POINT PLEASANT RIVER MUSEUM, WEST VIRGINIA

Yesterday, we crossed the bridge from Gallipolis,Ohio to Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Practically under the bridge is a complex of State Land devoted to a fort, a War of 1812 memorial and this River Museum.

We don’t see much about the War of 1812. On the grounds is also a mansion, the site of government and all community meetings. You can see it to the left of the monument.

It kind of makes you smile, especially this crooked wall and rustic construction. Originally a tavern, it was the biggest building in the community and to them, it was a mansion. It’s all in the perspective.

The museum is about life on the river in this particular river community of Point Pleasant. The Museum is so full, you need a full day to really see it. And there is a wonderful river walk full of murals, and a fort nearby. Much to see here if you go.

A lot of different types and sizes of river boat models.

The usual artifacts of all things river boat you would expect to see.

You can play this calliope, they even give you the number guide to play country roads.

Ten whistles, but the music was loud and harsh to my ear. I think it needed the river atmosphere to sound right.

The river is life. Boats like this are called shanty boats where people lived. They couldn’t afford to buy land and build a house.

Who snapped the picture? You learn nothing about the family but what you can discern from a random photo.

The boats were owned by the captains of industry, but this captain, Tom Reynolds was a stern wheeler driver. He loved his job and he was known to sit in a chair and steer with his feet in an area where the river was stable.

The Sprague was called Big Momma. She could pull 56 loaded barges in a line.

Men who worked the boats gathered for a picture. They probably never would have had their picture taken in their whole life except for an arranged gathering like this.

All river towns face flooding at some point or another and Point Pleasant had a big one in 1903.

Amid hardship,  the theatre owner employed a bit of humor.  The town has since built a huge river wall, but the river wall couldn’t protect them from their very worst disaster that still affects the townspeople today, one of whom we met.

A new bridge in 1928, built in a style never tried before was called the Silver Bridge by the locals. It crossed from Point Pleasant to Gallipolis, Ohio. One horror filled night in 1967, the bridge gave way and toppled into the river, killing 47 people. Five men were rescued from the cold waters and lived to tell the tale.

A video shows the type of attachment that held up the uprights on the bridge.

A hairline crack, after 41 years, snapped and sent the bridge to the bottom in seconds.

All the tons of steel and concrete were nothing in the end. Visible is the rusting old railroad bridge in the back ground that our local fellow told us everyone worried would fall into the river some day.

But it was their bridge that fell. He told us he lived four minutes from the bridge. His wife and her visiting mother had gone shopping and were planning to cross over to a favorite restaurant, but they were tired, the traffic was heavy so they chose a local cafe instead. The lights blinked in the cafe. It was reported all over town the lights everywhere blinked as the bridge toppled. And, of course, the drama is, they would have been on that bridge. He told us of dozens of stories of people who would have gone, were supposed to be on it, and those who felt the shaking and were close enough to back up, or get out of their cars and run to land. Feelings were so raw, their loss so great, no one talked about it for years. They finally put up a memorial in the 1990s, if my memory is correct.

I particularly enjoyed a story about vaudeville and entertainment that made riding the boats up and down the river one of those glorious experiences.

One family, the Bryants worked vaudeville/melodrama aboard the paddle wheel steamers. Josephine, on top of the piano, married into the family and was a born entertainer.  You had to have a villain to boo, a heroine to save and a hero. The audiences didn’t tolerate intermissions. And if the show was short of two hours, they felt cheated and let you know it.

Billy Bryant was known for his wicked antics, he’d dance and hop all over and became an acrobatic thespian, much loved by audiences.

The Bryant family, as it grew, spent most of their lives aboard the boats. Sam and Violet, back center in the photo, came here from England. He had a traveling medicine show where he sold kerosene and red peppers made into a liniment. They got jobs working the Water Queen and decided they needed a boat of their own, which they did accomplish by 1907.

