The NAVC - The Gaylord Palms

A large part of the North American Veterinary Conference was held at the Gaylord Palms hotel. This is a pretty swanky place, and a little country mouse like me was easily overwhelmed by its opulence. Here is a shot of the exterior facade (taken from the flag pole):


And here is a view from the front of the Palms, looking back at where I had been. On my walk from the drive to the front door, I saw my first warbler of 2008 - a Palm Warbler. Very appropriate.


This dolphin statue filled the space between the first floor and the mezzanine as you walked from the convention rooms towards the hotel.


This was on the ceiling in one of the convention rooms. At first, I thought it was a light fixture, but I never saw it lit up. I guess it was just decorative.


Even the bathrooms at the Palms were snazzy. Each stall I was in had this lighted icon on the back wall.


While I was visiting one of the well-appointment ladies' loos, I happened across a harried employee making her rounds. I complimented her on her work - keeping three large public restrooms neat and clean when there are thousands of women using them all day long has to be a tough job. It's nice to be nice - say "Thanks" when you see people doing a thankless task.

The area between the convention center and the hotel is filled with a sort of indoor courtyard.


The inner hotel rooms look down onto this public square. Around the perimeter were bars and shops -


In the middle was this naturalized area, complete with waterfalls, trees and other plants, including orchids.

Oh, yes. And alligators.