hall has presented most of the leading pop and rock performers of the last 30 years, as well as televised events including the Grammy Awards, the Tony Awards, the Daytime Emmy Awards the MTV Video Music Awards, and the NFL Draft. Starting in 2013, however, the Tony Awards will be the only major televised awards ceremony at Radio City, as the Video Music Awards relocated permanently to the Barclays Center that year. (The Grammys which alternated between New York City and Hollywood, has been held since 2004 in Los Angeles, as have the Daytime Emmys, off and on, since 2006.)”~Wiki-pedia

I had no idea it had a nickname! I am curious to see what it looks like inside. Perhaps one day I’ll get that opportunity.

Nikon Df| Nikkor 28-105mm| Delkin Digital Film| Tripod

More to come…