They sold cigarettes, candy and snacks, much like the nightclubs of Hollywood and New York while they sang and danced up and down the rivers. Such a life.

Jim and I walked the River Walk, and enjoyed the murals, some pastoral scenes of Virginia.

Others of a political nature.

And all within view of the gorgeous, cooling  Ohio River.  (And that rusting old railroad bridge still standing.)

Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the about 65 miles from Ashland, Kentucky to Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Most of the drive occurred on Ohio State Highway 7 that had very light traffic and for the most part ran alongside the Ohio River.

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Leaving Ashland we crossed the Ohio River on this blue bridge into Ohio. The green bridge on the left carries the traffic from Ohio into Kentucky…

On Highway 7 with the Ohio River on our right…

From Gallipolis, Ohio we crossed the Ohio River on the Silver Memorial Bridge…

which replaced the Silver Bridge…

which collapsed in 1967 killing 47 people due to a failure of these components…

You can learn all about the Silver Bridge collapse by clicking this YouTube link…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpGVP5yU6c8

Point Pleasant is at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers. The below Google Earth image shows the area. X marks our camping spot at Krodel Park and M the Point Pleasant River Museum which we visited. The Silver Memorial Bridge is lower left…

Here’s a 180 degree panorama view of the Ohio River looking across at Ohio. The Silver Memorial Bridge is on the far left…

Here are some of the photos that I took at the Point Pleasant River Museum which, by the way, was excellent…

The below two photos are of live fish swimming in a large aquarium containing fish that came from the Ohio River…

After the museum we looked at the large murals painted on the flood wall…

Looking south down the Ohio River with the Silver Memorial Bridge in the distance…

Downtown Point Pleasant…

A view from the past…

After our Visit I drove the motorhome the about two miles to Kordel Park, a Point Pleasant city owned park where we parked for the night while it rained hard for the remained of the day…

Here’s the usual dinette window photo…

To see the other 53 photos that I took you need to click this Picasa Web Album link which is best viewed in full screen mode…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/PointPleasantWestVirginia

You can read all about Point Pleasant by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Pleasant,_West_Virginia

We will move along later this morning.

Enjoying interesting museums is another joy of the full-timing lifestyle!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of West Virginia. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

San Angelo, Texas – Day 4

Mary remains at home in California tending to medical issues. She had successful carotid artery surgery on Wednesday, returned home yesterday and is in the process of recuperation.

The motorhome is parked at VFW Post #1815. I expect to depart the next day or two.

Concho Street was the first street in San Angelo, Texas. I wandered the neighborhood a couple of days ago experiencing what San Angelo calls…A Step Back In Time…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

The most noticeable building is the very large Eggemeyer’s general Store…

Directly across the street is Miss Hattie’s Cafe & Saloon…

Also in the neighborhood are a number of large murals depicting some of the city’s history…

This final mural honors Elmer Kelton, a famous author of western novels lived in San Angelo until his death at age 83 in 2009…

Enjoying old historic places is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

CHEVY ON A STICK

We are wrapping up our trip to Albuquerque, filled and dumped, did laundry and scrubbed up the motorhome yesterday.  Today we move to Acoma, New Mexico. It has been a nice visit here and I often grab “drive-bys”,  photos of something I see along the road, or sidewalk,  just curiosities, or something that gives the flavor of a place.  I must have taken seven  pictures of this sculpture on an incredibly busy intersection before getting a couple you can actually see  from front to back.

Jim found a website about it. It has been voted “Best of Burque”  several times. Locals  love this Icon and named it Chevy on a Stick.  The story is, during a highway widening, the city that loves tile,  built this thing at great expense and the naysayers objected to it. It is here to stay.

A huge band of colorful tile work decorates the ABQ Convention center. Much of the front entrance and some around a side entrance. Taking photos from a moving car is chancy, but I got a couple of decent shots.

The tile work isn’t limited to city projects.  Many businesses have their buildings decorated with murals and tile works.

