by Marty Coleman | Jul 11, 2012 | Gaylord Hotel - Grapevine, Travel |
This is Part Three of the story of my luxury adventure at the Gaylord Texan resort that I won in a contest from Steinbrecher and Associates. You can read Part One and Part Two here.
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A Texas sized Sunrise
The next morning I got up early and took a sunrise run around their running trail. They have a 1/2 mile and a mile trail. I chose the mile trail but took the 1/2 mile trail after that and found a nice little loop in a depressed gladed area that I was able to run around enough to get in my miles.
Sunrise on Lake Grapevine
We had a quick breakfast before Caitlin had to leave for work at the Texas Cantina along the meandering little river they have running through the entire hotel. I didn’t take a photo but I did draw the waitress for my one and only napkin of the trip. You can see the finished colored version here.
She poured it in Texas
Linda and I were then treated to relaxing massages at the Relache Spa. I had Carlos work me over pretty good and Linda had female massage therapist. It hit the spot, no doubt. If I could have gone back in for another one later that day AND the next morning…I would have.
HOT Couture in small town Texas
In the afternoon we drove a short distance to the small town of Grapevine. It’s a quaint and cute main street type town. Fantastic shops of all sorts. They’ve done a great job of bringing in a mix of shops, part tourist, part local, part food, part products and services. It felt real and like it had evolved organically over the years. We did mostly window shopping, stopping in here and there, meandering and just enjoying each other’s company.
We did find a fantastic resale shop, The Designer’s Rack, that just happened to have a new selection of designer shoes come in. I took pics to send to Caitlin, who was at work, to see if she would be interested. Turns out she was tempted but held off. Linda did end up buying a pair (not pictured unfortunately).
Prada, Choo, Tods, Chanel
I ended up in a conversation with one of the sales people, a true Texan with big hair, bright pink nails & lipstick and the greatest Texas accent you could imagine. I really regret not getting a picture of her! She did model one of the pairs of shoes so Caitlin could see it a bit better so I did get a photo of her foot.
Texas foot in a Parisian shoe (Chanel)
I hung out at the pool again that afternoon while Linda napped. I met a woman with 4 of her own kids who was also in charge of a slew of middle school kids from a baptist church. There was a big summer get together for baptist teens from all over Texas, Oklahoma and other states and that made for a LOT of energy in the pool. How they have that much energy without caffeine is a mystery. We talked about raising girls vs raising boys. I gave her an assurance it was likely (though not guaranteed) she would survive all their teen years.
Are You Outdoors if You Are in an Atrium?
That night we finally had our dinner at Zeppoles. It was mostly a seafood menu and none of it disappointed. It really was exquisite all around. The attention and knowledge of the waiter was a great benefit. There’s nothing better for a diner than a waiter who knows what he or she is talking about.
Caitlin and Linda at Zeppoles Restaurant
This is our ‘outdoor seating’ within the restaurant within the atrium. It was a funny experience to have such a HUGE atrium in the middle of the hotel. The whole thing was nothing but light and air, no real feeling of being inside at all, except it was air conditioned to about 72 degrees, which is odd when you are expecting to walk out into 100 degree heat. Here is what the very top of the atrium looked like. Many people look very funny snapping this exact same picture. I am sure I didn’t though.
Deep in the Heart of Texas
Planning
I ended the night organizing the next day’s schedule. I was going to finally meet Susan Steinbrecher, the woman who awarded me the Grand Prize. I was hoping to have enough time to have a sit down conversation with her, perhaps show her a quick overview of my ‘Six Stop Signs on Creativity Road’ presentation I did at Blog World to see if she might have suggestions about where I might go next in my plan to conquer the world. But we weren’t going to meet until 1 pm and I figured we would have to check out the usual hotel time of 11 or so. Luckily, being served by Celebrity Services meant our check out wasn’t until 4pm. Sweet! That got one problem out of the way, but the other problem was I needed to be at the airport by about 2:15, giving me a pretty brief window of time to meet with Susan….
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Part Zero (the napkin)
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four. Find out if I get to sit down and talk to Susan! Sit on the edge of your seat wondering if I will make my flight! Laugh as we forget to check out!
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 10, 2012 | Gaylord Hotel - Grapevine, Texas, Travel |
This is Part Two of my story of winning the grand prize in the ‘Kensho: A Modern Awakening’ contest. You can read Part One here.
