Asheville Update

I have about a half hour or so before I head down to the Saturday evening dinner function. It's been a long day and I've only read a little bit of political news. I'll be post some regular blog entries later tonight. Meanwhile, I took some photos.

The Grove Park Inn is simply massive. This shot looks from the Vanderbilt Wing (where the conference rooms are) to the Sammons Wing (where my hotel room is). It rained this morning (at the photo), although the sun's out bright and shiny this afternoon, so guests would have no idea a monster blizzard is now slamming down on the upper East Coast:

Out front of the hotel, just after I returned to my room during the lunch hour:

The huge wood-burning fire down in the main lobby lodge:

A sign for the political science symposium at the conference rooms:

Some of the guests socializing before a presentation. That's Professor Eduardo Munoz of El Camino College at left. We attended graduate school together at UCSB. I saw him last night (at the first night's social mixer) for the first time in almost 15 years. I recognized him immediately, as he was coming down the hall toward the lounge. We had a good laugh:

I'll have more later...

Oh, a commenter at the last update warned me about the "Pink Lady" of Grove Park Inn. Interestingly, I was reminded of the hotel from "The Shining." Long empty hallways, rustic architecture, and scenic views will do that to you, I guess.