RV Trip Favorite Photos #303-306
November 13, 2010
Jim says:
While Mary and I are taking care of business here at her home…there is little “new stuff” to Blog about daily. So I’ve decided to share with you some of my favorite photos from our recent 298 day, 16,000+ mile RV trip around the United States.
Since scenery and people snapshot-type photos require little special photography skills…and being limited by the abilities of my digital camera…I none the less took some photos that I really liked. They are presented in no special order of favoritism. If you desire to see more associated photos and information about this area, you will need to find this date in the archive files of this Blog.
Today’s photos were taken at New Bedford, Massachusetts on July 30, 2010……
In other news…
64 degrees, mostly sunny. Shampooed motorhome bedroom carpeting.
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
My three books may be purchased at http://www.lulu.com
Just enter Jim Jaillet in the search box.
RV Trip Favorite Photos #179-187
October 29, 2010
Jim says:
While Mary and I are taking care of business here at her home…there is little “new stuff” to Blog about daily. So I’ve decided to share with you some of my favorite photos from our recent 298 day, 16,000+ mile RV trip around the United States.
Since scenery and people snapshot-type photos require little special photography skills…and being limited by the abilities of my digital camera…I none the less took some photos that I really liked. They are presented in no special order of favoritism.
Today’s photos were taken at the Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts on June 4, 2010……
In other news…
69 degrees and partly cloudy. Scanned an additional 129 of Mary’s old black and white family photos to digital format.
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
My three books may be purchased at http://www.lulu.com
Just enter Jim Jaillet in the search box.
PORTUGUESE TO THE END
August 3, 2010
It was still working, along with the faster, newer boats in my lifetime! That blew me away.
The rich fishing area around New Bedford is what brought Portuguese immigrants here in great numbers over the years. The ship carried small working dories stacked like tea cups on the decks. They baited long lines with many hooks.
They also maintained the ship, hand pumped the bilge, kept her clean, salt dried the cod for the long journey back to Portugal, and made sense out of the dizzying number of lines, and canvas that it takes to brave the relentless heavy seas and winds. In the 1950′s drag nets on motor-powered trawlers made long lines obsolete and the ship went into retirement. William Wikoff Smith bought it and donated it to the Philadelphia Preservation Society, the oldest wooden square-rigger in the U.S. still sailing. The volunteers who maintain her are so proud of this ship. They learn valuable skills and have life changing experiences.
We then attended Sunday’s Festival Parade.
There were bands…
…Dancers…
Jugglers…
Historic old vehicles…
Politicians…
And kids scrambling in the streets for thrown candy. I’m part kid when it comes to a parade.
We are soon to leave New Bedford/Dartmouth and we celebrated with our hosts, Donna and Bob Parker at New Bedford’s Antonios Cafe, a wonderful restaurant with Portuguese food. Seafood Paella for me, broiled scrod for Jim. Donna and Bob shared a pork stew. My paella had a lobster tail, claw and one leg, plus multiple small neck clams, mussels, chicken pieces, shrimp, scallops and beef chunks. And, low prices. We looked around and every dish could serve two, or more, rather than one. The Parkers don’t know how Martha Stewart got wind of this place, but she popped in with her entourage one night, unexpectedly, and crowed about its virtues on her show. The food was marvelous. Shrimp and meat appetizers-ditto. I’m feeling quite spoiled and fat by now, as you can imagine.
The pork stew has roasted potatoes on top. The sangria comes in a water glass. Jim was fulfilled by finally having broiled scrod, something he looks for every time he visits New England.
For a slug of pictures check my album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/1579penn/8110FestaParadeGazelaDiPaola#
Portuguese Feast – New Bedford, Massachusetts – Day 3
August 2, 2010
Jim says…
Yesterday weather-wise was decent. Partly cloudy skies, 81 degrees and moderate humidity. It was also another long and fun-filled day.
First event of the day took us down to the state pier in New Bedford to see the once-upon-a-time Portuguese Cod-Fishing vessel…The Gazela. Gazela is living history…originally built in 1883…she is believed to be the oldest square-rigger in the United States still sailing. She is home-ported in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This photo of Gazela was taken from a photo on the Gazela…
The cook in his galley (navy-speak for kitchen)…
And Mary at the helm (navy-speak for steering wheel)…
Here’s the Gazela’s official website link…
http://www.gazela.org
Here are two other links about Gazela…
http://gazela.org/offerings/
http://my.ojornal.com/news/gazela-new-bedford
Next stop (not associated with the Portuguese Feast) was at Gene’s Famous Seafoods across the river in Fairhaven to indulge, one final time, in a meal of the world’s best Fish & Chips! Mary had the clam chowder.
Then to the final event of the Portuguese Feast (for us)…the parade.
