Well, we are at the halfway point in our holiday…halfway to our departure day. We aren’t entirely sure of the day, but we’ll probably head out of here on Sunday…very early morning I suspect.

The view from our window: not exactly a stunning view, but a little more pleasant than a brick wall.

Pampass

We’re at the same hotel as last time we were here…about 4 years ago (maybe 5) and it hasn’t changed much. I suppose some might think that a hotel should update it’s decor every few years or so, but the decor here is basically the same, right down to the floral arrangement in the main lobby.

Bible Drawer

In a way, I don’t really mind, that – it still looks nice, and it doesn’t seem to have taken on a shabby feel at all. It goes to show you that if you look after a place, it can be nice for a long time. Walking into the hotel lobby certainly gave us the feeling of deja vous, but it also felt a little like coming home…coming back to a place you know. There’s a certain comfort in that.

This is a reproduction of a photo I took during our first stay at this hotel…this new image doesn’t look much different because the hallway is the same.

Hotel Hallway

We continue to have a mixed bag of weather…cold at night (down below 32 F in some cases) and very early morning, and warming up during the day…we’ve had a few days where the temps get to the mid 50s, and some where they’ve hovered around 36 to 40 degrees…with a cold wind. We’ve had some rain, with more expected later in the week, and we’ve had some lovely sunny days, even it it’s not t-shirt weather.

The pool is always closed at this time of year because it’s an outdoor pool – we don’t mind that too much. The stonework on the patio area around the pool is so pretty – tan colour stone with darker stone inlay in a design that shows whales.

Whale Pool

We’ve spent a lot of time with our friends here (Pat and Monty) and spent some time getting to know their new granddaughter (Ella) who had her first birthday a week ago. Cute little thing, and as dainty as any southern belle. We got an opportunity to see Ashlee again (their daughter) in a new role (motherhood) and meet her husband Greg; and we had lunch with Jack (Monty’s dad) and Pat’s mom…both of whom we’ve met a number of times on our previous visits. It’s nice to have a holiday in a place where you know people.

Pat took me out to Berry College again, this time to the dairy buildings, which we hadn’t visited the last time. We spent a few hours out there. The thing that really stands out in my mind here were the deer – wild deer, but they seem rather used to people. In a field beside the roadway the deer seem unaffected by cards passing, or by pointing cameras. I think I’d have loved to get out of the car and try to get closer, but I didn’t want to scare them away.

Deer at Berry

We’re enjoying our time here a lot…we’ve even looked at some of the real estate listings to see the housing prices. Maybe in a couple of years we’ll be in a position to buy a holiday home here – just a small house near the downtown area so I can get where I need to go on foot. Some of the small fixer-upper houses in the central area list from $29,000 to $85,000.

…about now I’m getting ready to head out to “Oak Hills” – another area owned by Berry College – to take some photographs. Til next time…or til we get home