I enjoyed that aspect of ABQ very much. When you visit, remember to take a drive  around town just to see the tile work.

And if you are going to close your business with gates, why not make them beautiful? This is just one panel of a gate across a business front.

If you want donations for a food bank, or something important,  a casual way to attract money makes it easy. People don’t often know where to go to give to the food bank.

Jim engaged this “living sign” on a very hot day. She was sticking to the shade. We sincerely thought a person could die of the heat inside one of these costumes. She let us look and it is mesh and quite open on the side. She was dressed in shorts and a halter; still hot, though. We suggested she get a personal fan.

I don’t know why I took a picture is this girl. I asked her first. She looked so forlorn as though she didn’t belong anywhere. 

Until I got a point and shoot camera, I never regarded a camera as a frivolous toy. What fun!

 

 

 

Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico

The motorhome is still parked at the VFW Post #401 here in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Since it was a weekend, we decided to explore downtown Albuquerque. We took the Bronco and parked it on Central Avenue which is also the famous Route 66…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

First off, Mary wanted to see the Kimo Theater which opened in 1927…

The name Kimo is actually a combination of two Tewa Indian words literally translated as “mountain lion”, but more liberally as”King of its Kind“. A recent beautiful restoration was completed in 2000 and it is now on the National Register of Historical Places. You can read all about the Kimo Theater by clicking this link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KiMo_Theater

The theater didn’t open until 11:00 AM, so we explored the outside…

Mary wanted to buy some Indian jewelery, so we went one-half block to Skip Maisel’s store….

This place has quite the collection of Native American items. You can read all about this place by clicking this link…
http://skip-maisels.com/

Then back to the Kimo to see the interior…

Then back outside to see some of the murals on the sides of buildings…

To see the other 33 photos that I took, click this link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/DowntownAlbuquerqueNewMexico

Then, because it was Cinco de Mayo, in the evening we went to the Spanish Heritage Center to see a performance of Nocho de Oro…Night of Gold. In brief, it was a 2.5 hour presentation of the Native American, Spanish and Mexican history of New Mexico in song, music and dance.

To read about the superb performance that we saw, click this link…
http://www.itsatrip.org/events/details/cinco-de-mayo-celebration-noche-de-oro-19309/

With lots of moving by the performers and dim lighting…I decided to take the night off from doing photography and enjoy the performance…which was great!

I did however take a photo of the lobby during intermission…

and a photo of the performers taking their final bows…

and a photo of the cover of the program…

All in all, a full day…and here we go once again…today.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

WE DON’T MELT.

Rain is part of the forecast for two more days. My oldest sister visits from Sonoma, and we decided not to let the rain discourage us when it is badly needed by the plants we cherish and depend upon.

Living in a tourist town, I go about my business and don’t become a tourist until someone visits. Something I hadn’t noticed until yesterday?  New murals, cleverly covering the wall in front of Murphys Grille where people eat outside. Flirty feet.

In fact, the feet are what you would be seeing if the wall wasn’t there.

Clever and fun; a little wink of whimsical art in my own town. Makes me think about how un-quaint Murphys used to be. But, I won’t go there. We had lunch at Cactus Jacks. For a truly delicious sandwich, chicken pesto on foccacia bread with Cactus Jack’s special salsa which contains cactus in the mix, you can’t go wrong.

We peeked into shops and between raindrops, I caught some pretty faces, kind of wishing I’d planted pansies at home.

Changing lifestyles doesn’t allow much time for gardening. I’ll enjoy other’s gardens instead.

Later, brother Will braved hail and rain to share a light supper with us. A nicoise salad and a bowl of soup.

My taxes finished; a nice relaxing day. None of us melted. April rain brings May flowers. I hope the same is true of New Mexico where I”m headed later this month, back to the Motor Home.

