Doors of Tucson

 

When I visit Tucson Arizona, I tend to spend a lot of time in the "old town" area near downtown.  That's where my favorite restaurant is located and it's also where there are a lot of historic buildings.  

The last time I was there, I noticed how each of the doors along the building that houses local arts and crafts has been painted with different designs.

Each one is a unique design.  

What a clever idea!

Such an appealing way to attract customers to each of the little shops inside this building.  

Incredible Homes of Quincy

 

Today I'm taking a visit to my home town Quincy Illinois.  I grew up in Quincy, moving to Arizona when I was 24 years old.  So, I spent my formative years in this beautiful river town.  Quincy sits on the Mississippi River and was fueled early on by trade on the river.  Consequently, there were a lot of prosperous merchants residing in Quincy and the city's vast array of grand homes is proof of its historic significance.  The first photo above is of my favorite house in Quincy.  I have a soft spot for Tudor architecture and this one in my mind, is perfection.  

Here is another house with Tudor touches.  It is located in the same neighborhood as the first house above.  I used to scour this area admiring the homes. 

A lot of homes in Quincy are constructed of red brick.  

There is an equal number of homes constructed in stone.

In recent years, homes of Quincy have become tourist magnets.  People from all over the midwest travel to Quincy just to gaze on these gorgeous houses.

With eye-poppers like this house, who can blame them.  The owners of this home have gone the extra-mile to make their house as beautiful as possible.  With flowers pouring from the roofline, it's a pleasure to see and photograph.  

Back In Time

 

Today I'm taking a little trip down memory lane.  I have a few very old photos, almost all from the late 70's.  That's a long time ago, isn't it?  First up is my favorite photo among these.  It's of the Death Valley Opera House.  As I recall, the opera house was still in use when I visited but today it has become part of a hotel.  I found a series of photos of it for anyone who is interested.  It is truly a historic place.  

Here we have a sweeping view of Yosemite National Park.  This photo has faded into blue tones.  The valley floor should be a nice forest green.

Above is the geological wonder of tall, basalt columns at Devils Postpile National Monument in California.  

To the left is one of the many giant sequoia trees at Sequoia National Park, also in California.  You might have read that these trees were threatened by a dangerous forrest fire last year.  I'm thankful they survived.

By the way, that's my mom and dad looking at the tree in the bottom right of the photo.

Above is the Hollywood Bowl with a symphony performance in progress.  

This last one is the Mark Twain Riverboat at Disneyland.  Back in the 70's and early 80's, I used to take weekend trips to visit Disneyland at least once a year.  I haven't been for over 30 years.  I can only imagine the huge changes to the park since then.

Thanks for sharing my little stroll down memory lane.  

Another Look at the Mission Inn

 

A few years ago, I stayed at the historic Mission Inn in Riverside California.  Many years before that, I was at a conference in the city and took a tour of the place and from then on, I knew I had to stay there one day.  

It's hard to believe that this beautiful place stood empty for a number of years.  It was finally rescued and renovated beginning in 1992. It is now on the National Historic Sites Registry.

The hotel is a composite of architectural styles but is predominantly mission revival style.  

These two photos were taken at the roof garden.

There is an endless supply of beautiful spaces to photograph.  This shows hotel rooms surrounding an open courtyard.  

In one place there is large, spiral staircase circling around a lovely fountain at the bottom.  I've posted photos from this place before.  You can see one of those posts here.

I have many more photos of this place to share sometime in the future.  I can guarantee that if you visit this place you will not be able to resist taking photos.  There is so much to see.