On New Year’s Day Wife and I loaded up the Transcontinental Jeep and rolled southbound. We’d decided to leave the snowy cold of the Great White North, which thus far this winter hasn’t really been either. However, we’re both native New Englanders, and know full well that eventually winter with all of its features would arrive in earnest at some point.

So we buttoned up Pondside and left. Destination => Tucson, Arizona. Our youngest son lives there now, and suggested we make an extended visit. He’s got the room, and we certainly have the time. So, onwards down Interstate 91 we went. Current planning will have us returning sometime in April, a month that could be the end of winter or perhaps the beginning of spring. Or a little of both.

Figuring we could make it into Pennsylvania that first day, we made reservations at an old and famous hotel in Williamsport. Wife and I enjoy checking out the older and one-of-a-kind lodgings when the opportunities present. Back in the day this one was called the Lycoming Hotel, and was built early in the 20th century. The large building dominates the Williamsport downtown area. In the 1970s the property, then in decline, was purchased by Gus Genetti, and it was renamed the Genetti Hotel & Suites. Genetti and his family returned the property to being the premier hotel and convention center for the Lycoming County area, and it has remained so to this day, surviving the recent “pandemic” that rained destruction upon the hospitality industry. 

When you enter the hotel it’s like stepping back years in time. The walls are crowded with many photos of dignitaries and stars from back in the day, and the decor and furnishings go back even further. There are stories of the hotel being haunted, particularly on the 8th floor.

When we checked in, Wife and I were given a room on the 9th floor. Up we went in the older Otis elevator. Our room was small, but well furnished with pieces of furniture from bygone years. But there were some problems with the mechanicals in the room, so I called down to the front desk, and asked what might be done? Being a Monday night, and a holiday to boot, the night clerk decided to move us to another room. We were assigned a corner room on the fourth floor.

I should have said “rooms”. Room 412 was a suite, and named for Bob Hope. Apparently he stayed there at some point. The sitting room was amply furnished with furniture at least 75 years old, with modern conveniences nicely integrated. Here’s a short walk-through:

Bob Hope was more of my parents’ generation than mine. I know he was a movie star, singer, comedian, and liked to golf. Unsure if he was any good, but I think a recall of a yearly tournament named for him. A Pro-Am, I think?

Oh- he also was a staunch supporter of America’s servicemen. If I’m not mistaken he worked through the USO entertaining our troops overseas during World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Impressive, especially when compared to today’s stars of stage and screen.

Dinner options being severely limited in Williamsport that evening, we had a pizza delivered and enjoyed the comforts of the suite for the evening. We noticed nothing in the way of hauntings or other supernatural occurrences, and in the morning continued our southbound journey.

More to follow about our southern sojourn, I’m sure. Thanks for stopping by!