A PERFECT HOUSE AND HARBOR-FORT BRAGG

Maybe it was the weather. Sunny and fair, walking around Fort Bragg on Friday, what a happy circumstance.  Then a most perfect house caught my eye. There was just something…perfect about it.  Perhaps the manicured bushes and lawn.Or the perfect stained glass windows. I snapped a picture and the sign revealed it as The Guest House Museum.

 I couldn’t put my finger on it, but inside it was as comfortable as an old shoe. The 1892 Victorian was built for C.R.Johnson of the Union Lumber Company. A well crafted beauty built of 67,000 board feet of old growth redwood and Douglas fir. One room is devoted to a history of the family and the lumbering business. From old timers like these:To a modern Paul Bunyan.

Kind-to-the-feet hardwood floors, carved moldings, high ceilings, some antique furnishings and rugs. No matter your rank and wealth, nothing  wasted. Rag rugs made from saved fabric pieces; old clothes torn in lengths. Rugs on the floor hand braided or made on a solid redwood, 100 year-old loom.  Rag rugs are made the same way today on a factory scale.

This house was comfortable, I think, because of great windows,  rooms flooded with light and rich, warm wood. Well worth a visit if you go, for a small donation. Staffed by volunteers.

Most of the morning we spent at Noyo Harbor, a fetching place to take pictures on a gorgeous day.

A gull kind of posed for me.

Most of the fishing boats were out for the day leaving us an uncrowded view of those left.

Boat owners like clever, catchy names.

It is a working dock with more pleasure boating and fishing excursions than in former days.

A row of unused big ship tie-downs bring to mind the port did a big  freight business in the past.

A derelict; somebody’s dream just waiting.

We walked to the jetty and the inlet where part of the movie, The Russians Are Coming was filmed. Jim likes to follow movie locations and then re-watch the movie. I’m not much of a  fan.

I  came to this area in the late 1950′s as a competitive skin diver. I remember swimming through a forest of this  type of kelp. It  grows on long “tree trunks”  rooted 25 to 30 feet down to the bottom and blooming at the top.  Big, thick,  red colored abalone were plentiful in these waters;  a wolf eel  in every hole in the rocks.  Abalone shells that come up now are practically flat.  The red abs have been over fished and signs at the beach give warning about their endangered status.

Piles of kelp lay rotting on the sand. Happily, scientists are finding use for it as a biofuel. Chances are they’ll decimate the kelp and then find out what purpose it really served as a form of beach garbage.

We poked around town; nice shops and services; restaurants; an independent book store. I happened on this beautiful sculpture  in a charming square. Whale watching during migration is a popular activity out of Noyo Harbor.

The old water tender stands among the weeds, but the popular Skunk Train makes use of practically abandoned train tracks. A huge nearby mural engaged my interest because the people in it were obviously painted from real people.

You can click on these photos to enlarge them. Before the day ended, we walked out on the famous Glass Beach. I say famous because I think every 5th grade science class from California schools visits Glass beach. Someday, I expect all the glass will be gone. The glass is from years of throwing garbage in the ocean. The glass bottles would wash up and break against the rocks and become beautifully smoothed and polished by the waves and rocks.

The river meets the ocean at this spot;  glass chips small, but plentiful glimmered in the sun. A fun day. I took 70 photos if you’d like to see more of them:

https://picasaweb.google.com/106530979158681190260/2011107FortBragg

LONG BEACH GARAGE SALE

Long Beach, Washington claims to be the longest beach in the world. Looking at Chile, one has to wonder, but who cares?

One thing about this beach, as far as you can see in either direction, the only “development”  is this dual set of condos, nice!

It was sweater and jacket weather, yet some brave souls got  right in and played in  the water.

The Chamber of Commerce hires a horse and wagon to haul people from sale to sale since most places hosting a sale lack ample  parking.

At this place cell phone chargers and cell phones?  There must have been 300 of them. Two brand new phones in boxes for $5 each. We looked but they aren’t old enough for us. We want to buy an older type phone that has an external port to plug in an amplifier, just to have a spare. Invaluable for our needs on the road.

