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nightmare-afton-cosplay · 5 years ago

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Vintage Charm: The 10 Oldest Homes To Land on the Market This Week

realtor.com

Dating to 1700, the oldest home to hit the market this week was built a mere 80 years after the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock.

It sits atop our list of the 10 oldest homes that went up for sale in the past seven days. All built in the 1700s, they’ve weathered the centuries and still stand in fine fettle today.

Now these vintage charmers are ready for a new owner to write the next chapter in their long histories. One of these properties comes with the lovely name of Tree Farm, and is filled with wildflowers to attract butterflies and birds. And then there’s Fleetwood, which comes with its own ancient cemetery. This week’s oldest homes also include a 68-acre gentleman’s farm, filled with pastures, ponds, and an herb garden and a family compound with a home dating to 1710.

Even at the 300 year mark, these properties are just getting started! Scroll down for a trip through history and a hopeful look at the memories still to be made in these remarkable residences.

1. 17 Park St, Boothbay Harbor, ME

Price: $269,000 Built in 1700: At the ripe, old age of 320, this three-bedroom, 1,150-square-foot Mainer is still in its prime—and it’s affordable! Perched on the east side of Boothbay Harbor, the home’s been owned by the same family for the past 50 years. It includes bay windows, built-ins, a large front porch, and a lovely backyard.

Boothbay Harbor, ME

realtor.com

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2. 15 Rock Landing Rd, Haddam, CT

Price: $579,900 Built in 1707: Consisting of 68 acres, this gentleman’s farm includes a remodeled four-bedroom farmhouse with nearly 3,000 square feet of living space. The living room features a three-story stone fireplace along with custom built-ins throughout. The main house is a short stroll to the farm’s two barns and caretaker’s quarters. The acreage includes a pond, pastures, forestland, and an herb garden.

Haddam, CT

realtor.com

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3. 146A Hamburg Rd, Lyme, CT

Price: $3,750,000 Built in 1710: This property was given a dramatic overhaul in 1989 to build a multigenerational family compound on over 10 acres. Now serving as a 1,700-square-foot guesthouse, the original farmhouse dates to 1710. The compound consists of five buildings, and the main house includes a grand living room inspired by a Yale dining hall. There’s also a caretaker’s cottage, carriage house apartment, studio, and pool house.

Lyme, CT

realtor.com

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4. 45 High St, Ipswich, MA

Price: $724,900 Built in 1712: Tucked back on historic High Street, this restored four-bedroom home features wide-plank pine floors, beamed ceilings, and a restored central chimney for five fireplaces. According to a plaque on the grounds, the original 9-acre lot was the home of Thomas Dudley, the governor of Massachusetts Bay from 1635 to 1659. Today, the property’s large lot is filled with beautiful gardens, walking paths, and mature trees.

Ipswich, MA

realtor.com

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5. 230 Copse Rd, Madison, CT

Price: $469,900 Built in 1720: The original saltbox house was constructed in 1720, and the Federal-style house in front was added in 1840. Today, the three-bedroom home bursts with charm and key updates. There’s a new gas furnace, circular driveway with cobblestone apron, remodeled kitchen, and new concrete flooring in the basement. The property sits across from Bauer Park, a 64-acre open space with ponds, hiking trails, and community gardens.

Madison, CT

realtor.com

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6. 484 Mile Hill Rd, Tolland, CT

Price: $249,900 Built in 1720: Previously known as Babcock Tavern, this 3,000-square-foot home sits on a lush green acre. It was also a popular bed-and-breakfast, ranking among the top 50 in the country. Today, the five-bedroom home comes with a tavern room, and the seller is willing to include a few antiques in the purchase price.

Tolland, CT

realtor.com

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7. 601 N Windham Road Ext, Windham, CT

Price: $229,900 Built in 1727: Sitting on a full acre, this charming Cape Cod has two bedrooms and 1,200 square feet of living space. From its lemon meringue exterior to the three-season enclosed porch and huge backyard, this petite home leaves a big impression.

