B&B: Raphael Inn

Talk about an experience! This is the best bed and breakfast I've ever been to, and it will be the standard for all future ones.

So often we only think of the digital experiences when we think of interaction design, but ultimately the user experience is much bigger and all encompassing.

I happened to stay in 2 different rooms during my stay at the Raphael Inn on my visit to Gettysburg, PA.  Both rooms were meticulously decorated, well furnished, and truly offered the B&B experience of a lifetime.

First is the Evangeline room, which is freshly painted in this gorgeous purple with a theme of flowers and birds.  It's perpetual spring in this room

The view from the rocking chair in the room revealed the wonderful ceiling work, giving a modern and refreshing feel.

The white bird cage is a nice accent against the bold paint color, and many butterflies adorn its surface.

On the dresser is an old style radio that can actually play cassette tapes, and the inn keepers provided various music tapes for your listening enjoyment.

Also on the dresser is a nice lamp, with a glass dragon fly hanging off of its edge.  With the main ceiling light off, you can really see the line shine through the glass and provide a certain air of magic.

The curtains were hand made with a semi-see through printed layer and a plain layer that allows light in while providing privacy.

There were little above door village house decorations on the door frame between the room and the bathroom, and there was even a mini park bench with a mini giraffe to the right of the dresser.

This is true attention to details!

The main entry way is styled with a Paris cafe theme.  In other B&Bs, the breakfast is just basic continental.  At the Raphael Inn, be prepared for a feast for both the eyes and the mouth.

On my first day I had an early morning, so couldn't stay for sit down breakfast. The inn keepers made a special effort to pack me a "boxed lunch" that consisted of a sausage & egg bagel sandwich, a chocolate muffin, an apple, a bottle of water, and a bottle of orange juice! I didn't even realized until later the apple was both cored and cut in half for my convenience.  Such hospitality!

The next day I was able to enjoy sit down breakfast and was presented with a gorgeous fruit plate before the main course of waffles and bacon arrived.

The Raphael Inn does not take breakfast lightly, and they are very good at it indeed. I think I had the best 4 days of breakfast I've ever had on any vacation I've ever taken here.

It happened to be with the scheduling of things, I needed to switch to a different room during my stay.  I moved into the California Rose Suite which had a king size bed and a futon couch.  The bed had a foam layer and I melted right in.

This room has a nautical theme, and used treasure chests as night stands as well as the coffee table next to the futon.

The little sitting area by the bed has mock fences as if on the beach, and the closet had a wall paper reminiscent of being in a wood hut.

There were little "treasures" all over the room, including a small treasure chest filled with "gold coins" (werther's originals).

The book ends on the coffee table were nautical themed, and even the books were seaworthy adventure books like Robinson Crusoe, and Treasure Island.

Every last detail was accounted for, and my experience at the B&B really could not have been better.

While I realize being a designer means I noticed a lot of details that might have been missed by most visitors, it is these details that not only complete the experience, but brought it to a new height unmatched by others.

This is true of all user experiences. The details really do count. Often times, less is more. Do fewer things, but do them really really well. Cross all the T's and dot all the I's. Completing the details will complete the user experience and bring delight.  In the end, who wouldn't want to delight their users?

Falling Water

So I had the chance to visit the famous Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright in Pennsylvania. I've always heard about this great architectural feat, but didn't think I would be in the area to ever see it.  Good thing my best friend got a job at the University of West Virginia recently, and I had the excuse to go visit.

Unfortunately, since it's winter, the inside was closed from tours.  The grounds are open, however. So I got a chance to check out the outside.

The story goes, the Kaufmann's asked Wright to build them a summer cottage back in the 1930's. The Kaufmann's were the local grocery store chain owners, and were obviously well off enough, that this enormous place could be commissioned for construction by a famous architect, and still be called a "summer cottage".  Much like those mansions in Lenox out the Berkshires. But that's another story.

It is very beautiful to see. Though the interaction designer in me shuttered at various things. 

For one, though it's "neat" to build a home "on top" of running water (the original request was simply to have a view of the creek), it just seems to position itself for future problems.

In this particular case, the idea of being able to walk straight down into the creek is certainly nice, but there's no where to go. It's not deep enough for someone to bring a boat around. The bottom isn't smooth enough to sit in. So I guess you can wade it to calf deep water, and then wade out. Perhaps dangle your feet over the edge into the water at the bottom of those steps. But that seems to be it. Seems like a lot of effort for not that much enjoyment.

Another major issue is that apparently Wright didn't believe in drainage. That's right, drainage. Seems kind of important. So the builders somehow negotiated these gutters so that some drainage can happen.

The net results is there's giant icicles waiting to impale passers by.  It's rather alarming really, that an architect can simply "not believe in drainage", therefore not design in any, and then the builders had to negotiate them in. 

