The Winter Doldrums...and Happy New Year!

...both have set in.   May your 2016 exceed all your expectations!

With Holiday activities in full swing and no solo travel, there has been no time for the least little bit of exploration en femme.   And this is not expected to change for the next several months.   So, I make do with, and am very thankful for, what I have - which is my "androgynous feminine" presentation.  

In order to visit relatives in Pennsylvania, we made an overnight stop in State College, PA, home of the Penn State Nittany Lions.   (For those familiar with it, yes, we drove by the statue of the Lion.)   While we were in town, we found some other interesting things to check out.

It's a beautiful campus, with about 40,000 students...definitely a large school.  And some of the nearby residential areas contained gorgeous old homes.  We drove around, and noted that many are now fraternity and sorority houses.  The Arboretum (with its decorations) might have been a good place to walk off the calories from our dinner - but alas, it started raining. 

My attire for the entire trip was: denim jeggings over pantyhose,  turtleneck tunic with Mom's necklace, feminine ballet flats, women's sweater with pockets, and one of my old work jackets (the only male clothing on the trip.)  Not totally feminine, but it was the best I could do, given that we were traveling light, and only for a few days.  Had Mandy been traveling alone, there would have likely been two FULL large suitcases just for her!

We ate dinner at the above restaurant in downtown State College.  Food was excellent, as was the holiday decoration.   And we got there early, so we didn't need reservations.  But they got downright crowded as the evening grew older.  Must be the "place to be and be seen" in town.  I noticed that we were addressed as "folks", and the waitstaff didn't use any gender-specific forms of address for me.  This was OK...much better than using the dreaded "S" word...    (If you go there, the salmon and spiced apple sauce were fabulous!)

And the big downtown hotel (the Atherton, pix above) was very nice, with an elegant holiday display in the lobby.  When we checked in, the welcome letter addressed me as Ms., and the clerk did, too.  A lovely surprise!

While in State College, we learned of a local historical business, the Autoport Motel, oldest motel in both Pennsylvania and State College, which unfortunately is in financial disarray. 

 The Autoport

Much of the following was derived from the website of The Autoport (seen above):  

In 1936, a local businessman by the name of Marion B. Meyer traveled from State College to Miami, Florida, where he came across something he had never seen before. It was a service station which repaired cars, provided gas and oil, offered home cooked meals, and comfortable lodging. It was called a motel which was short for “motor hotel.” The main building was designed in what was known as the “art-deco” style of architecture.

He brought this idea back to State College. Mr. Meyer knew that travelers would appreciate a comfortable place to stay overnight, have their car serviced, and enjoy a delicious meal before heading out of town. He called his new business the Autoport and it became the first motel in the state of Pennsylvania.

Since then the Autoport has seen many changes including the service garage being converted into a coffee shop,  the gas pumping area into the covered entry, the addition of a heated pool, a lounge, and modern motel rooms replaced all but five of the original cottages.

In 2006, while attending a breakfast meeting at the ‘Port, local architect Greg Mussi learned that after more than 70 years in business, the Meyer family decided to put the property up for sale. The Autoport Restaurant and Motel was slated for demolition to make way for a convenience store.  Greg, whose architectural background is in historic preservation, convinced his wife Lynda that they needed to purchase this local landmark before it was destroyed, and they, along with another individual, bought it.  It even appeared recently on national TV in "Hotel Impossible."

But these are tough times, and while the Autoport is not going up for auction (it's still operating - including the restaurant), the owners have had to declare the business bankrupt to have a fighting chance to save it.    Pennsylvania's first and oldest motel has been in financial straits for months.   The owners have been fighting off foreclosure since 2014, when the Autoport appeared on the reality TV show "Hotel Impossible."  Only time will tell whether it survives, or whether (like the motel I watched being torn down in Maryland to provide land for "one more of many convenience stores") only its memory remains as a part of State College's historical archives.

Hopefully the folks who trapped Santa in their RV's rear window will let him get back to work at the North Pole soon...many kids are depending on him for next year's toys!

And it's a fitting picture for this point in the post...THE END!

Happy New Year to each of my readers..wherever you may be.

Hugs,

Mandy