Sights of the Season (December 21, 2013)

 My girlfriend and I, with her son and grandson went to the "Miracle of Christmas" presentation at the Richmond Zoo. It was free, and a huge crowd was on hand. Coupled with temperatures in the upper 60's it was a wonderful night. The presentation used live animals, even Camels were in it, and it was a very neat way to look at the Christmas season.
They put a lot of work into it, and was not bad either getting in or out, though there were over 1,000 people there (three shows a night). The following night it rained which cancelled the event, and looks like more of that tonight (least so far all day).

 Took Kaye to the house on Oregon Hill (previous post) and did get this close up of the amazing house there. Like to see a lot of the lights, as much as I can, and hope to do more if the weather will go along. Not as much fun seeing them in the rain, but Saturday night was as I noted wonderful- and enjoyed getting out and seeing this.
We also made a stop (again, previous post) to the house on Grove Street, and then drove for a bit down Monument Avenue.
Lots of amazing things to see this time of year in Richmond, VA!

 At the Jefferson saw again the Gingerbread Sled, seen here in a side view. Just had to be an amazing amount of work to go into it, and it is a remarkable thing.
Over the years I have seen a house and a train both made out of Gingerbread (and both also very big). You could ride with Santa in this sled, and the details made into it are something to behold.
I enjoy so much this time of year, and the things to see and do at Christmas time in Richmond are long and amazing.
Looking forward to seeing even more, and will be doing so before its all over.

Got this photo of the rotunda at the Jefferson Hotel (which is also where I saw the sled above). Amazing and expensive hotel (but seeing all of this was free) and it has a very long history. Was built by Lewis Ginter, who did a lot of things in the Richmond area at the turn of the century. He made his money in tobacco, but did a lot of other projects here in the area with a lot of that money. There are some gardens here with quite a Christmas display this time of year with his name on it as well.
Hotel history can be found at The Jefferson Hotel web site, where you can find some remarkable things about the hotel. There you can read about the Grand Staircase (seen in previous post with the hotel Christmas Tree) and also about alligators at the hotel!
Was a wonderful time checking this all out, a very fun day and night- I am looking forward to seeing even more, and in fact will even be enjoying Christmas from some other places. Will be bring that to you very soon. Hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas, and thanks for visiting my page!