Richmond, Virginia. It was our first visit to the city; a city deeply rooted in American history with direct ties to the civil war. It’s a city with historical neighborhoods, a modern city center and incredible murals seemingly around every corner. It’s where we experienced Mexican/Asian fusion for the first time and you know what? It works! Virginia Commonwealth University calls Richmond home, and it has a student population of 25,000+. With no set expectations on this our first visit to Richmond, our eyes and minds were open to new experiences.

Halloween.  Dia de Los Muertos. It’s not so much that I’m madly in love with the holiday, although I do think it’s crazy fun. I am, in fact, madly in love with all things fall. The trees are bursting with color and mother nature is gearing up for winter as we near the end of October.

Our second day in New York City found us making our way from Casablanca to Madison Avenue and 41st where we visited the New York City Public Library. From there we took a lovely stroll on The High Line and ate lunch at the Chelsea Market, which was followed by yummy cocktails at sunset with rooftop views.  It all made for quite the day, having walked a total of eight miles.  Who says NYC is not pedestrian friendly?

Everyone should visit Times Square at least once in their life.  It’s one of those iconic destinations that has to be experienced to be appreciated, or not.

When we owned our B&B in southern Oregon, the phenomenon of Airbnb was just burgeoning on to the hospitality scene, but we could see the writing on the wall.

It’s a fairly bold statement, “Why Everyone Should Visit Ashland, Oregon” but sometimes you just gotta make a big statement.  And, as long as you can back it up, why not go bold?

Our fourth and final stay with the Library Hotel Collection was at the Hotel Giraffe; a sleek, tall, and beautiful hotel, just like a Giraffe!

It’s a tricky business to write a hotel review. I mean, think about it.  How much can one say?  There is a room, a bed, bath and hopefully, it’s clean and comfortable with a sense of style. That about wraps it up, don’t you think? But every now and then we come across a hotel(s) with a little something extra that makes us sit up and take notice.  And that’s the case when it comes to the 4 boutique hotels in the Library Hotel Collection in New York City; each offering the finest in accommodations. 

Books.  In a day and age when electronics reign supreme, it’s good to know people still pick up a book.  A real book, possibly even a library book, and not just open their Kindle or device of preference, but rather hold an actual book.  The smell of the pages.  The feel of a faded dog-eared page marking a stopping point. And illustrations. Old-school illustrations with captions.

“I go to Paris, I go to London, I go to Rome, and I always say, “There’s no place like New York. It’s the most exciting city in the world now. That’s the way it is. That’s it.” Robert De Niro