Had a $57 breakfast today.

Staying at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. Christine is in a meeting at J. P. Morgan Chase.

Room is not big, but well appointed... but not worth $446 a night!

Damn! They are proud of their rooms and vittles here. I can't wait to get the hell outta here.

Eric wrote:

Staying at the Waldorf Astoria in New York.  Christine is in a meeting at J. P. Morgan Chase.

Room is not big, but well appointed... but not worth $446 a night!

Damn!  They are proud of their rooms and vittles here.  I can't wait to get the hell outta here.

Remember a long time ago passing through NYC and having to get a room near the airport....when told the price this small town boy almost dropped over all I could say was...one room not an entire floor....Sure they were looking for the turnip truck I'd fallen off.....Nice to visit but could never imagine living there....

I had steak 'n eggs.  The steak was only $4 more, so I said "what the hell".  Was surprised on how much steak they put on the plate... 3 half-inch thick slices of filet... yum.

Eric wrote:

I had steak 'n eggs.  The steak was only $4 more, so I said "what the hell".  Was surprised on how much steak they put on the plate... 3 half-inch thick slices of filet... yum.

Nice.... Get in any sightseeing?.....

Not yet. Maybe this afternoon.

fancy......................

The tolls on the bridges for 1 day are enough to beat all of our bank accounts..

It's great you two are taking advantage of your stay! A mistake people often make on vacation is not stopping to smell the roses…or eat the breakast, lol. There is something very memorable/enjoyable about fine hotel breakfasts, isn't there?

NYC is a curiosity to me…something to observe behind velvet ropes….and then keep right on going….

Perhaps if I had parked outside Manhattan and taken a taxi to the hotel, I might have enjoyed things more.  You can't take in any sightseeing while driving.  There are so many people arrogantly crossing the street in front of you when you have the green light, people double-parked, cars and trucks not staying in their lanes, etc. that you have to really pay attention to the road and nothing else.

If there is a next time, I will take mass transit into the city, enjoy some sights, then take mass transit out of the city for my night's stay.

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When we go to our favorite cabin in the Smokies (in Townsend), we usually make the obligatory trip to Gatlinburg for an hour or two, but that's not why we go to the Smokies.  Gatlinburg is so crowded and touristy.  Here is a view from the cabin's front porch.  This is why we go to the Smokies... the mountain experience and nature at it's finest.



I lived in Bristol for a year and six of us rented a chalet in Gatlinburg and rode motorcycles over from Bristol.  That was real nice.  There is nothing like riding a bike in the mountains.

Beautiful, Eric.  Years ago, we travelled to Gatlinburg twice a year but not any more. It lost the quaint mountain town atmosphere years ago. It is nothing more than a commercialized tourist town. Very sad....I loved the local stores that sold only artisan goods. I do remember my favorite store was a tiny jelly and jam shop....all homemade. Also a small candle shop.

The small cabin style stores were located in the Village behind the main street Pancake House

That cabin had a porch on three sides... mountain was on the other side.  It had a hot tub on one side, a picnic table with a Webber grill on the other side.   High-backed rockers on the front porch.

Firewood was stacked outside and there was a nice fireplace in a corner of the great room.

We would have to gun the car up the trail to get to the cabin because it was so steep.  It was the highest cabin in the complex.  You parked, walked up the steps to a landing, then up another set of stairs to the front of the cabin.  On the second floor of the cabin, there was a back door that was at the mountain level... steep land.

The complex (28 acres) had a pond where you could fish, and a garden where you could pick veggies... as long as you ate them while you were staying there.  

We haven't been there in a while.  Townsend fought a 4-lane highway, but I think the State of Tennessee finally got their way.

The grocery store was quaint... like the old-time general store.  You could get bacon, barbed wire, and  bullets.

Eric,
Although I have always wanted to visit NY, Ill take the smokies any day.

Ive often found people from NY to be very rude. Yep, the smokies beats NY imho.

Dang, I could get lost in a view like that. Do you happen to have a hot tub facing that view? wow

Yeah, all the decks have that view. I'll have to admit that the fog isn't there all the time... only on certain mornings.

Eric wrote:

Yeah, all the decks have that view.  I'll have to admit that the fog isn't there all the time... only on certain mornings.

o I know the look. I haven't done that in forever. I once took my family including our parents to a cabin for Christmas for a week. Bear creek cabins. Seriously cabins in the mountains have special place in my heart.

This is the place I went. It was snowing though. That was a experience. I think I could have done without that part lol



If you own a cabin in the mountains, your so lucky. It just doesn't get any better than that imho

We don't own a cabin in the mountains... only rented one for a day or two at a time.

My brother and his wife live in Franklin, N.C. in a cabin. When the leaves change color, we usually visit them. It is about a half-hour's drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Eric wrote:

We don't own a cabin in the mountains... only rented one for a day or two at a time.

My brother and his wife live in Franklin, N.C. in a cabin.  When the leaves change color, we usually visit them.  It is about a half-hour's drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

oops I misunderstood. but just going there like you can is a huge plus.

Cindy and I are headed north to see the leaves in a few weeks. :-)

Eric, I wish you had the time to go see West Point and some of the sights in that area along with the West Point band... I avoid NYC as much as possible, but there are a few good places to eat...