We are celebrities, uh huh
I won the ‘Kensho: A Modern Awakening’ contest in the winter of 2011 but the 2012 4th of July holiday turned out to be the perfect time to go. Caitlin was now living in Dallas and could either stay with us or at least hang out when she wasn’t working. The certificate said to call the executive offices to make our reservations. That was my first clue that this might not be your normal hotel stay. They in turn instructed me to go to ‘Celebrity Services’ when I checked in, not the usual reservation desk. This turned out to be a very good thing since the line for that desk was pretty long on the morning of the 4th.
Celebrity Services was behind a frosted glass wall in the lobby, with no signage. It looked like it might just be executive offices, or something like that. I suppose real celebrities would like that better than a big neon sign saying ‘come bug us, we have celebrities in here!’ In spite of my new found celebrity status I was not expecting a rush of autograph seekers.
Courtney and Tyler, our celebrity services peeps, insisted on having their picture taken with the celebrities.
I was grateful for them because most of the other patrons had luggage amounts like this to check in.
Note box fan: Linda was jealous!
A third Celebrity Services Peep (not sure if they have an actual title, their card just says ‘celebrity services’), Paula, brought us up to our room along with the Bell Hop and luggage to explain the details of our new humble abode, the 5th floor Presidential Suite. This was a good thing since Jed Clampett (me) didn’t really know where to start. This is why.
The lil' sittin' room
The one oversight was that she didn’t explain was the shower, which had about 14 knobs and a steamer that I didn’t figure out until I was in the middle of a ‘death by steaming’ James Bond assassination attempt. But I survived not terribly worse for wear. It made Linda laugh at me til she cried, so there’s that.
'Steaming Assassination Trap' off camera to the right.
One of the best things as we arrived was we got to taste the amazing treats Caitlin had made the night before for us. She loves doing holiday goodies so why not make them for the 4th of July, right? Check these out. They were SO delicious!
Patriotic Strawberries, YUM!
This was our view.
American Landscape
After we settled in we went to the outdoor pool (they also have an indoor pool and a waterpark). The pool was filled to the brim with kids splashing and having fun and I didn’t feel safe bringing my camera phone out but here is a pic of it when it is pretty and empty.
I, Octopus
Trust me when I say it was hot, fun, crowded and loud, just like it is suppose to be on a summer holiday. My exercise in the pool was swimming underwater from Linda and Caitlin’s dangling legs to the opposite side of the pool and back, my challenge was winding my way through legs and bodies. I did that again and again. It was fun and I only kicked one or two people. Really. I do think one lady thought I was an octopus or something when I swam by.
After we finished with the pool we went back upstairs and changed for dinner. We had originally made reservations for the Hotel’s Italian restaurant, Zeppoles, for that night but decided we would go into the small town of Grapevine and see if we couldn’t find a more 4th of July, American type dinner. We ended up at Pappadeaux’s, a cajun restaurant, of all places. It wasn’t exactly ‘all-american’ but it was really good anyway!
FOURTH!
As we drove back into the hotel area the roads were packed with people coming out to see the fireworks. Luckily we got a bit lost and took the road behind the hotel to get there, missing the main drag filled with cars. Mistakes happen for a reason, right? As we went into the lobby Linda and Caitlin decided they wanted to get a drink to bring up to the room. I don’t drink so I just went straight up while they went to the bar in the lobby. When I get upstairs, what should I find but that my new best friends at Celebrity Services (as Linda kept teasing me about) had a bottle of champagne and 3 Creme Brulee desserts waiting for us!
Sweet and Bubbly!
I immediately called the girls downstairs to tell them not to bother with the drinks, but they didn’t answer their phones. I arranged some chairs and placed the champagne and dessert cart near the window from which we would be watching the fireworks. I then waited and waited, continually opening the front door, hoping they would be up soon since I knew the show was about to begin. Finally they showed up, having gone to another bar in the giant atrium in the center of the hotel complex to find a quicker bartender. So much for that idea. Anyway, we popped the champagne right as the first fireworks exploded in the sky.
Bubbles and Sparkles
We not only saw our fireworks perfectly but we could also see at least 9 other fireworks going off in the far distance. See the photo of our view in the daytime above and you can imagine how easy it would be to see them. We turned on the TV and it had a fireworks show with great music on. It was a perfect accompaniment. After the music stopped Caitlin started singing every patriotic song she could think of and Linda and I sang along. Amazingly we knew almost all the words to all the songs! It really was a fantastic night.
