Category: Travel Blog

 

In early March, we took a brief excursion to Washington, DC. Since we had recently become non-resident members of the Army and Navy Club, we wanted to pay the club a visit and stay for a few days. During our stay, we had the opportunity to tour the White House and Ford’s Theater, as well as a couple of the Smithsonian Museums. Our dining experiences included meals at the Army and Navy Club, our go-to spot Old Ebbitt Grill, as well as Off the Record Bar (Hay Adams Hotel) and Round Robin Bar (Willard Hotel). Washington DC has always been one of my favorite US cities.

The Old Ebbitt Grill is a historic restaurant located in Washington D.C. near the White House. It first opened its doors in 1856 and has been in operation continuously since then, making it one of the oldest restaurants in the city.

The restaurant is decorated with historic memorabilia, including political cartoons and photographs, which gives it a unique and nostalgic atmosphere. It’s said that Presidents Grant, Cleveland, Harding, and Theodore Roosevelt were all patrons of the restaurant during their time in office.

The Off the Record Bar is a popular bar located inside the Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington D.C. The bar is known for its classic cocktails and upscale atmosphere, as well as its reputation as a spot for political insiders and journalists to gather and have off-the-record conversations.

The bar is decorated with political cartoons and caricatures, giving it a unique and quirky vibe. It’s often referred to as a “hidden gem” due to its discreet location and intimate setting.

The Round Robin Bar is a historic bar located inside the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington D.C. The bar has been a fixture in the city for over a century and is known for its classic cocktails, upscale ambiance, and famous clientele.

The Round Robin Bar has been frequented by numerous famous guests over the years, including politicians, diplomats, and celebrities. It’s said that President Abraham Lincoln used to frequent the bar during the Civil War and that the term “lobbyist” was coined in the bar’s early days when political advocates would wait in the lobby to talk to members of Congress who were also patrons of the bar.

 

 

 

Here are some travel shots for the working man journeys so far, hopefully 2023 will get back on track.

 

The vacation cabin near Asheville, NC was finally completed in 2022 and furniture moved in the fall. Just a few landscaping projects to complete in the new year.

The NC Vacation Cabin is nearly complete after over 1 year of construction process. The pandemic did not help supply chain issues, but now there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The cabin has a great view and wonderful location not far from Asheville, North Carolina and the Blueridge Parkway. Now just to stain the exterior and work on the landscaping.

We made a short trip in May 2021 to Lori’s (maiden name Hays) father’s ancestral home in West Virginia.  This beautiful white chapel was built on land given by the Hays family in 1889 and is named for Lori’s great, great, great, great grandmother Louisa Sexton Hays. Finally, the country and hopefully world is now opening up and we can travel once again.

 

In January 2020 I traveled a lot closer to home going to Tallahassee, Florida with other members of the Leadership Tampa Bay Class of 2020.  For more than 30 years, Leadership Tampa Bay has promoted the prosperity and vitality of the Tampa Bay region, enlightening leaders to the importance of the area as a whole in the state of Florida. The mission of LTB Tampa Bay is to engage members with businesses and community leaders to enhance knowledge of regional assets and issues. The program is designed not only to identify regional strengths and build on them, but to delve into issues facing the region and explore ways to bridge differences.  For this trip, we attended meetings of the Florida House and Senate as well as briefings with a Florida Supreme Court Justice and other dignitaries affiliated with the political scene in Florida. We also had opportunities to dine at the University Center Club at the Doak Campbell Stadium at The Governor’s Club.

In December 2019, I returned to London to study for another week at the London School of Economics and Political Science. This was my fifth course in the Executive LLM program and examined the Taxation of Wealth. While in London, I finally made it to the British Museum (the Rosetta Stone is pictured above) and dined at some interesting historic pubs including Cittie of Yorke, The Salisbury and The Bloomsbury Tavern.

The Cittie of Yorke is on London’s High Holborn, and although the current building is a rebuilding of the 1920s, the buildings on this site have been pubs since 1430. Some features include the Henekey’s long bar located in the grand and Victorian-style cubicles. The Welsh poet Dylan Thomas penned an impromptu ode to the pub when it was called Henneky’s Long Bar. The top of the poem reads “This little song was written in Henneky’s Long Bar High Holborn by Dylan Thomas in 1951.”

The Salisbury has been recognized as “an historic pub interior of national importance” due to the quality and opulence of the etched and polished glass and the carved woodwork. The “SS” motif that can be seen etched into the glass and in a few places is because the pub was originally called the “Salisbury Stores.” The 1961 British suspense film Victim includes scenes inside and outside The Salisbury.

The Bloomsbury Tavern is one of the most historic pubs in Holborn and was once the ominous final watering hole en route to the hangman’s noose at Marble Arch.

London is truly one of my favorite cities and a traveler could certainly never run out of things to do, to see or to eat.

 

In October I returned to Ottawa, Canada for a conference of the International Leadership Association presenting a paper titled “Leaving your mark: Seven strategies for indelible leadership.”

While in Ottawa, I had a few days to stroll around the city taking in a couple of days of beautiful weather and some interesting sights such as the Parliament Building, the Rideau Canal, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is located before the National War Memorial in Confederation Square, Ottawa, Ontario. The culmination of a project begun by the Royal Canadian Legion, the tomb was added to the war memorial in 2000 and holds the remains of an unidentified Canadian soldier who died in France during World War I. The soldier was selected from a cemetery in the vicinity of Vimy Ridge, the site of a famous Canadian battle.

The Rideau Canal is named for Rideau, French for “curtain”, and is derived from the curtain-like appearance of the Rideau River’s twin waterfalls where they join the Ottawa River.

My wife and I traveled to Montreal for a short trip in early August where I presented a paper on International Investment Law (not very interesting) at the Academy of Legal Studies in Business annual conference and spent a few days in Old Montreal (very interesting).  The Barrocco restaurant is one of the best (if not the best) restaurants in Old Montreal for dinner and a small French Cafe next door called Le Marche De La Villette is a great spot for lunch.  There are many other cafes and restaurants in Old Montreal and a variety of place to walk and shop.