Windham, CT

realtor.com

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8. 17458 Fleetwood Ln, Jeffersonton, VA

Price: $425,000 Built in 1730: Lovingly cared for, this is one of the oldest homes in Culpeper County. The 10-acre property includes a cemetery. Known as Fleetwood, the property includes a four-bedroom main house, a stable, board-fenced pasture for horses, kennels, workshop, and garden shed. There’s also a sycamore tree believed to be hundreds of years old.

Jeffersonton, VA

realtor.com

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9. 179 Cherry St, Middleboro, MA

Price: $400,000 Built in 1730: This three-bedroom Colonial sits on more than 2 acres. It comes with a 2,000-square-foot, Amish-built barn as well as attached sheds. The main house features five fireplaces and a children’s play area. It’s all just minutes from beaches and hiking trails.

Middleboro, MA

realtor.com

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10. 187 Toff Hollow Rd, Plymouth, CT

Price: $379,900 Built in 1736: Tree Farm is a spectacular property with natural beauty, including a bird and butterfly sanctuary, streams, and botanical gardens. The two-bedroom home features wide-plank flooring, a remodeled bathroom, and an in-ground pool. The current owner is an interior and architectural designer who spent the past 30 years taking impeccable care of this one-of-a-kind residence.

Plymouth, CT

realtor.com

The post Vintage Charm: The 10 Oldest Homes To Land on the Market This Week appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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sciencespies · 5 years ago

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Summer of Blob: Maine sees more big, stinging jellyfish

https://sciencespies.com/biology/summer-of-blob-maine-sees-more-big-stinging-jellyfish/

Summer of Blob: Maine sees more big, stinging jellyfish

In this May 12, 2019, photo provided by Rebecca Rice-Barnes, Jimmy Barnes, of Mariaville, Maine, observes a large lion’s mane jellyfish that washed ashore on Lamoine Beach, Maine. Scientists and beach-goers around the Gulf of Maine reported more of the large, stinging jellyfish this year. (Rebecca Rice-Barnes via AP)

Seaside New England is known for rocky shores, seafood shacks, chance whale sightings and, in recent months, lots of gooey, tentacled blobs.

The Gulf of Maine and some of its beaches, ever popular with tourists, have recorded a high number of sightings of a big jellyfish that has the ability to sting swimmers and occasionally does.

The lion’s mane jellyfish, the largest known variety, can grow to five or more feet across, with tentacles more than 100 feet long.

Such giant jellyfish are uncommon, but beachgoers say larger than average ones have been exceptionally plentiful this year in the gulf, which touches Maine, two other states and two Canadian provinces.

Becky Rice-Barnes of Mariaville and her husband Jimmy were out digging for claims at Maine’s Lamoine Beach recently when they found a five-foot specimen washed ashore.

“My husband said you’re not going to believe what’s over here, and I didn’t,” Rice-Barnes said. “We’ve seen red jellyfish before, we’ve just never seen a red jellyfish that’s huge.”

Jellyfish are tracked each summer by Nick Record, a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, Maine. Typically fewer than half the jellyfish reported are lion’s manes. This year, almost all of several hundred jellyfish observed were the lion’s mane variety. The exact number of total jellyfish sightings isn’t available yet, but Record said it’s on pace to be in the typical range of 300 to 700.

Unlike other jellyfish common off Maine, they’re not entirely translucent. In the water, they resemble a drifting fireball, and when washed on land they can collapse into a mess that resembles a bloody crime scene.

Record takes reports about jellyfish encounters via a website , the Jellyfish Reporter, that allows beachgoers and boaters to provide details about sightings. A couple of lion’s manes five or six feet across, and many have been a foot and a half to two feet.

The lion’s mane lives in cold waters in many parts of the world. The jellyfish uses its tentacles to capture prey, and its sting can be painful to humans, though not typically life-threatening. At least five swimmers in Maine have reported stings this year.

“Just a gigantic, scary jellyfish that you would not want to run into in the water,” Record said of larger lion’s manes. “It has been kind of a steady stream of them all summer.”

