High Places

I've always been fascinated with views from high places - My tree house when I was a kid, the hilltops overlooking the valley of my home town.

And I absolutely went nuts taking pictures of people's back yards and such from a hot air balloon trip Annie & I went on a couple of years ago. One of my favorite photos of me was when I was in the balloon basket joyously sharing the moment on my cellphone with one of my most beloved friends in the world and Annie captured my image.

Tonight, a group of us were singing Christmas carols around, and we ended up in the lobby of a historic, recently restored hotel, where we unexpectedly knew the manager who greeted us.

Imagine my excitement when he offered us a tour which included a visit to a vacant apartment on THE TOP FLOOR!

Sure, it was dark out, and sure, the outsides of the windows don't get washed professionally (Our coastal wind-driven rains do a pretty fair job), but it was the top floor!

A small operation, the hotel has a quite a history since its erection in the early 1920s, and we got to share notes as we went from the top floor to the old bank vault in the basement.

So, today's blip is a simple one of a little dress shop across the street during the Christmas season, taken hand-held from the top floor of the hotel across the street.

Memories of singing of Christmas in a beautiful hotel lobby only accessible to the residents, and to the friends of the manager. I love living in a small town.

~:-)