Apartment Blog

It’s a tradition with my family year after year. We always pile up in our car and drive around to look at Christmas lights. There is one house in particular we always stop and see. We call it the ‘NOEL House’ as it has the ‘NOEL’ saying prominently displayed on its rooftop. We also make it a point to go to see the Holiday lights at Virginia Beach Oceanfront. There is something grand about looking at the holiday light displays across our city. I look in amazement at the creativity and the excitement that I feel. I feel like a child again, anxiously waiting for the big day!

Accumulated by americasbestonline.net, here is a list of the best holiday light displays in cities across the nation. Look who turned up number 11! J If you are near one of the areas, make sure you go out and look at the wonderful lights displayed.

1. Silver Dollar City- Branson, MO
Millions of Christmas lights cover the whole park. Plus, the entire city is transformed into a holiday wonderland each evening at 5:30 p.m. as guests join together on the Square for the lighting of the dazzling, five-story Special Effects Christmas Tree. Adorned with over 250,000 lights coordinated to blaze to the musical movements of Christmas songs, this unique Special Effects Christmas Tree presents classics such as “Carol of the Bells” and Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” in a spectacular light and sound show.
  
2. Oglebay Festival of Lights- Wheeling, WV
In 1985 a holiday tradition began at Oglebay and spread throughout the city of Wheeling. That tradition is the Winter Festival of Lights celebration. The first year, displays and landscape lighting covered about 125 acres over a three-mile drive throughout the resort. Since then, the show has grown into one of the nation’s largest Christmas light shows, covering more than three hundred acres over a six-mile drive throughout the resort. 
 

3. Fantasy of Lights- Pine Mountain, GA
A 5 mile drive by car or trolley takes visitors past 13 holiday scenes with more than 8 million  Christmas lights.  Since 1992, this outdoor light and sound show has glittered with holiday magic for millions of people. Families from across the Southeast have added Fantasy In Lights to their list of memorable holiday traditions. This year, experience the 15th annual Fantasy In Lights with its eight million lights creating more than a dozen beautiful scenes, and you’ll see why this is the brightest holiday light show in the South! 
 

4. Smoky Mountain Winterfest- Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville, TN. 
Smoky Mountain Winterfest is a magical celebration that begins in late fall.  Ride the Trolley Tour of Lights around Pigeon Forge and claim a spot on the sidewalk  for Gatlinburg’s “Fantasy of Lights” Christmas Parade, featuring lighted floats, marching bands and giant helium balloons.  This event combines 3 Tennessee cities: Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. These neighboring Smoky Mountain towns are ablaze with 5 million lights thru February. 
 

5. Trail of Lights - Austin, TX
The  Trail of Lights is a mile long display of 42 lighted scenes, US Post Office, Santa’s House, the Yule Log, and an entertainment stage. The festival begins with the lighting of the Zilker Tree, a 155 feet tall, 180 feet diameter lighted tree consisting of 3,309 bulbs on 39 streamers strung from Austin’s historical Moonlight Tower. Since 1987 the honor of lighting the tree has been bestowed upon the winner of the city-wide children’s tree coloring contest. The tree lighting ceremony takes place on the first Sunday of December. 

6. Magical Nights of Lights - Lake Lanier, GA
Rekindle an old tradition or create a new one at Lake Lanier Islands Resort’s 16th annual Magical Nights of Lights holiday celebration. Known as the world’s largest animated light extravaganza, the fun kicks off November 22 through December 30 from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 pm. nightly! Bring the whole family a drive through tour of over six miles of twinkling, holiday light displays and a live nativity scene complete with live actors and animals!

7. Holiday Festival of Lights, Charleston, S.C.
Charleston County Park & Recreation Commission created the Holiday Festival of Lights to bring families and friends together and to raise support for the Charleston county park system. With over 600 individual displays located throughout the park in 132 power locations, the Holiday Festival of Lights is a magical sight to see! 
  
8. Enchanted Garden of Lights, Chattanooga, TN
See Rock City! The gardens’ natural beauty is complemented by more than 25 holiday scenes as half a million lights illuminate rock formations along the Enchanted Trail. 

 9. Southern Lights - Lexington, Ky.
The annual Southern Lights event is the largest fundraiser held for The Kentucky Horse Park. Over 25,927 vehicles passed through the electrical wonderland in 2006 alone! Everything from petting zoos, model railways, arts, crafts, and Santa Claus fill the Indoor Attractions section free of charge to guests.