While anecdotal reports of jellyfish, including lion’s manes, are more common in recent years, it’s hard to know if there really are more than usual in the Gulf of Maine because good historic date is lacking, said Andy Pershing, chief scientific officer with Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

If there are more large lion’s mane jellyfish, Record said one possible reason is that the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than most of the world’s oceans, and the jellyfish can grow faster in warmer water.

Record advises swimmers and others to use caution when they come upon the buoyant blobs.

“Every once in a while I get pictures of people holding a lion’s mane jellyfish,” he said. “Don’t do that.”

Explore further

What you need to know about jellyfish stings

Citation: Summer of Blob: Maine sees more big, stinging jellyfish (2019, September 15) retrieved 15 September 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2019-09-summer-blob-maine-big-jellyfish.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

#Biology

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samuelmmarcus · 5 years ago

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Interior Design Ideas: New Home Inspiration

Hello, my wonderful friends! How are you today? I am truly happy to start slowing down this week and start my kids’ back-to-school shopping. Doing it for three kids isn’t an easy task, but I will try to have some fun. Now, let’s focus on this new “Interior Design Ideas”.

Built by Timber Trails Development Company and with interiors by the talented Julie Howard (previously featured here – a must-see post!), here, here, here, here, here & here), this beautiful home is an east coast inspired home located in Western Springs, a suburb about 20 miles outside of Chicago. The home’s exterior commands attention with it’s stately tower topped with X details on the windows. Inside the tower is a three story floating staircase that has a marvelous view of the chandelier above. When you enter the front door, a long hallway lined with mercury glass lanterns leads you to the open concept kitchen and family room where a built-in banquette steals the show because of its leaded glass windows.

I hope you enjoy this tour and make sure to pin your favorite interior design pictures!

Interior Design Ideas: New Home Inspiration

Exterior finishes: Hardie siding and board and batten in Pearl Gray.

Exterior Trim: Hardie Trim in Arctic White.

Windows: Marvin Integrity windows with SDL including leaded glass windows.

Roof: Dimensional shingle asphalt roof with metal roof details in Pewter Gray.

Front Door: Solid wood front and side door with glass

Garage: Oversized carriage style garage door

Porch Flooring:: Bluestone front porch

Exterior Stone: Rustic Blue Machine Cut

Foyer

This home comes to show that dark hardwood floors with white wall paneling is a classic choice that will always stand the test of time.

Ceiling Lighting: Visual Comfort.

Sconces on either side of door: Visual Comfort.

Built-in Buffet Cabinet

Located just across from the dining room, this buffet features inset custom-designed cabinetry painted in Benjamin Moore’s Iron Mountain. Buffet is crafted by Palos Fine Carpentry. Paint color is Benjamin Moore Iron Mountain. Countertop is Caesarstone Calcutta countertop with custom designed backsplash.

Sconces: Visual Comfort.

Mirror – Homegoods – similar here.

Beautiful Buffets: here, here, here, here, here & here.

Hardwood Flooring

Herringbone hardwood floor uses Red Oak stained 50/50 Ebony and Espresso.

Dining Room

The dining room features coffered ceiling, custom wainscoting and leaded glass windows.

Dining Table: RH Discontinued – similar here, here, here, here, here (light wood), here & here (smaller).

Sofa and Chairs – Ikea – similar here.

Wallpaper: Thibaut grasscloth Wallpaper – similar here.

Chandelier: Visual Comfort.

Open Layout

The kitchen, breakfast room and family room feels connected and open to each other.

Kitchen

Kitchen is almost 20’ long and the custom cabinets are by Palos Fine Carpentry.

Island Paint Color

The dark grey island is painted Benjamin Moore’s Iron Mountain.

Island Dimensions: 12’x4’

Kitchen Hood

Hood is by Modern Aire – similar here.

Cabinet Paint Color

Cabinetry: White inset custom designed and crafted cabinetry painted in Simple White by Benjamin Moore.

