Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (a Boat too!)

Went on the road this month.  Spent some time in Harrisburg at a conference.  Went to Florida for a few days to contemplate retirement there.  Then I packed up my game and headed out West.  It was quite a busy few weeks.

While in Harrisburg, I stayed at the Sheraton Hershey Harrisburg Hotel.  I wish I hadn't.  I did get a free Hersey Bar when I checked in and they had Hershey Kisses in the lobby.  That's as good as it got.  My first room had cobwebs in the corners of the window. There was old crumbs of food behind the sofa, and nail clippings on the carpet.  When I complained, they moved me to a different room which wasn't a whole lot better.  The exterior of the windows looked like they hadn't been cleaned in months.  When I looked outside, it looked foggy every day.  The place could be nice with proper management and upkeep.

The hotel is definitely convenient to shopping (next to a shopping center}, food (tons of places to eat nearby.  Try Fiesta Mexico.  Loved this place!) and highways to get around Harrisburg.  Went to Pizza Boy Brewing Company.  Great pizza and awesome selection of craft beers.  I also got over to the Adventures Guild Hobby store.  Bought a ton of Reaper minis.  The guys who work there were a little standoffish at first but warmed up after a bit.  After talking, we ended up knowing a bunch of the same people in the gaming community.  Did a little gambling at the Hollywood Casino as well.


Florida was a very different story.  Stayed at the Seaside Inn on Amelia Island.  Loved it there.  Room was small but very clean and comfortable.  Great staff.  Good breakfast.  Close to the beach.  Next to a little beach bar and restaurant.  Awesome weather.  Beautiful!!!!

The island is great and easy to get around.  Enjoyed the historic district.  If you go to Amelia Island, you must eat at Brett's.   This is one of the best places that I have ever eaten. Great food and drinks.  Excellent service.  AMAZING deserts!!!!  Wonderful view of the water.

We drove over to The Villages to visit with family.  The Villages are nice with lots to offer but aren't my cup of tea.  It was a nice to spend time with folks that we haven't seen for a while.

For the past week or so, I was out West  (temps most days well over 100 degrees!).  We flew into Phoenix which is a really nice city.  We enjoyed our stay at the Hilton there.  Next we drove out to Sedona and stayed at the Hilton at Bell Rock  (This place is awesome!!!!)  We found a great place to eat called The Red Rock Cafe.  Fantastic breakfast!!!  My son had a 3 pound cinnamon roll!!!  A tad pricey but worth every penny.  Excellent service.

We did  a sunset Jeep tour with A Day in the West.  Great time!  Ask for Dan the Man for your tour guide.  He did a superb job!  Also, we checked out the V Bar V Ranch for some super cool Native American petroglyphs.

 

Drove through the mountains to Williams to grab a train to the Grand Canyon.  We stayed at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel.  The room was spacious and clean and staff was great.  The sofa/pullout bed...TERRIBLE!!!  All meals are buffet and in a restaurant which is a short walk from the hotel.  Gotta say the food and service was just okay.  The legendary Route 66 passes through Williams.  Got to walk, shop, and drive on it.  It is really a step back in time.


The Grand Canyon itself is beyond words to describe.  I felt awed by it!

One thing that we all noticed in Arizona is that the people are exceptionally friendly.  They are proud of their state and want you to enjoy it while you are there.


Thanks guys for making our stay enjoyable.  LOVED IT!

Left Williams and drove to Vegas.  We stayed at the Palazzo.  The place is spectacular!!!!  Ran up to the Shelby Museum.  Grabbed dinner at Grimaldi's.  They have the best pizza in the world!!!!!!  Our waitress, Katie, was wonderful!!!  Did a little gambling, saw the sights,  shopped a bit (got some great cookies at the Honolulu Cookie Company), left with less money than we started with.

Flew out to San Francisco.  Bad move.  The weather sucked...very cold (in the mid 50s).  (Twain is credited with saying something like; the worst winter was the summer in San Francisco).  Stayed at the Hilton in Union Square.  Nice clean spacious room.  Hotel was crazy busy!  It's in a really dirty area of the city.  Lots of homeless, beggars, and drug addicts.  Close to great shopping.  We ate at Somas.  Bad move number two.  Limited menu, service wasn't great, pricey, and the food was decent at best. (Three of the four of us ended up being sick later!)

Did Fishermans Wharf the next day.  It was fun and very cool.  Lots of great shops and places to eat.  Went on the Red and White Cruise of the bay.  Bad move number 3.  It cost an arm and a leg (as does everything in the town) and wasn't worth the money.  Their audio headphone system didn't work and it really messed up the tour.  While it was cool to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, the rest of the trip was a bust.  I did get to see and ride on Lombard Street which is something that I really wanted to do.

If you have to go to San Fran, dress for the weather, have a ton of money, be prepared for the filth, use Uber or Lyft, stay down by the Wharf, and plan to deal with some of the rudest people in the U.S.

I have traveled all over the world and I can tell you for sure that I'd never go back to that hellhole.  I left my broken heart in San Francisco.

                                                  ******


With all of the travel, I only got this one little gem done in July.  He is a fully custom Vraksian Ogryn.  I made him out of a bunch of bitz I had in a box.  I really enjoyed cobbling together this wee warrior.