Other posts related to norman-rockwell
Settling in at the inn
Lincoln Adams | December 4, 2009 @ 7:33 pmFinally settled in for the night after a day of running around in the Berkshires. There sure are a lot of old people here too. Except for the wee little snotties, I don’t think I saw anyone here under 50. The younger ones are all probably out drinking at some sports bar. 
Driving up was pretty uneventful, although the traffic was grating on my nerves, and for some reason my bluetooth headset was creating so much static during calls that I almost ripped it off the dock and tossed it out the window. Glad I didn’t, because I kind of need it. 
After I arrived I took a trip to the Berkshire Museum, then headed over to the Norman Rockwell museum and treated myself to an up-close view of some of Rockwell’s most famous paintings. One that really stood out to me was a painting of a young couple signing their marriage license at the clerk’s office. The old clerk appeared distant and had a sad look in his eyes. Upon reading the inscription, I learned that the model Rockwell used to paint as the clerk had actually lost his wife fairly recently. Really a profound painting to me. The woman was standing on her tiptoes to sign the license while her about to be husband was holding her in his arms. I think it was the first time I ever cried in front of a painting. Sigh. 
Then it was off to the Red Lion to get myself settled in. Good Lord, this place is an ancient labyrinth. Took me forever to find proper parking, and I had no idea where the front desk was. I had to do some exploring around, and at one point I walked right into the middle of their upscale “jackets only” restaurant. Oops.
I could swear I had just gone up these stairs a few minutes ago...
Once I got my key and found my room though, I started to get a better feel of the place. Fascinating too, I tell ya Ghost Hunters would have a field day here.
Some of the rooms here totally have that creepy Shining vibe to it.
In addition to five U.S. Presidents having once been guests here, I also learned that John Wayne had stayed here as well. The Duke! Perhaps I’ll see his ghost tonight and he can give me some pointers on wooing the fairer sex. 
Well, I'll certainly get some interesting sleep tonight.
Alright, time to go relax by the fireplace now. 
Tomorrow I’ll be taking a self guided tour of some of the notable buildings around here, including an ancient church that has a geocache hidden in it. Should be fun! They’ll have caroling and a concert later in the evening, and then Sunday will be Stockbridge’s Main Street Celebration. If it still doesn’t feel like Christmas even after all this, then there is probably no hope for me.
Sadly, my piano solo rendition of Christmas Shoes was not appreciated by the guests here.
Tags: berkshire museum, berkshires, Christmas, exploring, fireplace, museum, norman rockwell, painting, red lion inn, stockbridge
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
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Loading ...Reclaiming the Christmas Spirit
Lincoln Adams | November 25, 2009 @ 12:25 amIt’s official, I put in for the needed days off, and next week I will be well on my way to Stockbridge, Massachusetts for a good old fashioned Christmas weekend in New England. 
I booked for a night at the famous Red Lion Inn, then will stay at a normal roadside motel for the last two nights somewhere in the Berkshires, where us poor, low class trash really belong. 
And yes, my room at the Red Lion includes a fireplace too. I don’t know what it is, I just have this obsession about fireplaces for some reason.
Anyhoo, Christmas hasn’t felt like Christmas to me for a long, long time, primarily because I let the fact that I continue to be single get me down and ruin what could have otherwise been an enjoyable holiday season. This time I’m determined to make the best of it, and I can’t think of a better way to get back into the spirit of things than traveling to a place where I would literally find myself in the middle of a Norman Rockwell painting.
In addition to that, I’m also planning to return to Pennsylvania on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, at the very same hotel I stayed at last time, which I should add has absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that Hotel Girl might be there. Nothing at all, I say. 
Honestly, it was just a stroke of coincidence. My family had expressed an eager desire to seriously get the #&$@ out of New York this year and maybe have a quiet, lovely Christmas for once. I can’t really blame them (or me either), because being here is just depressing. We’re surrounded by illegals, our neighbors are hostile and withdrawn, a water tower looms over us, and there’s a nudie bar just down the street (I have so far resisted the urge to take a peak inside just to see if the girl of my dreams happened to be dancing on a pole there.) 
So yeah, a change of scenery would definitely be welcome this year. And I swear, I was only half serious when I have pondered over staying in Amish land again just to get another shot at asking Hotel Girl out for coffee, but I never expected an opportunity would present itself this soon. So… who knows. Maybe I really will have a Christmas I’ll never forget this time.
But I don’t want to play it up though, so even if nothing happens, I’m content in the knowledge that I’ll be in a far less hostile environment, and that I’m at least making an effort now to enjoy what had been my favorite time of year.
Tags: Amish, berkshires, Christmas, christmas eve, fireplace, girl, girl of my dreams, hotel, Massachusetts, neighbors, New England, new york, norman rockwell, Pennsylvania, red lion inn, stockbridge, travel, vacation, weekend
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
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Where to next? Ideas for a Christmas adventure?
Lincoln Adams | November 5, 2009 @ 8:35 pmThe holidays are upon us, and I’ve been thinking for my next trip I’d like to go someplace that really pours on the Christmas spirit, Norman Rockwell style. I’m limiting myself to a 300 to 500 mile radius from New York, so it would likely have to be in the Northeast. Anyone have suggestions? There has to be a small town somewhere renowned for its Christmas celebrations, and I’d like to experience that if I could. I’m talking horse sleighs, Christmas carols, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, silver bells, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Mistletoes would be a bonus too.
It’s been a long, long time since Christmas felt like Christmas to me, and I’d like to recapture the joy and happiness I once felt for this time of year again.
Hopefully it won’t turn out like a Clark Griswold kind of Christmas vacation either. 
Tags: Christmas, holidays, norman rockwell, Northeast, town, vacation
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
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Why are there no stepfather cards?
Lincoln Adams | June 17, 2007 @ 4:50 pmI quickly noticed when I stopped by the greeting card section of several stores that there were hardly any stepfather cards for Father’s Day. Don’t these greeting card companies realize we’re living in the 21st century now? You know, where more than half of marriages end up in divorce, and a kid could grow up having 3 different stepfathers by the time he reaches his twenties? Really people, this isn’t Norman Rockwell’s country anymore, so get a flipping clue.
I must have eyeballed hundreds of different cards looking for something appropriate. In the end I finally gave up and handed my stepfather a re-used Christmas card instead.
Fortunately he got a chuckle over it.
Tags: 21st century, card, Christmas, christmas card, clue, divorce, fathers, fathers day, greeting cards, marriages, norman rockwell, stepfathers, stepparents
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
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