Counterstools

Barstools: Target – Other Beautiful Counterstools – many styles: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Refrigerator: 32” Electrolux Ref. and 32” Electrolux Freezer (stainless steel) – Trim Kit: here.

Countertop & Lighting

Countertop is Caesarstone Calcutta.

Kitchen Pendants: Visual Comfort.

Kitchen Faucet

Kitchen Faucet: Kohler faucet – Parq in Polished Nickel.

Apron Sink: Kohler Apron Sink.

Cute Indoor Planters: here, here, here, here & here.

Backsplash

Backsplash is Carrara marble tiled backsplash to ceiling in Chevron Pattern – similar here.

Sconces & Hardware

Kitchen Hardware – Top Knobs – Pulls, Knobs, Cabinet Latch, Appliance Pulls.

Sconces over windows by RH – similar here & here.

Similar Countertop Decor: Clear Glass Vase, Faux Floral, White Jars (vases).

Range

Range is a 48” Thermador professional range – similar here.

Other Appliances: Thrermador stainless steel dishwasher and Thermador Microwave drawer in island.

Breakfast Room

Breakfast nook features built-in banquette with millwork detail and leaded glass windows by Searls Windows for Marvin.

Dining Table: RH Discontinued – similar here.

Dining Chairs with Gold Ring on the back – Home Goods – similar here & here (without ring).

Similar Candle Holder: here & here.

Lighting: Visual Comfort (Medium).

Family Room

The family room features a white and grey color scheme. All mirrors, art, pillows, and accessories are from Home Goods.

Inspired by this Look:

(Always check dimensions before ordering

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Paint Color

The family room is painted Classic Gray by Benjamin Moore.

Coffee Table – RH

Fireplace

Wood burning fireplace using trim to create window seats on either side and a really fun tile around the surround.

Similar Fireplace Tile: Here.

Sconces over Fireplace: Visual Comfort.

Chandelier

Chandelier is from Pottery Barn.

Home Office

The home office features a built-in banquette flanked by bookcases with cabinet lighting. Gorgeous, right?!

Table RH Discontinued – – similar Pier 1.

Ceiling light fixture by Visual Comfort.

Cabinet Lighting: Visual Comfort.

Beautiful Grey & White Rugs: here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Paint Color

The whole room is painted in Benjamin Moore Iron Mountain – semi gloss.

Storage

A walk-in closet (not showing) is ideal for hiding printers and file cabinets, so the shelves can display only the beautiful stuff.

Library Cabinet

The second floor features a 14’ built-in cabinetry and bookcase with library lighting. Color is Benjamin Moore Iron Mountain.

Hardware – Rejuvenation Tolson in Aged Brass

Lights – RH – similar here & here.

Staircase Chandelier

Chandelier: 48” Moravian Star Chandelier.

Second Floor Laundry Room

The second floor laundry room features marble backsplash to ceiling (similar here) and Caesarstone countertops in Fresh Concrete.

Cabinetry: Aristorkraft cabinets.

Hardware: Schaub and Company.

Lighting: Visual Comfort.

Powder Room

Powder room features a pedestal sink; Memoirs Stately by Kohler with Artifacts Faucet also by Kohler in Polished Nickel. Paint color is Classic Grey by Benjamin Moore.

Accent Wall: Marble mosaic wall.

Sconces: Visual Comfort.

Navy Bathroom Barn Door

Barn door is painted in Newburyport Blue by Benjamin Moore.

Cabinet

Cabinetry: Navy blue inset custom-designed and crafted. Cabinet painted Newburyport Blue by Benjamin Moore.

Countertop: Caesarstone countertops in Misty Carrara.

Marble floor tile is from Floor and Decor. Other beautiful mosaic tiles: here, here, here & here.

Hardware (Polished Nickel): Pulls, Cabinet Latch.

Tub Tile: Beveled subway tile bathtub.

Master Bedroom

Paint Color: Boothbay Gray by Benjamin Moore.