Makes me think of how sometimes things look really good from a high level power point presentation, but when you get to the details, some pretty important elements are missing. And often times executives are totally bought in to the high level concept animated out in power point, but fail to understand more detailed work is necessary before you can really call it a complete design. 

Otherwise, you would just end up in situations like this, where the design failed to account for drainage, and the builders had to work it in some other way. And ultimately, I can't imagine this is desirable. If Wright had actually designed with drainage in mind, I'm sure there would have been ways to deal with it where it doesn't form dangerous daggers over head of passersby.

Puerto Rico!

Vacation in tropical paradise! Got to see the Arecibo Observatory, Caves at Rio Camuy, El Yunque rain forest, El Morrow and La Castillo in Old San Juan as well as eat some really tasty local foods! Got to swim in La Mina falls in the rain forest and ride horses on the beach! What more can I ask for? ;)

One thing I found funny was that the high ways had barriers that were painted in specific color patterns of 2 or 3 colors. But I didn't quite figure out why they chose the colors they did. But it was cool regardless.

green, red, and yellow

purple and yellow

peach and blue

purple, turquoise, and green

I thought the local frog - Coqui - is one of the cutest sounding things I've ever heard, and couldn't resist buying a stuffed version that replicates its chirps that resonates throughout the night.

The Arecibo Observatory has the world's largest radio telescope and it actually rotated while I was visiting.

Swimming in La Mina falls is only second to swimming in one of the Maui falls on the road to Hana.

 

And El Morrow and La Castillo in Old San Juan captured the magic of the old world.

Trail riding is brought to a new level when you can ride directly on the beach with the ocean waves crashing at your feet. My horse was Tyson (the smaller one in front), and I actually got him up to a full gallop a few times. =P

My horse Tyson is laughing!

No tropical paradise trip is complete without great food. Tostones, monfongo, empanadas to start. But don't go anywhere without the ketchup-mayo. It's the most amazing dipping sauce ever.

See the full slide show of the entire trip photos. :)

Riding Camel & Feeding Giraffes

Finally got around to scanning the souvenir photos from the Miami Zoo in.

The giraffes were so beautiful! Look at those big eyes! Look closely under my hand and you'll one of them sticking his tongue out, reaching for the green leaf I'm holding. They have tongues that can wrap and grab, and that's what happens when you feed them, they reach out with their tongues and when they find the food they'll wrap around it and pull it in. Your hand can get slobbered a bit but it was super fun!

I got to ride Charlie the Camel here. They built a ramp up so you just hop on (without the camel kneeling). While the handler was leading him around this figure 8 track she asked if I had any questions. The conversation went like this.

"So, where are they from?"
"Oh, they're from Wisconsin."

Wisconsin? *blink* *blink*

"They're from Wisconsin?"
"Yup, there's a camel farm there."

... why is there a camel farm in Wisconsin?...

"Uh... so... isn't Wisconsin colder than Florida?"
"Yes, but the desert gets really cold at night so it's well within their natural habitat temperatures."
"Oh, I see..."

so yeah, I was riding a camel named Charlie from Wisconsin in the Miami Zoo.

I almost got to pet a hippo named Johnny! But he wouldn't come when they called out to him. He was half submerged in his pond, and they rang this bell and called his name for like.. a minute. He barely acknowledged us puny humans and stayed submerged. Oh well.

Speed Signs

All speed signs should be like this. :-)

Bird on the Attack

This is a male Argus Pheasant. I was walking in the aviary and he started to circle me. At first there were some Tufted Wood Partridge that was pecking at him so i thought they were playing. Then it started coming at me and started pecking at my feet! I redirected his attention by blocking his shots with my zoo map but was forced to retreat into a building. I asked one of the keepers if it was something i did or if i'm wearing colors too bright, she said no, that little guy is just aggressive and they had to put him in time out for attacking a little girl the other day. Way to start the day!

Watch Out for the Alligator!

I'm holding baby alligator Snappy! The handler to my side said he's "3", but he also said he's been "3 for awhile", so I'm left wondering if this is a pygmy type alligator that actually won't get any larger than this and they just keep calling it a baby and that he's "3". :)

Everglades Tour

On an airboat!

The way airboats move is very interesting. Since it's "gliding" across the water, when it "turns" you often "slide" a little sideways. It's almost like driving in new england and sliding around corners. Except it's way smoother and less scary. :)

Sweet!

Local sweet and had cream shop called Udder Sweets. Couldn't resist candy legos! Gummy alligators, swedish sea creatures, strawberry and cream gummy strawberries, and gummy cola pandas were only a few of their vast selection of goodies. :)

And yes, the candy legos actually work like real legos!

Art Deco Hotels

Art deco hotels on ocean drive. just hopped off one of those hop on hop off tour buses to walk around a bit. The architecture here is very cool and i certainly can't complain about the weather. :-)

Rental!

