Just joining me? Read Part One here, and Part Two here! It was great news that my dad got the job managing his own hotel, but I didn’t like the idea of moving very much, especially to Texas. It seemed just so…far away! I hated the thought of starting over someplace else, having to make new friends, going to a new school, all of it. (I still, to this day, resist change. Ugh, I hate it. But once the change process is over? I’m totally fine.) My dad’s new hotel was the Holiday Inn in Hurst, Texas, just outside of Fort Worth. We moved there in the summer before I…
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The Hotel Diaries: Part Two
Just joining me? Read “The Hotel Diaries: Part One”, here. After working at the Ascot Hotel, my dad got a job at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza, where he was the assistant manager. I really liked this hotel; I thought it was very cool that I had to ride an elevator just to get to the lobby, which was (and still is!) on the fifteenth floor. The lower floors were, I believe, offices and conference rooms, and there were shops at street level. Since my dad wasn’t the Big Cheese at this hotel, my sister and I weren’t yet at the point where we got “whatever we wanted” from the…
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The Hotel Diaries: Part One
Growing up with a Dad who was in the hotel business was pretty awesome. My sister and I were the lucky recipients of certain perks that made our friends pretty envious. I thought I’d share a few hotel stories over the course of a few posts, if you don’t mind, starting with the earliest hotel. Dad was on the management team (I can’t remember for sure but I think he was first the Front Desk Manager and then the Assistant Manager) of the Ascot Hotel on South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, right across the street from Grant Park. The Ascot doesn’t exist under that name anymore, but the building is…
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You Know How Some Foods Bring Back Great Memories? This Isn’t About That.
Before I begin, I feel the need to put up a disclaimer:“Readers who have a strong aversion to reading about bodily functions (ahem, Julesie) should proceed with this post at their own risk.” Last night, because I had to work until 6:30 and Jim wanted to get a workout in after he got home from his day, dinner was a bit of a rush job. I made–since the ingredients were already in the house and it was something easy–pigs in blankets*. A food like this generally brings the warm fuzzies and thoughts of childhood to the person enjoying it. Though I like pigs in blankets every once in a blue…
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On Crazy Kings and Reenactments
While in Germany we spent an entire day (the day after going to the Zugspitze) taking in three of the dreamy castles of King Ludwig II. We started in Füssen, at Schloss Hohenschwangau, which was originally the home of Ludwig II’s parents, and then became his when they died. I didn’t get a really great picture of the entire castle, probably because I wasn’t flying over it in a helicopter, but you’ll get the idea. I took a few pictures outside on the grounds, because unfortunately you can’t take pictures inside any of the castles, with a couple of exceptions (I’ll get to one in a minute). We only had…