Ceiling

Ceiling is vaulted with beams. Chandelier is by Visual Comfort.

Pillows were from Joss & Main – similar here, here, here & here.

Master Bathroom Paint Color

Paint Color – Walls are Classic Gray by Benjamin Moore and cabinet is Benjamin Moore Simply White.

Chandelier: Visual Comfort.

Knobs: Schaub and Company – one of my favorite knobs!

Similar Mirrors: here & here.

Faucets: Kohler.

Countertop & Sconces

Caesarstone Countertops in London Grey.

Sconces over Vanity in Polished Nickel: Visual Comfort.

Floor Tile

The bathroom also features a separate tub area with Carrara Wainscoting and Freestanding Soaker Tub.

Carrara Herringbone floor is Royal Satin Carrara.

Tub Filler

Similar Telephone Tub Filler: here.

Shower

Shower combines large Carrara subway tile with hex honed Carrara floor tile.

Shower System: Kohler.

Jack & Jill Barn Door Paint Color

Barn door is painted Benjamin Moore 1606 Cobblestone Path.

Cabinet: Grey inset custom-designed and crafted cabinetry including shelving tower by Palos Fine Carpentry.

Hardware from Rejuvenation.

Caesarstone countertops in Misty Carrara.

Floor tile is Marble floor and shower in Hampton Carrara by the Tile Shop – Other beautiful tiles: here, here, here & here.

Sconces: Visual Comfort.

Basement Hall

The basement features shiplap walls, painted in Benjamin Moore Simply White and rustic ceiling beams. The exposed beams are actually barn wood that the designer covered duct work to disguise it. They had the barn wood corbels made at All American Reclaim where they take apart barns and are craftsman with old wood.

Barn Door: Home Depot.

Similar Lighting: Pottery Barn.

Mudroom Paint Color

Room is painted in Classic Gray by Benjamin Moore.

Light fixture – Visual Comfort.

Staircase Nook

“Hang-out Nook” under second staircase. Isn’t this a brilliant idea?! Wainscoting and trim are painted in Simply White by Benjamin Moore.

Mudroom Cabinet

Mudroom cabinet is custom-designed and crafted and it features cabinetry with X detail. Cabinet paint color is Benjamin Moore Graystone with Caesarstone ledge in Sleek Concrete. The room also features beadboard walls and brick herringbone flooring in Porcelain Tile.

Similar Brick Porcelain Tile: here, here, here & here.

Hardware: Rejuvenation.

Many thanks to the designer, Julie Howard, for sharing all of the details above!

Builder: Timber Trails Development Company (Instagram).

Interior Designer: Julie Howard.

Project Manager: John Anderson.

Photography: @stofferphotographyinteriors.

New Fall-Inspired Rugs & Pillows

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Best Sales of the Month:

Thank you for shopping through Home Bunch. I would be happy to assist you if you have any questions or are looking for something in particular. Feel free to contact me and always make sure to check dimensions before ordering. Happy shopping!

Scroll to see more:

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Serena & Lily: Amazing Rug Sale!

Wayfair: Up to 70% OFF on Furniture and Decor!!!

Joss & Main: Up to 70% off “Don’t Think Twice Sale”!

Pottery Barn: 40% OFF plus free shipping. Use code: FREESHIP.

One Kings Lane: Outdoor Sale Up to 60% Off.

West Elm: Up to 40% Off on Sofas, Sectionals & Chairs!

Anthropologie: New Fall Arrivals!

Nordstrom: Sale – Incredible Prices!!!

Posts of the Week:

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Modern Farmhouse.

2019 New Year Home Tour.

New-Construction Home Ideas.

Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen’s Home – Full House Tour.

Dark Cedar Shaker Exterior.

Florida Beach Cottage.

Craftsman Beach House.

Lake House Interior Design Ideas.

Neutral Home.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Coastal Farmhouse Design.

Before and After Bathroom Renovation.

White Kitchen Renovation.

Kitchen with Blue Island.

Coastal Shingle Home.