 10. Mission Inn - Riverside, CA
This magnificent hotel and grounds have over two million Christmas lights!  Enjoy the sounds of the holiday season as our Dickens’ Carolers stroll throughout the hotel every Thursday through Sunday, beginning November 25, 2005, or enjoy a romantic carriage ride around the grounds - to take in the lights of the holiday season.
 
11. 100 Miles of Lights - Virginia Beach, VA
Come share the glow of the season and experience millions of lights and hundreds of events from Virginia’s capital city to the Atlantic Ocean. The region will glitter and glow, sparkle and shine with lights, lights and more lights. 100 Miles of Lights features holiday events and activities in Richmond, Williamsburg, Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach.

Drive-through and walk-through light shows will dazzle and shine with more than two million lights, providing a colorful backdrop to the wide range of events and activities for the young and young-at-heart. Lighted boat parades, city illuminations, festivals, parades, living history re-enactments, caroling, dining events, music and dance are among the many activities occurring throughout the region from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.
12. Bright Nights at Forest Park - Springfield, MA
New England’s most popular holiday destination and largest drive-through lighting display. Two and a half miles of Forest Park are illuminated with more than 500,000 twinkling lights, bringing the magic of the holiday season to life for people of all ages, in dozens of dramatic scenes such as “Poinsettia Fantasy,” “Seuss Land,” “Toy Land,” and “Victorian Village.” Plans are in place this year for bright new displays, and special celebrations to commemorate the holiday traditions of the many cultures that make up the region.

Source:
http://www.americasbestonline.net/christmas.htm

“The Quiet Man” Movie Review

I’m not sure how many of you have actually seen this classic film of an Irish tale.  But I truly recommend it. Being that I have a father who is a John Wayne fanatic, I have seen numerous movies starring him. ‘The Quiet Man’ is probably one of only two that I am able to sit all the way through!

This movie is of an unusual love story between a man and a woman with their cultures colliding.  John Wayne plays a gentle man from America, Sean Thornton. He has returned to the Irish village where he was born to retreat from a horrible memory of his last fight as a prize fighter where he accidentally killed his opponent. Burdened with his death, he seeks peace and comfort.  After his welcome home he encounters Mary Kate Danaher, played by Maureen O’Hara, in one of the most breathtaking scenes of the movie.  The red-haired colleen is herding a flock of sheep across a meadow. With the lush Irish landscape, Sean is mesmerized by her presence.  Once he realizes she is unmarried, he is determined to pursue her. This is where Sean is forced to learn the education of Irish culture and tradition. “Uh uh, no patty fingers if you please.”  From their first encounter Mary Kate and Sean reveal a passion and desire to be with one another. But the constant conflict between Sean, Mary Kate and her brother, Will, makes for an engaging story. The momentous retrieval of Mary Kate from the train station, where Sean literally drags Mary Kate 5 miles to a field where her brother is working, is compelling. With the cute and quaint town joining in all the festivities of this dispute, including waging who the winner might be, you’ll be laughing at the whirl wind brawl!

I’d recommend ‘The Quiet Man’ to anyone. It’s a heart-felt romantic movie that is such a joy to watch!

Source:  speakeasy.org

Anyone from Virginia can tell you that ‘Virginia is for LOVERS’ has been our tag line for many years. It’s on at least 80% of the tourist merchandise sold at Virginia Beach’s oceanfront!

Hand in hand, Virginia and Valentine’s Day truly is for LOVERS! This great state offers romantic settings and picturesque landscape for your special day. From the boardwalk at Virginia Beach’s oceanfront, to the nightlife in downtown Norfolk; from the spectacular scenery of the Appalachian Trail to the beautiful and historic inns of Williamsburg, Virginia has everything to offer you and your special someone during Valentine’s Day and all year long!

So what does the LOVERS state have in store this Valentine’s Day? There are Wine Country Tours of Virginia’s majestic Wineries taking place from February 9^th-17^th. At Breaux Vineyards there is a Chocolate and Cabernet weekend on February 9^th-10^th, bringing two enticing elements for Valentine’s Day-chocolate and wine! The Cooper’s Landing Inn Romantic Valentine Dinner, the James River Plantation Valentine’s Candlelight Dinner & Tour as well as the Land Rover America’s Polo Cup Valentine’s Gala which all take place on February 14^th.

Virginia has magnificent attractions for all LOVERS! So this Valentine’s Day celebrate it right, with the state that accommodates you and your special someone! Go to Virginia!

Source: Virginia.org