This is a rental and apparently have been featured in many movies and music videos - though the guide didn't say which ones. Really cool looking for sure. Wonder what the going price for it is...

Towers Along Miami Beach

another cool building in miami, this time on miami beach, view from the cruise boat. Love the curves on the roof.

Miami Lady Cruise

on the Miami Lady with Miami skyline in the background. :-) This 90 min cruise took us around Fisher Island, Star Island and the works to see where all the celebrities live. I took a bunch of pics of those mansions but I can't remember which is which anymore. I remember we saw home of Gloria Estefan, Noami Campbell (land formerly owned by Shaq.. currently a new mansion being built), Will Smith (summer home), Puff Daddy (totally covered by trees), and the oldest was a 1927 mansion formerly owned by Al Capone. Neat stuff!

Cool Building in Miami

Snapped this through my car window while in stopped traffic waiting for the draw bridge to come down. It's not terribly clear from this pic, but there's a rainbow coloring going across the building in each of those dots. I thought it was pretty neat.

Riding Reno

That's me riding Reno! She's 21 and full of life. The whole ride she was trying to gallop and wanted to turn in different directions than the rest of the group. She's the biggest horse that I rode on this trip. I think Elvis from my first ride in Phoenix was larger. Yesterday I rode Val, which is all black and very slow. It's all good. My ride count now totals 4 and I wish I could do this every morning. But for now I'm glad I have had the chance to ride as many times as I have. :-)

In Ottawa..... Illinois!

No, still didn't leave the country. I love how most town names here make you think you are though. :-) This statue and fountain are in Washington Square where Lincoln and Douglas had their first debate for a US Senate seat. The first time Lincoln said all men are created equal and it was central to his argument.

Riding Casper and Avoiding Biting Lady Bugs

No, not the ghost. Although I can see how you might be tempted to think that given it's that time of the year. I got to ride a pretty horse name Casper today on the trail ride right on the Fox River resort property. The weather was great for it too. It's probably 75 out, and there's a nice breeze along all the time. I got on the 2:30 PM ride so it wasn't in the dead heat of high noon. I will definitely do it again tomorrow, and the day after, and possibly even the day after that if I can get away with it.

So the one weird thing is the lady bugs here bite. That's right, you read that right. They BITE. Those things are mean and they swarm! I'll find out later just how many chunks they took out of me.

The embarrassing thing is I wore a v-neck tank top today, and they kept going down my chest. I had to reach into my shirt more than once to get the bug out of my tank. Good thing the other riders were mostly women or girls. If I can stand the heat, I am definitely wearing a long sleeve tee tomorrow.

In the mean time, I'm going to go enjoy my jacuzzi after I figure out what to do for dinner. :)

Chicago

The primary reason for coming out this way was for Bill and Yelena's wedding. They held it in the Architectural Artifacts building, which is a very cool venue. It was great to see lots of familiar faces from our days back in the dorm, even though we're in all parts of the country now. I'll get around to uploading all the photos later when I have a better internet connection.

It was actually rainy on Saturday, the day of the wedding. I managed to get myself up to the John Hancock Observatory. It was worth it because the wind was blowing hard enough that the rain was going side ways up there (94 floors up). I almost thought it was snow given the way it was floating, but it was only rain. Crazy physics!

Of course Chicago is known for all the great architecture. I have a ton of pics, but it'll be too much to show here. This is the Cloud Gate in Millennium Park. Everyone here calls it the Silver Bean. I'm on the left side of the photo, wrapped up in a hat and scarf because it was actually kinda cold.

Visions of Eternity by Salvador Dai

One of the coolest things was going to the Art Institute of Chicago. True to all my friends' and colleagues' recommendations, it has the largest amount of Impressionist art I have ever encountered in one place. I took many photos (totally allowed) of many great works by Monet, Renoir, and Degas. Additionally there were a lot of great Dali work like the one at right. The "Melted Clock" wasn't here, but it was still great. I also bought myself a very expensive canvas tote, but it had The Gashly Tinycrumbs by Edward Gorey on it and I couldn't pass it up.

I went to the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum as well. It was really cool to see one of the most complete T-Rex fossils in the world (Sue). It looks so real! I was definitely in a Jurassic Park moment here.

I learned a bunch about the world on this trip to the Field Museum. I learned that there were actually 5 major mass extinctions, not just the one 65 million years ago when the dinosaurs were wiped out. I'm still wondering how they figured those other ones out given the first one occurred something like 430 million years ago (there abouts). It's amazing what we can learn these days through science and technology.

I got to do a little comparison between my own feet and that of a dinosaur. I think I would have been road kill within 30 seconds if I lived in that era. That's just ridiculous!

All in all, it was awesome to see the city. I finally got a sense of where East was by the end of my 3 day stint there, and then it's off back to Norway (boonies) for some R&R before heading to Indiana.