Coastal-inspired Home Renovation.

Southern-inspired Modern Farmhouse.

Coastal Farmhouse Home Decor.

Small Lot Modern Farmhouse.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: British Columbia.

Reinvented Classic Kitchen Design.

Florida Beach House Interior Design.

New England Home.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Urban Farmhouse.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Fixer Upper.Beach House Interior Design Ideas.

Tailored Interiors.

Modern Farmhouse with Front Porch.

Classic Colonial Home Design.Grey Kitchen Paint Colors.

Follow me on Instagram: @HomeBunch

You can follow my pins here: Pinterest/HomeBunch

See more Inspiring Interior Design Ideas in my Archives.

“Dear God,

If I am wrong, right me. If I am lost, guide me. If I start to give-up, keep me going.

Lead me in Light and Love”.

Have a wonderful day, my friends and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”

with Love,

Luciane from HomeBunch.com

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mmwm · 7 years ago

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Welcome to day 3 of 31 Days of Heterotopias: Motels and Hotels, a month of posts about how motels, hotels, and inns function as heterotopias and liminal spaces in society. (More about heterotopias and liminal spaces.) Each post will look at these ideas from its own vantage point, which may not obviously connect with the others, and which may mention motels and hotels only peripherally or may focus on them without referencing heterotopia or liminality. I won’t attempt to tie the posts together. They’ll all be listed here, as they are posted.

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There are six motels/hotels that we (spouse and I) stay at over and over, in Savannah, Boston, Middlebury VT, Orleans MA, Boothbay ME, and Ogunquit ME. I’m not sure exactly what their appeal is. Prices per night range from $89 to $250, all fairly mid-range for their locations. The locations themselves are great but they differ — two are in the heart of cities, two are in the heart of towns — all four very walkable to the things we want to walk to — and the other two are on the outskirts of town, though still walkable into town (a mile or two each way, which we enjoy), and one of those is a few blocks from the ocean. Three accept pets, which mattered to us until a few years ago.

I’m going to highlight one of these hotels today, The Holiday Inn Express-Historic District, Savannah, GA. We’ve stayed here at least four times and would have stayed more but they were booked twice when we travelled and we had to stay at other hotels, including the Cotton Sail, which sits just above River Street, chic, modern, expensive, and the Planters Inn, on Reynolds Square, which is old-fashioned, falling apart (when we were there, the elevators didn’t work, almost the whole time!), and the staff was unfindable and not helpful. There was a complimentary bottle of wine in the room for my birthday, which was a lovely surprise, but things went downhill from there, and at more than $300 per night, things needed to be pretty perfect.

But I love the HIX. Yes, it’s a Holiday Inn — which, when I was growing up in the 70s, was “the nation’s innkeeper” and its iconic sign was everywhere (my family stayed in family-friendly Holiday Inns and Howard Johnsons on our once-a-year vacation) —

(above, not my photo)

— but this one is on the corner of E. Bay and Abercorn, one block from River Street, a few blocks from the City Market, a block from Reynolds Square. The location can’t be beat. (Shown below with red tag. You can also see the Cotton Sail Hotel and the Planters Inn on the map.)

We come into town on the train,

take a cab to the hotel, and we don’t rent a car (from the airport, miles away) until we check out and leave for Jekyll Island, an hour and a half away — often via the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens:

Somehow the HIX feels like a sanctuary from the moment I enter the wide, whooshing automatic sliding doors, usually for the first time each visit at 6:30 a.m., more than 24 hours after having fallen out of bed in New Hampshire at 4 a.m. to catch the 5:50 a.m. bus to Boston, then the 9:30 a.m. train from there, through a change to a different train line in New York’s Penn Station in the afternoon, with evening and overnight on the Silver Meteor (which continues on to Miami), to be awakened early again, at 5 a.m., for disembarking.