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Part Zero (the napkin)
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 9, 2012 | Gaylord Hotel - Grapevine, Travel |
Rules, Rules, Rules
In the fall of 2011 I happened upon a contest put on by the author and business woman, Susan Steinbrecher.
It was being promoted in conjunction with the release of her book ‘Kensho: A Modern Awakening – Instigating Change in an Era of Global Renewal‘.
The contest idea was simple; tell a story of an ‘aha moment’, an awakening, in your life. I was about to tell my Napkin Dad story when I read the fine print in the rules. It appeared to me from my reading of the rules that I would be handing over the copyright to my story if I submitted it and it won. I, of course, was not interested in letting that happen and so I wrote to the contest and told them of my concerns.
A while later I received an email from Susan apologizing for the wording in the rules and explaining they had no desire to own the copyright of any story and had changed the rules to reflect that. I was happy to hear that but I really didn’t hold out much hope I would win since I had sort of been in their face about the rules. But, I submitted it anyway. I put it in the ‘good thing I read the fine print’ category and pretty much forgot about it.
Lo and Behold
I got a call not too long thereafter telling me I had won the grand prize, which was a 3 day 2 night stay at the Gaylord Texan, a huge resort hotel just outside of Dallas, in Grapevine, Texas.
The certificate came along with material from both the hotel and from Susan’s company, Steinbrecher and Associates (a leadership consulting firm) and her 2 bestselling books, the aforementioned ‘Kensho: A Modern Awakening’ and her prior book, ‘Heart-Centered Leadership‘. I realized I was in pretty heady company.
My wife, Linda was very excited about it since it included an hour long massage at their Relache Spa for both of us.
It said we would get to stay in a ‘Presidential Suite’ which sounded cool, and had a free dinner awaiting us at one of their restaurants, Zeppole. All in all it sounded like a great mini-holiday awaited us.
Zeppole Restaurant in the Great Atrium
We thought about when we might want to go but really couldn’t figure out a good time for quite a while. Our daughter, Caitlin, was going to Baylor, south of Dallas, and we drove through Dallas regularly, but exactly when we would find time for a weekend there was murky. Finally the opportunity presented itself when Caitlin finished school and moved to Dallas. We would go there for the fourth of July and she would be able to enjoy it with us!
Fireworks over the hotel
Part Zero (the napkin)
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 5, 2012 | Independence Day, Road Trip, Texas, Travel, Travel Napkins |
On the road, deep in the heart of Texas!
I was awarded a 2 night stay at the Gaylord Texan resort from Steinbrecher and Associates for a story I wrote about the ‘aha moment’ in my life from being the Napkin Dad. Linda, Caitlin and I are here now over Independence Day and enjoying ourselves immensely.
The drawing was done after breakfast. I stayed down at the restaurant while Linda went upstairs to shower. The waitress was kind and thoughtful and I liked that her tag said she was from Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
I will post something longer when I get home but had to get at least one ‘Travelin’ Napkin’ in while I was here!
Here is the drawing after I got home and was able to work on it a bit.
Here is the story of our time at the Gaylord, in four parts.
Part Zero (the napkin)
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 3, 2012 | Betty Friedan, Independence - 2012 |
Yesterday it was about men, today – women. It’s Independence Week at the NDD.
Why, Women?
This could be about men, it’s true. Many men don’t ever hear that voice inside themselves. But it does seem, at least in my American experience, to be especially true of women. But I would like to hear from my female friends, is this true for you? Have you heard that voice? Are you hoping to? How did you know it was from within and not just another voice from without? What did you do about it?
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who hasn’t read the book, but did see the movie.
Quote by Betty Friedan, American author & feminist
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 2, 2012 | Independence - 2012 |
Bound and Released
So many of us are bound to someone else. It can impinge on our freedom and independence at times and we find ways to assert ourselves into the world, saying ‘I can make my own choices, even if they are small ones’. The key is to be aware, finding healthy ways, not destructive ways, to do that. Wanting to wash the dishes without an apron (or even topless) is harmless, Wanting to take the dishes out into the field and do target practice on them while topless, maybe not.
How do you declare your independence in the world?
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who remembers the apron way too late.