This woman told me she caught a fish 5 feet 1 inch long. It happened 20 years ago, but she can still thrill to her one great catch.

Long Beach has a number of nicely painted murals around town. This sign gave me a chuckle.

A portion of the rest of the mural.

Cranberries, another local industry, working hard in this mural.

Town was full of people having fun. Renting tricycles and quadricycles  that hold the whole family of four plus a baby, and pedaling around town. There are amusement rides and pee wee golf; shopping, good eats, frisbee and kite flying on the beach. We curled in during the cold morning and  finished books we were reading.  Decent weather lured us back to town and we weren’t disappointed. Didn’t find that cast iron pan, but it was fun looking. Found a 50 cent video and took it home to watch after dinner.

LITTLE ITALY FESTIVAL DAY 2

I had to go back to the festival just to try more of the food. People turned out in numbers to watch or participate in the grape stomp. The barrels were mobbed with camera  wielding watchers.

Once you get out of the juicy, sticky stuff, a barrel of plain water allows you to rinse your feet.

A Japanese tourist got enticed to participate by one of the dancers. The M.C. continually announces to the crowd and has fun with the participants.

Three inch thick barbequed pork chops caused me to drool a bit. The shish-ke-bob, bag tacos, corn dogs and brats, all delicious carnival fare I’ve tasted before. I was looking for the unusual and I found it. Deep fried desserts.

Two stands sold deep fried Twinkies and Oreos. This one went the whole gambit with MilkyWays and Snickers, too. I hung around the stand for awhile waiting for someone to order one so I could see what it looks like and get an opinion of what it tastes like. The customers ordered everything else but the deep fried desserts, so I chickened out and passed on by. I’m not a sweets lover by nature, but now that morning is here, I’m regretting it. I will ever be curious.

Kettlecorn  is sweet and not to my taste but I enjoyed watching this guy make huge vats of the stuff. Eventually, I settled on an Italian sausage covered with onions and green peppers. Should have been good but the Midwest doesn’t spice things up and it was mild and just okay. Then I asked the locals what is the best stuff at the festival. I heard from two different people that the Italian Wedding Cake is a must. And, from a specific stand at that. The cakes sell for $30, but this stand sold by the slice or cupcake. Cake is something I usually pass, but I took the cupcake. It’s more like a pound cake, richer, heavier in texture, with nuts and flavorings that made it quite different. If you love cake, you would probably love the Italian Wedding Cake.

The Coal Town and Rail Road Museum were open during the festival and we visited these two small museums housed in the old Railroad Depot. We viewed a film down inside a coal mine with mules and workers showing how it was done. Gritty, hard work for the young. Two men, in this film, loaded 45 tons of coal in one day by hand with a shovel. The old song, 16 Tons came to mind, the amount expected of one man per shift.

The rail half of the museum had a video showing of personal interviews with former rail workers. The times were filled with difficult physical work. We complain about our wheeled suitcases, hustling them through check-in at the airport. I’d hate to have to tote the trunks above or the old heavy leather suitcases.

On the south side of town, the Italian Wine Garden is the focal point of the festival. Under a huge canopy of grape vine covered garden, neighbor meets neighbor in a homecoming; returning to Clinton to once again get together with friends and neighbors and family. People socialize over wine and beer and enjoy the music and revelry at the wine garden. After 6:00, no children are allowed and a small cover charge helps pay for the bands. This band from Ohio was just setting up and played nostalgic oldies, Dino, Sinatra, Mario Lanza  and some great Italian music.

An old Italian store and  small wine museum are in front of the garden with great old wine presses and musical instruments.

There is no longer a winery in Clinton, but traditionally, Italians make their own wine for home use. During  the festival, participants can learn how to make wine.

I wanted to buy something just to see the clerk operate this old cash register. Jim spent most of the day hanging out at the VFW and Eagles Club, socializing with fraternal buddies.

For more pictures click on the link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/1579penn/9610LittleItalyFest2#