Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Places to see in February...The Stanley Hotel!


The Stanley Hotel is a 138-room Georgian hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Located within sight of the Rocky Mountain National Park, the Stanley offers panoramic views of the Rockies. It was built in 1909 by Freelan O. Stanley of Stanley Steamer fame and catered to the rich and famous. The hotel and its surrounding lands are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Stanley has hosted many famous guests, including the Titanic survivor Margaret Brown, John Philip Sousa, Theodore Roosevelt, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, and a variety of Hollywood personalities. The Stanley Hotel also hosted Stephen King, inspiring him to write The Shining. Contrary to information sometimes published King was living in Boulder at the time and did not actually write the novel at the hotel. Parts of the mini-series version of The Shining were filmed there, although it was not used for Stanley Kubrick's cinematic version.
The Stanley Hotel shows the uncut R-rated version of Kubrick's The Shining on a continuous loop on Channel 42 on guest room televisions.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Places To See After the Holidays....

What other way to celebrate post holiday depression than to visit a prison. Seriously though...Just happen to catch the Shawshank Redemption on T.V. and thought this would be a good entry.

For those who live in Ohio, or a going to be near the state, a good stop is to visit the actual prison were the film took place. They have weekend tours and during the summer that have overnight ghost hunts. It is the Mansfield Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio.

Look it up and enjoy....it really is a good place to go and remember, 11 months to Christmas!