On Saturday, Elvis and I arrived at the Shanley Hotel in Napanoch, NY. It was a long, but scenic ride. A few giggles at some of the town names along the way. Fishkill, Peter's Kill, If It Ain't Dead Kill It Kill. Okay, so I made that last one up, but basically if you can think of it, there was a -kill on the end.Most people who have ever checked-in to a hotel get a smile from the staff, that's because they get paid to be nice to you. The owners, Sal and Cindy Nicosia were very friendly. They were genuinely happy to welcome you to their hotel.
Despite the massive size of the building, it didn't feel so much like a hotel, but more of a homey, visiting friends vibe. I could understand why people would want to gather there. The decor makes you forget you are over a decade in to the twenty-first century. The few modern things such as light switches and heaters seemed so out of place and served as anchors to the present time.
A quick peek around the building before everyone else arrived revealed more beauty - and more than a few mental images for me. Upstairs, downstairs, over and across. Choosing a room to settle our things in was difficult because each and every option offered so much both esthetically and emotionally. We finally decided to sleep in the bordello.
I will continue to refer to that area as the bordello for common understanding, but to me, it was a Ladies quarters. There is a Gentleman's quarters - they are of no better moral fiber than the women who resided in the rooms above. The first room, commonly called "Anna's Room" was stunning. The lamps were electric, but they could have easily been oil. The bed was comfortable but very high. I'm all of 5'2 and nearly had to jump up to reach it, but once I did, it was worth the effort.
-- A quick story about our night in "the first room on the right". We were tired after a long journey there, hours of running around trying to frolic with the non-fleshies and general fun all around that getting ready for bed took all the energy we had in reserves. We climbed in to the inviting bed and said good night to each other and I expressed a thank you to the more permanent resident for sharing her room with us for the night. Not 15 minutes had passed before I felt a pressure on my feet, ankles and calves, as if someone was sitting at the foot of the bed and facing the mirror. I acknowledged it with a hello and kindly moved my legs towards the middle of the bed to be accommodating. Slowly a cold went up from my ankles, to thighs, to my hips and arms. Oh, the times I wished I slept with a camera and a thermometer! I did roll over to try to make even more room for our unseen roomie. A chill going up your entire backside does make sleeping a distant desire. I finally sat up and said "FINE, you sleep with him tonight, I get to sleep with him every night anyways" and made my decent down the narrow windy stairs to the main room.
I am not ready to post any other personal/physical/other experiences, but I can share things I did find notable.
I had taken general pictures of people around the hotel before breaking off to smaller groups. During the time allotted for investigation, I was paired with Denise, her cousin Rhonda and my Elvis.
The first room we were assigned was the Gentleman's quarters. There was a permanent camera in the room as well as the hand-held owned by Denise. There is video documentation of my taking pictures and the flash on my camera going off when I did. When our time was over and we regathered in the main room, I was trying to review the pictures I had just taken and not ONE of the pictures from there was on the sd card. I am not implying I had pictures with nothing of interest, or even of blank pictures, I am talking about complete absent of ANY pictures taken in that room on the card. I took pictures after to confirm the camera was indeed in working order.
There is more to this story, and I will post more at a later time.
To find out more about the Shanley Hotel, please go to their website - as the saying goes... the spirits are inn.
No comments:
Post a Comment