And just about always, our room is ready when we stumble in, bleary eyed, at 6:30, both needing showers and some sleep on a real bed before hitting Huey’s on the River for beignets, cafe au lait, and grits:

Nothing says “welcome” like the availability of the hotel room in the wee and exhausting hours of the morning, and check in staff who seem happy to provide it more than 8 hours before their normal check-in- time. (They also give us bottles of water and sometimes fruit.)

Chilling out on the bed in your hotel room watching television, while wearing your own pajamas, is sometimes the best part of a vacation. — Laura Marano

We’re usually at this hotel at Christmas and New Year’s, when it’s decorated cheerfully and simply.

There is something especially wonderful, for me, about spending big, culturally significant holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving away from home, and it is precisely because of the heterotropic feel of it: I like the way time passes differently when travelling, when staying in a city or town where I don’t know anyone except the person I am travelling with (and if I’m travelling alone, even more so). Time is open, the future is unknown rather than proscribed as it often is when surrounded by family or friends, when in one’s usual place, taking part in the same interactions as always on these occasions.

We often spend a day or two before Christmas in Savannah, then drive to Jekyll on Christmas Eve or Christmas itself, and we return to Savannah on New Year’s Eve or the day before, spend that night there, and take the train home on 1 January. I love subverting the procession of what is often treated as “sacred” time by making it feel ordinary (ordinarily holy) through the mundane activities of packing, picking up a rental car, driving on the interstate, unpacking, finding take-out Chinese food someplace or just nibbling on snack food when most others in our culture are buying, wrapping, feasting, gathering in groups. I like interacting with cab drivers, rental car agents, restaurant staff, hotel staff on these set-aside days; I feel I am part of an underground community in some way, and at the same time I know I’m not. Our schedule and plans for Christmas Eve and Day and the days before involve not decorating a tree, not wrapping and unwrapping gifts, not making holiday foods, not meeting family/friends for a meal, not going to church, and so on, but rather just checking out of a hotel and picking up a rental car on time. Then? Nothing is certain; time could unfold any way it will.

We exchange only one or two small gifts during this period and I make some rough decoration for the room from shells, branches, sand, rocks, ribbons and rope, a few shiny things. If we were at home, I’m not sure we’d scale down to this extent, but even if we did, I don’t think it would feel the same to me, because there is something about the usual place, home, that exerts a kind of sway on time, on plans, on what’s expected to happen when, and it really does seem like it’s the place itself that has this effect.

Michel Foucault says (slight paraphrase) that “the heterotopia begins to function fully when people are in a kind of absolute break with their traditional time.” To make “an absolute break with traditional time” — by travelling away from home, by staying in a hotel or motel that superimposes and confuses public and private space, that functions as a temporary and transitional way-station, that allows personal (and perhaps “couple” or “family”) identity to float free of its boundaries in an anonymous environment — removes or rescues us from prevailing norms, allows time and self to dissolve and re-order to some extent, blurring the boundaries of time and self as the boundaries of meaning in the space itself are blurred (public/private, familiar/strange, feels institutional/feels like a retreat, etc.). And what period of time is more traditional in American culture than Christmas and the weeks before it? (Rivaling Christmas for traditional celebration, Thanksgiving is the other time we tend to travel each year.)

Some years, we do feast on Christmas Day at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel buffet extravaganza, and New Year’s Eve is often a special dinner in Savannah. We may attend the Christmas concert at St. John the Baptist in Savannah, or take a nighttime walking tour with a sort of Christmasy Dickensian theme (a fund raiser for the local food bank or other charity in Savannah). Even those time-appropriate, traditional “Christmas” events, however, take on a different feel, because we are in the space of a heterotopia, where multiple realities are juxtaposed. We’re in a place that’s both familiar (we have been to Savannah and Jekyll before, we have certainly stayed in Holiday Inns before) and unfamiliar, even exotic, a place where the weather is mild enough that we can dine outside at a cafe table on the sidewalk in mid-winter, when there are feet of snow piling up on our driveway at home. We are among palm trees and camellias blooming everywhere. We are wearing light clothing. We are among other tourists, also enchanted and bewitched by their surroundings and how they feel in these strange surroundings, unmoored from the usual family, community, daily household tasks. It often feels surreal, disorienting in a mostly good way.

