Pics of the Haunted Hotel Vendome

Haunted Hotel Vendome

Yes, we got to stay in a haunted hotel on our road trip. I can put that on my list of things that I have done. It wasn't intentional, I just waited until the very last minute to book our stay in Sedona and Prescott. I was trying to keep our overnighters reasonably priced b/c we really weren't going to be in any one place for very long. I wanted both places to be within walking distance of the downtown areas so we could walk from place to place without having to worry about parking. I found a really cool hotel called the hotel Vendome that is marked as a historic building in Prescott. Well, after booking I started reading the reviews. I guess it is helpful to read reviews before booking versus after considering everyone wants a 48 hour cancellation notice. Anyway, I started reading and realized in a couple of the reviews they were mentioning a ghost. Yikes! The good news is that the person who wrote the review was very disappointed b/c he did not see any ghost. The ghost that supposedly haunts the Hotel Vendome was a former owner of the hotel, Abby Byr and her cat. I had spaced out the particular room number when we got there but I thought it would be pretty funny to tell the Gabster and get her all worked up. Well it worked. Was it worth it? Yes!!!!! It is a really cool place and it has lots of charm. We had two bedrooms connected by a bathroom. Did we see any ghost? No. We did have a weird experience with the bathroom light. It had an old fashioned bathroom with the clawfoot bathtub and the toilet tank hung above you so you had to pull a chain that hung down to flush. Anyway I don't know why I described the bathroom other than that is where the light incident happened. While I was in there the light went from dim to really bright. Of course as soon as that I happened I was trying to get out of there as fast as possible. Then I tried turning off the light. I couldn't get it to turn off. I tried both switches and nothing. Then I messed with the timer knob to the ceiling heater and nothing. I then told my story to JL and she said she had tried turning it off and couldn't get them to turn off either. I asked La Princesa if the timer had anything to do with the light and she didn't know so I gave it a try. It finally turned off. I then went to lay down on the bed while everyone changed into their pajamas. La Princesa went and turned off the light and was trying to convince Mama Mia to come and sleep with her. I got up to turn down the thermostat in our room when La Princesa caught me and asked me why I had turned the light back on. I told her I hadn't I was just turning down the thermostat and was no where near the bathroom. That is probably when she began panicking. Especially after her boyfriend researched it on the internet and confirmed our story.
She convinced Mama Mia to go over to her room. So I moved to the other room which worked out well b/c JL and I began working on a plan to scare the living daylights out of her. Well, before we could even come up with anything La Princesa called me on her cell phone. Yes, her cell phone. I guess she wanted to ensure the safety of Mama Mia back to the other bedroom and to convince me to come back to her room. She had decided that she would be better protected if I were over there. So she sent poor Mama Mia packing, back to the room she was originally in, and I went back to the room I was originally in. I then had to listen to La Princesa tell her story of hearing strange noises in the room. Which totally got me freaked out. Talk about a plan backfiring. Finally La Princesa drifted off to sleep after her boyfriend convinced her that the majority of ghosts are friendly ghosts. I think he even gave some kind of percentage which was probably totally made up but it made her feel better. She fell asleep and I was wide awake. I only heard one noise while I was still awake and then I fell fast asleep. We all survived the night. We woke up a bit stiff from the rock hard beds but the experience was a great one.

Halloween Count Down

I got the mantel done. Woohoo! I'm still not done with the inside, which is really sad since Halloween is just around the corner. Why do I get this funny feeling I'm running a little behind. I started the last two weekends of September and I'm still not done. It is procrastination at its worst or best, I guess it depends on how you look at it. Our front yard isn't even done, how scary is that. At this rate we will probably leave our Halloween decorations up until Thanksgiving.

Ghoulish Bouquet

Well, Halloween is creeping up and I must say I am not as organized as much as I was last year. I started the end of September and the inside still isn't done. I'm putting all my efforts into this weekend to get it done and maybe start on the outside. Yes, I know the McClymonds's house should already have been decked out in full Halloween by now. I think it is all the worries with the economy and the election that have just put a damper on the excitement of Halloween. Even our neighbors, who usually do some decorating, haven't even touched their yards. I guess this has hit everyone in one way or another. So, I guess I better get started.

Mommy Dearest

NO MORE WIRE HANGERS!!!!!! Okay, so it didn't turn out that bad. She did say she was experiencing post partum depression on the last night. lol I couldn't help but laugh as she was telling me this as her eyes welled up with tears. She giggled too but I think it was a pretty stressful weekend for her. She is taking an early childhood class this semester and she was able to participate in experiencing motherhood for a weekend. She brought home her electronic son, Landon. He came with a carrier, diaper bag, and a bracelet that she had to scan each time he needed to be fed, burped, rocked or changed. Every time he would cry she had to run and scan her bracelet and then begin changing, feeding or burping until he calmed down and slept. There were times when he was crying every ten minutes. He would go into sleep mode but for just a few hours but when he was up, he was up. The first night her friend Chrisi-Jo spent the night and she had a baby as well. I got up at 2 am and walked by the door and could hear one of the babies crying. It seems Christi Jo's baby cried off and on from 1am to 4am. Then Landon decided to keep them up from 5am-10 am. I was wondering why I had to sign a release stating I would not let my daughter drive if she was extremely tired. She made it but it was tough. I had my doubts but she pulled through like a trooper and actually got the highest grade in the class. All in all it turned out to be a great experience for her. Instead of wanting to be a young mom at 22 she has decided to wait another 20 years before she enters into motherhood. I sure hope she sticks to that plan.

KISS Is In The House

Halloween is just around the corner and I found another Halloween picture. This pic was taken during the First National Bank of Alaska's annual Halloween party of 1996. I had just moved to Anchorage that June. In this picture is Laureni-Joe, Messy, Linney and me. The two in the middle are my nieces. Messy and I were both working for the bank and we were able to talk Lindsay and Lauren in joining us for some fun. We won the title of best dressed group. The bank hadn't planned on having that category but once they saw us walk in they changed the rules. We didn't win anything but we won the title that is all we needed. Oh, the memories.