Ye old Mission Inn in Riverside, CA (an hour
east of Los Angeles) twinkling with over 3.5 million
lights for the extended holiday season.  The
hotel is a national historic landmark, built in 1876
in the “mission” architecture style. 
A graceful reindeer bows his head
in the open air courtyard.
Fierce 18 ft. tall nutcrackers guard the entrance.
Good thing – we found out later that Riverside is
a sketchy area, with no less than 86 gangs and an
average of 20 homicides a year.   The immediate
area around the hotel was charming, though.
Fairy tale horse drawn carriages looping around
the block add an old world feel to the place.

Kissing under the mistletoe!
This looks so Hollywood!  Famous guests have included
US Presidents from Harrison to Bush, Susan B. Anthony,
 Harry Houdini, Albert Einstein, Clark Gable, Bob Hope,
 Barbra Streisand, and hundreds more.  Richard and Pat Nixon
 were married in the chapel here, and Ron and Nancy Reagan
 thought it was a swell place for a romantic honeymoon.