Santa paid a visit to the Benezette Hotel last Saturday night.  All the kids got to spend some quality time with the big guy.  When asked if they'd been naughty or nice, the kids, with very sincere faces, all stated unequivocally that they'd been nice. After the kids went home to bed, we hosted a Christmas Party to express our appreciation to the community and our customers for welcoming us to town and supporting our efforts to make the Hotel a great place to grab a bite to eat, to enjoy a beverage with friends, and to swap stories.  Several dozen patrons, as well as our staff, joined us in the celebration.  As usual, the food was great and the folks were fun!

The Benezette Hotel has been a landmark in this small town in Elk County, Pennsylvania for more than a century.  A popular stop for deer hunters, trout fishermen, and elk watchers, the hotel offers an extensive menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Opens at 7 a.m. on weekends; 11 a.m. on weekdays.

While most people were preparing for Halloween last week, an assortment of women from three generations of our family got together for a very important annual task -- we produced the first batch of Christmas cookies. We converged at my sister's place in Benezette, PA.  My mom and niece traveled the 20 miles from St. Marys, and my sister from Ohio brought me from my home in Williamsburg.  The weather cooperated by sprinkling a few snowflakes to help set the mood, and our attention to colored sugars and jimmies was occasionally distracted by an elk wandering past a window.