Today I am so pleased to welcome A.F. Henley to Joyfully Jay. A.F. Henley has come to talk to us about Road Trip. A.F. has also brought along a great tour wide giveaway. Please join me in giving A.F. a big welcome!

Let's Take a Road Trip

Let’s Take a Road Trip

The Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center

On any road trip (vacation/day out/etc.) there’s that ‘one place’ that feels like it’s the pinnacle moment of your trip. It’s not always something you know before you get there—you don’t expect it to be the big event or anything—but it’s that special thing that just ties everything else up into a nice little bundle and adds a big satin bow on top. For Boyd and Oliver in my new novel Road Trip, that spot is the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Tennessee.

It was a friend of mine that brought this resort to my attention and, while the name of the property had me intrigued to all hell, I couldn’t imagine why my two guys might end up there. They’re hardly businessmen or country music enthusiasts. When I researched it however, I knew that Boyd wouldn’t miss a place like that for the life of him. As hard as Boyd might try and make himself seem, the heart that beats inside his chest is one of a true romantic, and his appreciation for natural beauty (even gardens and waters tended by man) is strong.

Let me share with you a few of the things that I found interesting about the property:

  • The resort is owned by Gaylord Hotels, a division of Ryman Hospitality Properties (formerly known as Gaylord Entertainment Company), and operated by Marriott International.
  • It is the largest non-casino hotel in the Continental United States outside of Las Vegas and also ranking as the 29th in the List of largest hotels in the world.
  • The hotel was originally built to support the Grand Ole Opry, a Nashville country music institution, and has an amphitheatre on the property.
  • It has nine acres of indoor gardens, complete with multiple waterfalls, restaurants, Shrek’s house (yes, the ogre), and an indoor river.
  • The resort is maintained at 68 degree (year round) temperature.
  • There are various attractions inside the facility including the Delta Riverboat Tour, the Aqua Fountain Show and the International Waters Fountain Show in the Delta Atrium.
  • The atrium is covered in an area equivalent to seven football fields of glass panels. The glass panels are rated to wind speeds of 140 miles an hour and are able to withstand golf ball sized hail without failure.
  • There is an entire water section wherein jets of water jump from one rock to another.
  • ‘Delta Island’ is a shop area that has boutiques, home decor, and even a necessities store. It is designed with an Italian villa feel, complete with village type storefronts that have balconies overlooking the shops. This entire area is surrounded by water.
  • The atmosphere is so realistic, many visitors say that they forget they’re inside a building.
  • It is completely free for visitors to walk around and enjoy the scenery, regardless of whether they are guests of the resort or not.

Super-quick fun facts… There are:

  • 2,883 guest rooms in hotel
  • 600,000 square feet of meeting space
  • 21 public elevators
  • 105 ice machines
  • 269 coolers and freezers
  • 650 tons of glass in the Delta Atrium
  • 394,474 gallons of water in the Delta River
  • 30,000 plants in the Delta
  • 50,000 plants in the three gardens
  • 280,620 dozen eggs prepared each year
  • 08 million slices of bacon prepared each year
  • 27,056 gallons of orange juice served each year
  • 50,261 gallons of milk served each year
  • 12 miles of walking in a Bellman’s average day
  • 249,600 miles walked by Bellmen per year
  • 76,800 suitcases handled by Bellmen during the busiest month of year (November)
  • 351,196 guests assisted per year
  • 150,000 100-watt light bulbs and electricity generated a year (or enough for 4,313 homes)
  • 10,581 cruises onboard the river tour since 1985
  • 7 million passengers who have travelled aboard the showboat
  • 138,972 miles traveled by the showboat

Check out a video tour that I found on YouTube … http://youtu.be/0JkKLlO6x20

In a place as beautiful and magical as this resort, I have to imagine it would be hard not to fall in love. I know it would be for me. 🙂

Until next time!


Blurb

Road TripFor as long as Boyd can remember, he’s been pushing pins into a map. Carson City, Las Vegas, Albuquerque—all places he wants to see, for a dozen different reasons that wouldn’t mean a thing to anyone else. When he finally gets a chance to purchase the ’69 Road Runner of his dreams, at a price that even he can manage, Boyd jumps at the opportunity.

Oliver seems like just another kid with a broken dream when their paths cross in Vegas. Against Boyd’s better judgment, he offers to let Oliver hitch along for the ride when Oliver confides the need to get out and get gone.

But it’s not long before Boyd realizes Oliver’s reasons for running are more complicated—and more dangerous—than Oliver let on. But Boyd doesn’t like people who play hardball, and he definitely doesn’t like people messing with a man who’s managed to light a fuse that Boyd forgot he had.


Bio

A.F. HenleyHenley was born with a full-blown passion for run-on sentences, a zealous indulgence in all words descriptive, and the endearing tendency to overuse punctuation. Since the early years Henley has been an enthusiastic writer, from the first few I-love-my-dog stories to the current leap into erotica.

A self-professed Google genius, Henley lives for the hours spent digging through the Internet for ‘research purposes’ which, more often than not, lead seven thousand miles away from first intentions but bring Henley to new discoveries and ideas that, once seeded, tend to flourish.

Henley has been proudly working with LT3 since 2012, and has been writing like mad ever since—an indentured servant to the belief that romance and true love can mend the most broken soul. Even when presented in prose.

 

Find more here:


Giveaway

Let's Take a Road Trip PrizesA.F. Henley is offering a tour-wide giveaway.  One winner will receive (1) $20 Gift Certificate to LT3 (1) ‘Chrome’ and Leather Official Road Runner Key Fob (1) Signed, print copy of ‘Road Trip’.  Follow the Rafflecopter link below to enter.

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