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When I travel — especially on business — I want a place that's easy to get to, easy to check in to, a room that works for me, and a few nice things to make me remember it and want to return. I like a smooth, comfortable surrounding. Although lots of flash or ornate architectural statements are sometimes nice, I want to relax and be able to feel like I can behave like I do at home. The Cupertino Inn in Cupertino, California, gets a 9 out of 10 - definitely worth returning to.

When we arrived at checkin, I had an interesting experience that falls into category of behaving like I do at home. Two of younger staff were trying to properly tie a necktie and they were having trouble with it. So I gave them a hand, as I've done with my sons over years. So if you see a well-tied necktie at Cupertino Inn, it just might be my work.

The location is great. Cupertino Inn is right off Highway 280 at De Anza exit, with an easy return to freeway and everything else in Silicon Valley. The building is visible from freeway and exit. My only problem with arrival was that hotel sign "Cupertino Inn" is a bit small, dimly lit and not on side of building facing freeway. Parking was easy. Access to front desk was a short walk, and check in was about as short as I've ever experienced. The room was also close at hand.

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Every year Outside Magazine runs a feature on top 50 best small towns to live in USA. If they did same survey for Canada, Thunder Bay, Ontario, on western end of Lake Superior, would get my vote for one of top ten best Canadian places to live.

Although Thunder Bay is no longer main grain shipping port for interior hinterlands of Ontario and prairie provinces, world’s largest grain elevators still stand as testament to power of agriculture, with wheat, oats, and barley freighted across Lake Superior by mammoth ships and around world.

Thunder Bay is a relatively new city in Canada, built on namesake of Port Arthur and Port William, merging together as one cosmopolitan unit in 1970s. The city now is a tourism draw and a center for small business and light industry. They even have their own Casino, a charity casino with profits shifted to national government. The Casino offers slots and table games of Blackjack, Caribbean Stud Poker, Let It Ride, Spanish 21, Texas Hold 'Em, and Roulette.

The most historic place to hang your hat while in town is Prince Arthur Hotel, which was originally conceived in a 1908 poker game. While traveling to Winnipeg and back, John James Carrick, mayor of Port Arthur, and Sir William Mackenzie, president of Canadian Northern Railway, together with Sir Donald Mann, were playing poker in Sir William’s and Sir Donald’s private rail car. In small hours of morning J. J. told Sir William that Port Arthur needed a good hotel and that C.N.R. should build one. Without any authority from city council, J.J. added that town had an ideal location for hotel (the existing site overlooking waterfront) and was prepared to turn it over to C.N.R. When Sir William showed an interest J. J. said that hotel would cost about a quarter of a million dollars to build. Sir William agreed.

The following year (after city council had agreed to proposal and passed necessary by-law), construction began on a four story hotel under architectural supervision of Warren and Wetmore of New York City. To quote from Mr. J. D. Matheson of firm, “The probability is that entire exterior of magnificent building will be of Simpson Isle or Isle Royal sandstone.” The hotel was open for travelers on March 14, 1911, and was one of best furnished and appointed hotels on North American continent. The hotel even had hot and cold running water! (Rates were $1.50 without bath and $2.00 with bath per day.) In April 1912, an addition was started and completed in 1914. The hotel cost more than original estimate envisioned by J. J., coming in at about $850,000. The two story rotunda still exists. The original bedrooms were twenty feet long with an outside living room. The first three floors still are decked with original mahogany, with upper floors hewn weathered oak. The original dining room wass approached from rotunda by way of a marble staircase. Now Portside Restaurant is hotel's major dining area.