The grand lodge, the Ahwahnee, built in the mid 1920s of stone, timber and steel, was decked out for the holidays. Fires were blazing in three huge fireplaces. {It looked beautiful but we had a two-hour wait in the lobby for our room and the place vented poorly so the smoke smell was not pleasant. }



You might be interested to learn this: Due to its remote location, the construction of The Ahwahnee was the most complex trucking endeavor of its day. Over 5,000 tons of stone, 1,000 tons of steel, and 30,000 feet of timber were hauled over the challenging mountain roads.

We can certainly attest to the roads being challenging. It’s a gorgeous property. This is the view from the large window in our room. We had quite a nice dinner in the great dining room late last night. White sea bass for me, porkchops for M: perfectly prepared. We then retired to our room for the evening.

Ranger Ducky awaited on the bathtub, an unexpected whimsical touch. We awakened this morning to drizzle. It’s not going to be a very pleasant day, so we’re going to dig in with our books, the TV and computers and await the Bracebridge Dinner tonight.