Almost 100 Years
Almost 100 Years My father drives a silver 2004 Corvette. He recently passed his driving test and was certified by the State of California to drive for another five years. He just celebrated his 90th birthday at the Grant Hotel.
Over the last one hundred years a lot has happened to everyone and everything and both have changed . My father is not a hotel but let me try to show you the connections between the life of my father and the best hotel in San Diego.
At the start they were separated, one in San Diego and one in Chicago but both were obviously well constructed and are still with us today. Both have received periodic maintenance, upgrades, and improvements which have kept them in front of the crowd and they both show the benefits of experience.
Despite their separation early in life, I'm sure the Grant and my father have converged in their opinion that the US Grant Hotel is the finest hotel in San Diego and no one is going to convince them otherwise. Some things it turns out do not change. Consequently Dad chose the Grant for his birthday celebration. In his words " You should see this place, they spent millions, it's just fantastic." I think that impression is common and the whole family shared it when we arrived at the hotel.
Dad reserved the private dinning room for his birthday dinner. When we gathered in the Grant Grill lounge for drinks our waiter spent a few moments with my oldest brother discussing the wines. This guy knew everything. We all enjoyed our wine then glided from the lounge to the dinning room. In the process our waiter asked us to leave our drinks, he would move them to the table. Each glass appeared perfectly at each seat, no mistakes, party of ten. Wow I thought, this guy is the best waiter I've ever had. This theme of perfection did not stop. Dinner was excellent. We passed through the evening in a balance of privacy and service.
Happy Birthday and other songs were sung, some in chorus, some solo, mostly on key. The party was completed and the parking valet brought the Corvette to my father. As he was getting into the car we explained to the valets about his age. They all applauded, Dad revved the engine and drove away.
The story doesn't end here for Dad or the Grant Hotel, after almost 100 years.
Over the last one hundred years a lot has happened to everyone and everything and both have changed . My father is not a hotel but let me try to show you the connections between the life of my father and the best hotel in San Diego.
At the start they were separated, one in San Diego and one in Chicago but both were obviously well constructed and are still with us today. Both have received periodic maintenance, upgrades, and improvements which have kept them in front of the crowd and they both show the benefits of experience.
Despite their separation early in life, I'm sure the Grant and my father have converged in their opinion that the US Grant Hotel is the finest hotel in San Diego and no one is going to convince them otherwise. Some things it turns out do not change. Consequently Dad chose the Grant for his birthday celebration. In his words " You should see this place, they spent millions, it's just fantastic." I think that impression is common and the whole family shared it when we arrived at the hotel.
Dad reserved the private dinning room for his birthday dinner. When we gathered in the Grant Grill lounge for drinks our waiter spent a few moments with my oldest brother discussing the wines. This guy knew everything. We all enjoyed our wine then glided from the lounge to the dinning room. In the process our waiter asked us to leave our drinks, he would move them to the table. Each glass appeared perfectly at each seat, no mistakes, party of ten. Wow I thought, this guy is the best waiter I've ever had. This theme of perfection did not stop. Dinner was excellent. We passed through the evening in a balance of privacy and service.
Happy Birthday and other songs were sung, some in chorus, some solo, mostly on key. The party was completed and the parking valet brought the Corvette to my father. As he was getting into the car we explained to the valets about his age. They all applauded, Dad revved the engine and drove away.
The story doesn't end here for Dad or the Grant Hotel, after almost 100 years.