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 29, 2012 | Competition - 2012 |
And here is yesterday’s blank napkin with a quote. The quote is from Lou Brock, one of the best base stealers, runners and defensive outfielders in baseball history.
Starting Over
I switched careers when I first moved to Oklahoma. I had been a college art instructor (part time at 3 different colleges) and a restaurant manager. In Oklahoma I became a commercial computer artist helping to create interactive educational software for kids. I started out at the bottom at minimum wage by scanning animation cels that an other artist did. I used Photoshop to clean them up and hand them off to the animator. The artist who drew the original drawings was the top dog in the office. He also used Photoshop exclusively.
Saying Yes to Looking Bad
At one point the producer came to the creative group and said she needed someone to start to learn how to use Macromedia Director, the software that actually animated the individual drawings. The top dog artist, who had first choice, was intimidated by that prospect and said he had no interest in learning it. I, on the other hand, when given the opportunity, jumped at it. I didn’t care if I didn’t know the program. I didn’t care if I was going to probably mess up at times. I didn’t care if the other creative people in the company would laugh at my attempts at animation. What I cared about was learning, growing, getting better, becoming indispensable to the team.
A Cautionary Tale
4 months later we had hired veteran professionals to draw much better animation cels and I was assisting in animating them, using that software. The Top Dog artist had been pretty much shunted off to the side and soon left the company to do roofing in Texas. Within a year and a half I had become both the Producer and the Creative Director of the company. Why did it turn out that way? Because I said yes to a task I KNEW I would look bad in at times.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman
Quote by Lou Brock
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 28, 2012 | Competition - 2012 |
I thought it would be fun to let you contribute a quote, saying or idea. What do you think this drawing is about? It is competition week so it’s about that, but WHAT is the drawing saying to you about competition (or anything else really)?
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What's the Quote?
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 27, 2012 | Art, Competition - 2012, Patti Smith |
Thank God I made it to day #3 of Competition Week at the NDD!
Knowing the Universe
The quote says God, but it doesn’t really matter if you believe in a deity or not for this to be true. The point is that the universe is awesome. It is one big amazing masterpiece. Your job as an artist is to re-‘VIEW’ the universe. You interpret it, not copy it. You learn from it, not teach it. You stay informed by it, not ignorant of it.
Realistic Competition
It takes courage to compete with someone you know is going to win. Imagine being Michael Phelp’s rival over the past 8 years. But the truth is you aren’t competing directly against universe unless you are either so ignorant of the universe that you think you are at the center of it (You’re not, by the way) or you don’t think about it at all. But the best way to create the most fantastic art is to know your world, your universe. Pay attention to the sounds, tastes, smells, images, textures of the universe. Then filter it all through ‘you’ and out will come unique and individual creative work.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who has a talking paintbrush that posed for this drawing. Her name is Penelope.
Quote by Patti Smith, who lusts after Penelope but can’t have her.
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 26, 2012 | Competition - 2012, Napoleon Bonaparte |
I have been competing all morning to get #2 of Competition Week done. Here it is!
When Naked is Good
Naked is good when you are appropriately showing your true self to those whom you want to show yourself to. Being vulnerable, telling who you really are, your struggles, successes, failures, flaws, highlights – those are all in the ‘naked is good’ category and people respond to it. It makes you MORE popular and endearing to your friends, fans, followers, customers, clients, to see a well-rounded version of you.
When Naked is Bad
Naked is bad when you are inappropriately showing your stupidity, desperation, insensitivities, and disrespect. You aren’t choosing to be intentionally vulnerable, you are making a fool of yourself. You are ruining yourself in the eyes of others. You aren’t seeing yourself clearly, otherwise you would never expose yourself the way you are.
Witnessing Naked
Most of the people I know who could possibly be considered my competitors in one field or another are good friends or at least respectful acquaintances. I would be willing to help them to some degree and I know they would do the same for me. But in business if someone is directly competing with me for specific business I am not going to give them my insights as to why a move they might be making is a bad one.
I am not wishing them ill. I am certainly not designing any activity that would purposely make their business more difficult to run. But I am doing all that I can can to make sure I am the better person for the job and that includes leaving them to their own devices. If they succeed, I am happy for them. If they don’t, I am going to take advantage of the void they create.
What about you, what do you think of this idea?
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who doesn’t have many enemies.
Quote by Napoleon Bonaparte, who had a lot of enemies.
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