2017: Leaving On A Jet Plane

Although not quite as hectic as last year, 2017 saw me get on and off a plane way too many times. I am plum tuckered out. Still, nothing like a little travel to open up your eyes and broaden your horizons with new experiences. Here's the Reader's Digest version of 2017. First up in February was Nashville, Tennessee for a Board of Director's meeting. Despite a ton-o-meetings I had a whirlwind tour of Music City that included the Ryman Auditorium and Union Hotel.



In March, a quick trip to Las Vegas introduced me to the Neon Museum Boneyard...



and the Cosmopolitan Hotel. What a view from my balcony!



One month later it was off to Greenville for a Design Conference I was chairing.



May found me back in Vegas for one night to shoot the wedding of my barber at the Little Church of the West.



What a blast!



I had a slight break until September, when I boarded a plane (again) for a whirlwind trip though Virginia including Richmond:



Colonial Williamsburg:



and Charlottesville:



One month later, another conference and Board of Director's meeting for UCDA took me to Baltimore:



with a detour to Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, to see Mom:



November was fossil hunting in The Berkshires:



with a one day excursion to San Francisco in December:



None of this post documents the many additional trips to LA, Palm Springs, and other semi-local areas to which I had a number of fun photo shoots. So thankful for a week off to catch up on rest...and figure out where 2018 and will take me! Hard to believe, but not once did I set foot on a Disney property in the entire calendar year. Will that trend hold? Who knows.

See more Daveland photos at my main website.

Maymont: An American Estate

Maymont Mansion is also located in Richmond, Virginia (yes, this is my last Richmond post!) on 100 acres of lush property which also includes an arboretum and formal gardens.



Completed in 1893, this home and especially its interiors make you feel like you stepped onto the set of "Downton Abbey." It was the home of Major James H. Dooley, a wealthy Richmond lawyer and philanthropist, and his wife, Sallie. According to their wishes, Maymont was left to the people of Richmond after they passed away. What a gift!



Let's enter, shall we? The first part of our tour took us to where "the help" worked:





Yikes! I'd hate to do my laundry back in the day. Not that I relish doing it now.



...and where "the help" lived.



How tempting to live next to the wine cellar!



The elevator upstairs:



...which was obviously much more opulent:









Ready for an intimate dinner? Probably not going to happen in this lavish dining room:





Let's travel upstairs:



The stained glass was magnificent:





Mae West would have loved this bedroom; I know I did!



Check out the hand-painted details on the furniture:



The vintage tile in the bathroom was on point:



And then before you know it, it's time to get into your carriage and leave the estate. What a gorgeous place for a visit!



More Maymont at my main website.

The Showplace of Virginia

Dubbed the "Showplace of Virginia," Richmond's Byrd Theatre was built in 1928.



It is one of the few movie palaces from that grand era that has continuously operated as a movie theatre, looking very much like it did when it first opened.



The lobby:



At the time of my visit, many of the center seats had been ripped out and were in the process of being redone.



Vintage light fixtures...come home with me!







It was probably a good thing that the lights were on low; upon closer inspection of the remaining seats and the condition of the curtain, this place looked like it could use a good scrubbing.



Still, it truly is a French Empire architectural treasure.



Final one for today is a panorama of the theatre's impressive ceiling and overhead light, which is an 18-foot, two-and-a-half ton Czechoslovakian crystal chandelier containing over 5,000 crystals illuminated by 500 red, blue, green and amber lights. It's Christmas every day at the Byrd!



More Byrd Theatre at my main website.

The Jefferson Hotel

This historic Beaux Arts hotel was the vision of Lewis Ginter, a cultured Richmond local who made good through imports and tobacco. He commissioned Carrere and Hastings, a renowned architectural firm from New York who also designed the Fifth Avenue Public Library and Henry Frick Museum. How about this lobby?!?



Oh that ceiling!



Legend has it that this staircase was the design inspiration for the one in the 1939 film "Gone with the Wind" in Scarlett O'Hara's Atlanta home. You might remember it from the scene where Rhett Butler sweeps her up in her red velvet robe for a night of drunken passion.



Plenty of cozy little nooks for relaxation and conversation:



Historic touches abound:



Opening in 1895, The Jefferson was elected in 1969 to the National Register of Historical Places. Of course you can't have a hotel named after a U.S. President without a statue of him:



Thirteen Presidents (so far) have stayed here, including Harrison, McKinley, Wilson, Coolidge, Taft, both Roosevelts, Truman, Reagan, both Bushes, Clinton, and Obama. Other notable guests include Charlie Chaplin, F. Scott Fitzgerland, Ray Charles, and Elvis Presley. The hotel's restaurant is named Lemaire:





The food here was delish, especially the dessert!



What Daveland hotel post would be complete without a restroom shot? The ones here were especially photo-worthy!



I hope you enjoyed your tour of The Jefferson!



More Jefferson Hotel photos at my main website.