Category Archives: lodging

Ocean Point Resort

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Ocean Point Resort

Building 5 Ocean Point Resort

I’m here! Ocean Point Resort on the Island of Key Largo in the town of Tavernier, FLA. My GPS took me right to the door. First stop is at the gate house. Once the attendant opened the gate and gave me directions to check in I knew I was on the last leg of the journey. 

Check in

Check in was on the 2nd floor of the administration building. That’s also where the Cafe is located. I trudged up the outside stairs, my knees screaming all the way. Check in was surprisingly quick and easy. Much faster than some places I’ve stayed. Before I knew it I had keys in hand and directions to my room.  The room number is all coded to help you remember where you are. I’m in 5406. That stands for building 5, 4th floor room 6.  As I was leaving reception I spotted an elevator.  My knees weren’t done protesting so I took the elevator down.

Exterior Stairs Ocean PointBuilding 5

Building 5 is the first building when you leave the Cafe. As I parked another guest started up the stairs. With fingers crossed I went in search of an elevator. I didn’t think I could drag my bags up 4 flights of steps. I even wondered if I could drag myself up that many stairs! My knees were letting me know that I have really overdone it today. I was on my last energy reserves.

YES! There is an elevator

Thank you, thank you,  thank you Elevator Gods! There is an  elevator and its only 3 rooms down from my suite. To my surprise I have a 2 bedroom suite for just little old me. I checked my reservation to make sure there wasn’t some mistake and I did reserve a 1 bedroom. Maybe all the one bedroom Ocean Views were taken? This one is lovely even if it is bigger than I need.

I have 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. There are 2 little decks, one that opens from the main suite and one that opens from the Master Bedroom. I am going to enjoy sitting out there in the evening.ocean point deck

Last Vacation of 2018

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Last Chance Vacation

Before my hip surgery I planned on a last fling. After all, I had no idea how long I’d be laid up after the hip replacement. So it was off to Virginia to visit Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg. I was joined on this last excursion by my sister Sandy and my friend Joe from Florida. We settled in at Historic Powhatan Resort. 

The accommodations were excellent, well appointed and comfortable. We even had a gas fireplace.

Ambiance with the push of a button!

The First Order of Business- Food!

The first day is always a travel day. Arrive get settled and find a grocery store or restaurant. We were lucky this time. There was a wonderful little grill right on the grounds. We wasted no time in checking out the food selections.

The Powhatan Bar & Grill is a cozy little restaurant geared to casual dining. Typical pub food fills the menu. The staff were so much fun we found ourselves returning regularly throughout our trip as much for the friendly waitstaff as for the food. 

Day Two- Scooter Rental

Recognizing my mobility issues I’d made advance reservations to have an electric scooter delivered to the resort. It was brought out and dropped off with no problems. I was given a thorough briefing on how to use it and how to charge the battery each night. It was small enough to fit in the back of the rental SUV so I figured we were all set. Joe had joined us by now so we were ready to begin exploring. First on our list was Busch Gardens. They were boasting a light display to beat or at least rival Disney World in Orlando. Since Joe works at Disney we had a solid reason to check it out.

Cold Night Ahead

Even though we were south of Massachusetts the weather was cold and to see the lights we would be out after dark. We bundled up but it was much colder than we expected! I was told to expect a lot of hills but if this were a novel that comment would be called foreshadowing of what was to come!

 

 

Anchorage and Home

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The last stop in Anchorage

The last stop for us in Alaska is Anchorage. We’ll be catching up with our luggage at the Captain Cook Hotel. We have one night there and then on the plane for home. It’s been a pretty busy 11 days. I think the most tiring part for me was switching accommodations every night or two. I was feeling good while we were cruising. Now I admit I’m feeling weary. I’m ready to go home. 

Bus to Anchorage

We were finally getting the spring weather. As we were waiting for our bus from The Mt. McKinley Princess Lodge to Anchorage it was warm and t-shirt comfortable in the sun. Midway through the bus ride we stopped at a little truck stop. That’s where I met “Pierre”, my Alaskan Moose-man. He joined us for the remainder of out trip. As the bus pulled into Anchorage the bus driver shifted into tour guide mode, He even took us around the block twice offering tips and advice about the remainder of out stay. 

Pierre

Meet Pierre

room at the hotelWelcome to Captain Cook Hotel

Our room was on the 15th floor so we had a view of downtown Anchorage. Our luggage was already in our room. We’ll be flying out in the afternoon so we planned a quick visit to the Anchorage Zoo. There are lots of things to see in Anchorage https://aroundustyroads.com/2013/07/06/anchorage/  but we didn’t want to get distracted and miss out flight.