Instead of spending Christmas morning unwrapping gifts, we light a candle or two, open a card and a gift or two, and then take a long walk on the quiet beach, admire the shore birds, maybe walk in the woods and look for stinkhorn fungi. On New Year’s Eve in Savannah, we often eat dinner fairly early, walk about on the Savannah streets a bit as festivities are starting to gear up, then head back to the waiting hotel room, where we can perhaps hear a car horn, fireworks, carousers from inside the small impersonal space.

Back to the hotel: The room itself is simple, like the lobby, with just what’s needed: good wifi, a refrigerator, a microwave, a desk and chairs, comfortable bed(s), well-functioning bathroom, some space, some quiet.

The staff are always attentive, and the place just works well. I don’t feel in any sense that I am home there, but I feel benignly looked after without feeling watched or intruded upon. I can be anonymous, I am unknown (even after four or more visits), but I also feel the tenuous and privileged connection that being a “guest” confers.

While in Savannah, favourite spots besides the hotel and Hueys are the Paris Market, with their unusual toys and stuffed animals, good-smelling things, jewelry, books, household goods, fantastic displays, and the macarons, especially at an outside cafe table …

… the fabulous Arches Bar in the Olde Pink House …

(Our Little Hummingbird cocktail)

And the tavern there for dinner, by the fire …

… and then there is the estimable Gryphon Tea Room, serving tea sandwiches and brunch, staffed by the Savannah College of Art & Design students …

the ceiling

Oh, and Savannah Bee honey, with two (maybe more?) locations in Savannah (and one on St. Simon’s Island) … Free samples of honey there, plus mead tastings, lots of lotions and potions …

… and the River Street Sweets and Candy Kitchens on River Street and at City Market (all with free praline samples) …

Other favourite food places are Jazz’d Tapas Bar for tapas and romantic atmosphere; Moon River Brew Pub for casual eats (big outdoor space); Churchill’s Pub in the wine cellar for special occasions; Rocks on the River and Rocks on the Roof at the Bohemian Hotel for a fun, hip nosh (Rocks on the River was open one Christmas morning when nothing else was, bless them); Vic’s on the River for great view and a comfy traditional spot. Once we get the car, we usually head to the Crab Shack on Tybee Island for seafood and cocktails. I’d love to get to the Crystal Beer Parlor next time; we walked there last time but they were unexpectedly closed that day.

Then there’s hours spent strolling on cobblestone streets, along tree-lined streets dripping with Spanish moss, beautiful and interesting architecture everywhere …

… and the parks, gardens, squares, Colonial Cemetery …

… the stairs that are so fun to climb …

… the whimsical creche and the glorious Christmas concerts, with organ and choir, at The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist …

I almost forgot the Telfair museums — which includes the Telfair Academy, part period house, part art gallery …

… the Jepson Center (a more modern art gallery) …

… and a tour of the Owens-Thomas House (no inside photos allowed) …

And after walking, eating, drinking (cocktails on the street!), attending events and taking tours, enjoying tea, (mostly) window shopping, sampling gobs of pralines and honey, pounding the cobblestone and climbing up and down the stairs, it’s so nice to retreat to the unpretentious Holiday Inn Express at the corner of E. Bay and Abercorn for a little quiet, some privacy, a few Zots candies, and some moments or hours of down time in an uncluttered, embracing room, possibly overlooking a pocket garden behind the hotel.

Even after a long train ride and early morning wake-ups, no shower, gritty eyes, I always perk up a bit when I see this ….

When you get into a hotel room, you lock the door, and you know there is a secrecy, there is a luxury, there is fantasy. There is comfort. There is reassurance. — Diane von Furstenberg

There is Comfort. There is Reassurance. Welcome to day 3 of 31 Days of Heterotopias: Motels and Hotels, a month of posts about how motels, hotels, and inns function as heterotopias and liminal spaces in society.