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Kitschy Fun At Willie Nelson And Friends General Store(Pictorial)
Just across the road from Gaylord Opryland is a little strip that has three very cool places along the store front. The Nashville Palace which you can learn about in A post from last week here. There is a Cooters store and museum( it’s own post soon) but today we talk about the Willie Nelson And Friends Museum and General store.
I love roadside tourist kitsch. Look at my Florida articles and you will see tons of pics from hokey little shops. To this day they scream vacation to me. It also is the type of place I can find a snow globe for my daughter! When she was young it was something she always picked up when we traveled. On trips when I was fighting and she wasn’t there or my wife going to conferences, we still got them for her. Now as Sandy and I travel for all these things and pr work, our daughter still wants them(yes even as an adult). This was the place I knew I could find it.
The Willie Nelson And Friends Museum and General store is cool kitsch(hey It’s the awesome Willie Nelson!!). From clothes and tourist type gifts to food items and Willie Nelson memorabilia. Of course they have snow globes!!!
If you are in Nashville and just want to relax and enjoy a little time being a country music tourist, you should definitely stop by this place. I loved it and will definitely stop again. Scored the snow globe too! Now relax and check out my pictorial from the store.
If you are in Nashville you really should stop by and see this cool ode to Willie Nelson. It’s just plain old country fun.
Enjoy Downtown Champaign Including Food At Guido’s and The Esquire( Pictorial)
When are not traveling, we love to relax in Downtown Champaign. Great bars and restaurants and a cool place just to wander around. As i’ve said before, traveling to all the places we do actually helps us look for more treasures in our own area.
Great burgers, pizza and drinks from two great places. Guidos has a great menu and bar. Lots of screens, cool look and great outdoor seating. It also has a gorgeous downtown view especially when it is snowing. I’ll do a piece on that this winter. The esquire is a classic old school bar with a broad age range and fantastic food. They also have great outdoor seating. You can’t go wrong with either one.
Check out the pictures that also include the awesome Ten Thousand Villages store and just street shots. Talk after the jump.
Get yourself down in this area if you live nearby or if you are just visiting. Take advantage of the cool things, culture and food we have here. It’s a great place to just enjoy yourself!
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Check out the very cool champaigncenter.com for more info on the area.
Pictures in And Around Virginia Beach Hotel And Conference Center .
I’ve done a bit on this area but I just found a few more shots from this hotel itself. We were there for an event so I was not able to put together tons for a full review( relaxing after the event lol). The hotel was nice and not expensive. Nowhere near as luxurious as I often stay but great. In fact some things made it even better. The deck and deck bar were awesome. Seaboard cool with a touch of class. The week I was there I lost count of how many weddings were there.
It’s on the Chesapeake Bay where it meets the Atlantic so not the meat market beach. Serene but active at the same time. Gorgeous beach homes around. You could see the storms roll in and watch the gulls in the changing sky. Sit on the deck and have a cocktail. Night was especially perfect. Looking fro crabs and watching groups of people working nets for them. Camp fires on the beach. Sitting on the deck and getting a cocktail late into the night watching the waves and hearing the workers on tankers in the bay speak in various languages. Truly an experience. We also saw tons of dolphins just hanging out close to shore. Hopefully I will get a chance to do a full travel piece before long on this area and hotel, in the meantime enjoy the relaxing pictures.
This a great area. History and seafood. Relaxing and nightlife at the same time. It truly is one of my favorite areas of the world(that is saying a lot!!!!) I would like to give this hotel another shot for a full review, so look for it soon.
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Fountains and Gorgeous Water Features of Vegas (pictorial)
One of my favorite things about Las Vegas is all the gorgeous water features and fountains. You can just walk around and be mesmerized. I love to just walk around and absorb the sights and sounds. The visually stunning installations never cease to amaze me.
From The amazing Caesars and Forum Shops to the Lake of dreams at the Wynn, you can spend hours just having a drink and looking at them. Add the amazing fountain at Bellagio and the canals at Venetian and Palazzo and it is mind blowing. Take a look at some simple shots I took. Get Deals On Travel Gear And More
Vegas is so much more than many people think. Just walking around can be a world class experience. Open your eyes and look at the things around you.
Walking Around The Palazzo and Venetian In Vegas (random walk pictorial )
A common theme with me is just walking around an area and enjoying it. Seeing how it’s built. Having coffee while I walk. Later having a cocktail and a measly to just take it all in. As a blogger I like to take tons of random pictures of an area. It helps people see what something looks like and how it feels. Sooo much easier to describe and hopefully allow people to have the feeling of being there.
The Palazzo, The Venetian and the Grand Canal Shoppes in Las Vegas happen to be one of the best places in the world to do that. You get both the feel of being in Italy, actually in Italy ( yes I’ve been there) plus you’re in Vegas Baby!!! Visually Stunning, great stores and food. Clean!!!! Can’t beat it. I’m going to mostly just post pictures here for two reasons. One, I’m going back there soon to do a full review. Two, I just want you to get the feel of walking it and have your own ideas. OK and it’s Friday so I’m ready to quit writing and have a drink while I grill ! I!l hoo on s bit between picture sets, but mostly just think like you are there. Describe it to yourself in the pictures you see.
From the Frescos in the lobby to getting a gourmet pizza from a Mario Batali restaurant that feels like your eating outside. Your senses will continually be stimulated in a relaxing manner. Coffee, pastries and gelato.
One of the best things though is just walking even on the walkways outside. Again it’s the feeling of where you are. Authentic and fun. Take a look.
From the simple pleasure of listening to the gondoliers singing in actual gondolas to great food. You can wander here and not spend a dime yet still be entertained. You can also spend a lot and be entertained lol.
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Check out today’s links
http://www.palazzo.com/
http://www.venetian.com/
https://www.grandcanalshoppes.com/en.html
http://www.illy.com/wps/wcm/connect/en/home
Random Walk Pictorial Vegas Part 1

So I’ve been thinking about travel posts and pieces a lot lately. As someone who travels extensively, something that doesn’t get covered enough is just random shots of an area. I like to get to know an area if I can. All over it. The cool and beautiful and the slightly grittier. In some places, a few feet is a stark difference in how things look. So on and off here I’ll be posting some random pictorial pieces with some captions. As part of larger travel pieces from trips, I’ll add these. Heck it may just become my review process! It lets you see what things are like and not just the glossy pics we all post. Doesn’t mean the pictures won’t be beautiful and cool, just a bit different. Enjoy, learn a bit about what an area looks like and share. I have tons of Vegas so I’ll start there and it will take several articles. Coming soon as well, Galena Illinois for its history, food and wine.
Read the captions to see where the pic is and a bit of what was going on. I’ll keep to doing big full travel articles but going along with our lifestyle theme here, I think this is a cool way to show a place. I wander randomly when I get somewhere, so the posts should wander.










More coming soon. I take way to many pictures on trips, and enjoy just discussing the random. Fremont Street on Halloween may have to be the next travel piece. So many goofy pictures from that.
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