Anchorage Zoo

POLAR BEAR

squirrwlWe caught a shuttle at the Anchorage  Visitor Center to the zoo. The heat was definitely affecting some of the animals even if we were enjoying the spring warmth. We watched a polar bear that was stretched out in his enclosure. We were scolded by a squirrel. Some of the other exhibits were black bears and grizzlies The black bears were roaming their enclosure but the grizzlies were hunkered down in the shade. We also saw bald eagles, owls, red fox, wolves, caribou, Dall Sheep and deer. Although there were tigers the emphasis was on native wildlife. Too soon  it was time for the bus to the airport.

Rating the land part of the adventure.

It’s tempting to give the land portion a 5 star rating because we saw so much. But I dropped it back to 3 stars. The big “ding” that hurt the rating was the train ride. The other reason for the lower rating was the National Park Tour. The 1/2 day tour was ok but the full day would have been better. And finally, changing lodging so often was tiring. I know they wanted us to see a lot but I think it might have been more fun to have a chance to stay a little longer in one place.

Yes, 3 stars for the tour part of the cruise tour.

 

 

 

 

Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge

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Time to change to The Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge

We had one more day but it was at The Mt McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge. Say bye-bye to The Denali Princess Lodge. Our luggage was picked up at 7 am but our bus didn’t leave until 11 am so we had time for a nice leisurely breakfast. The sun had finally come out and with the sun the mosquitos. You have to understand that Alaskans consider the mosquito the unofficial state bird. They are huge!

On the road againigloo

At 11 am our bus pulled out. Along the way we passed an abandoned “igloo” https://aroundustyroads.com/2013/07/02/one-more-lodge/

Moose scrambles up the bankShortly after that the bus to bus radio crackled to life. There was a grizzly chasing a moose along side the road. The lead bus gave us the mile marker but by the time we got there they were gone. No sign of either moose or bear. A bit farther along the way we spotted another moose. This one was also trotting along the side of the road. Just as my window came even it turned and scrambled up the bank toward the woods. 

The new lodge

antler door handlesThis lodge was pretty unique right down to the antler door handles. A shuttle bus took you around the property. The main activity here seemed to be Denali watching. It’s rare when the clouds clear to give a view of the peak. They even have an alert system so when Denali is visible you can check it out. We were lucky. A good portion of the mountain was visible the whole time we were there.

Denali

New Life Begins

Our Alaska visit was coming to an end but Alaska was coming to life as we prepared to leave. The baby animals we wanted to see were finally being born. A Mama moose has a pair of twins right near the lodge. Ms. Moose kept her babies well hidden until they could get strong enough to move. Clearly we had made our trip a week or two too early in the season. We will be leaving for Anchorage in the morning where we will catch our plane back to real life.

mama moose

 

Finally Teton Village Signs

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Teton ClubTeton Village and Resorts

 

Teton Village should be on this road somewhere. I’m just not sure how far. This is the west when, like Maine, everything is “down the road a-piece”. No one has ever been able to tell me how far ” a-piece” is. The nice thing is the speed limit is a leisurely 45 mph. (35 mph at night). As I drove along 390 I saw another moose by the side of the road. I began slowing down when I realized it was a silhouette. I counted 3 fake moose before the speed limit moved up to 55 mph. 

Teton Club

After passing a few more fields and pastures I finally spotted the sign for Teton Village. From there is was just a few more quick turns through the Village and I was pulling under the porte-cochère. A valet came right out to help with my luggage and park my car. Boy That’s service! Check in was a breeze too. The great room has a fire place and comfortable sofa and chairs. It also contains a bar and several rocking chairs in front of the fire.

Your Suite, Madam

Fire Place

Master bedroomMy rooms were really convenient. They were the first set of rooms after the front desk on the first floor. Room 109. And when I say Suite, I mean it. There are two bedrooms, the master bedroom and a 2nd bedroom with twin beds. There are two bathrooms, a full kitchen, a combination living room with gas fireplace and a dining room. There’s a little out door deck but its a bit chilly to be sitting outside. The washer and dryer are late models and tucked away in their own little closet.

2nd bedroom

Dining room

outside deckThe Meal Situation

The one drawback of the resort is that there is no restaurant on premises. They have an exercise room and spa but no place to eat. Other resorts in the Village do have restaurants but not all have convenient hours and they are expensive. Others are closed for the season. Clearly I will need to locate a grocery store.