Here Mary anxiously awaits the parade…
Here are four other photos from the parade…
The final stop of the day was at my cousin Mike’s home in East Freetown…
He’s an avid kayaker…
Mary took her first solo drive(?) of a kayak…
Cousin Mike with family and friends…
And finally, a portrait shot of Mike’s Boston Terrier Vinnie who is a boundless ball of energy and kept us amused during our visit.
To see the other 57 photos I took yesterday, click this link…
http://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver/080110#
It was a full and fun day. We arrived back to the motorhome at 9:00 PM.
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2009
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com
Portuguese Feast – New Bedford, Massachusetts – Day 2
August 1, 2010
Jim says:
Weather-wise, yesterday was the nicest day we’ve experienced in quite a while…maybe since we arrived in New England just before Memorial Day. Partly cloudy, 77 degrees, relatively low humidity and a gentle breeze…a most pleasant day!
We arrived at 4:30 PM. First activity of the day was the carne de espeto…meat on a spit…a community BBQ…kinda sorta.
Here’s cousin Bob, a Portuguese Feast veteran of 50 years with his skewer ready to go…
Here’s Mary turning our skewer…
When the meat and veggies are done, you scrape them off the skewer with a stainless steel hook device…
Then you get a large roll and create a sandwich and wash it down with some beer. Mary and I seldom eat red meat anymore…but when in Rome (New Bedford Portuguese Feast), do as the Romans do!
Next activity was the Museum of Madeiran Heritage. The Island of Madeira in Portugal is where many Portuguese originally came from.
A tapestry shows a scene from Madeira…
The Isle of Madeira is famous for its grapes and wine…
The final activity of the day was in the Museum Courtyard Cafe. We arrived early to get a front row table. Ana Vinagre (vinegar in Portuguese) sang many delightful Portuguese songs.
Then we enjoyed a group of about 25 people doing traditional Portuguese song and dance…
To see the other 24 photos I took, click this link…
http://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver/073110#
Here’s the official website link for the Portuguese feast…
http://portuguesefeast.com/
We arrived home at 10:00 PM…another most enjoyable day. Today we will enjoy the final day of the Portuguese Feast.
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2009
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com
Portuguese Feast – New Bedford, Massachusetts – Day 1
July 31, 2010
Jim says:
Another hot and humid day, however by time we left for the Portuguese Feast at 5:00 PM the heat and humidity had diminished somewhat. A nice breeze made for an enjoyable evening weather-wise.
The Portuguese Feast here in New Bedford is also known as the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament and is touted as the being largest Portuguese Feast in the world! This one is the 96th annual.
Being oldies we arrived early and picked out a good spot for our chairs. I suspected food and drink played a major role here. Liquid refreshments and food became our first priority. I had a linguica sandwich and two beers. Mary and Donna managed to sample every food offering to be had. Mary subscribes to the philosophy…bite off more than you can chew, then do it. She sure did a bunch of chewing last night!
As the evening wore on more and more people arrived…the music and dancing began. The Portuguese music and dancing was most enjoyable. We arrived home at 10:00 PM. Gotta get rested up for Day #2 starting this afternoon!
Here’s six photos that I took…
My cousin Bob’s wife Donna getting psyched up for the evening…
Bob and Donna relaxing and enjoying…
Mary biting off more than she can chew…
The Portuguese dancers…
Lots of kids in attendance…
Mary and Donna trying a game of chance…
To see the other 19 photos I took, click this link…
http://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver/073010#
Here’s the official website link for the Portuguese feast…
http://portuguesefeast.com/
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2009
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com
We’re Back In New Bedford, Massachusetts
July 30, 2010
Jim says:
Well actually we’re parked in the backyard of my cousin Bob & Donna in Dartmouth just a few miles from New Bedford. We’re here because of the largest Portuguese Feast in the world. Here’s the official Portuguese Festival website link…
http://www.portuguesefeast.com/
Along the way yesterday we stopped at Marty’s USRV in Berkley, Massachusetts to get our refrigerator burner serviced. My cousin Mike DiPoala works in the parts department there. Here are three photos…
We’ll be here for several days.
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2009
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com
Scanning Complete…
July 3, 2010
Jim says:
Yesterday I completed the scanning of all of the real old photos given to me by my cousin Jackie Nicol. She has lived in New Bedford, Massachusetts for 50+ years. This city has a large French population and is where most of my relatives lived for many years. As a youngster I lived in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, just across the river, from the ages of 4 – 10.
Here are five more photos. In the first one my Grandmother Rose Mann (then Fortin) appears to be about 15 years old. She was born in 1898, so this photo is from about 1913.
I started doing photography in 1974. Last spring while Mary was recuperating from her shoulder surgery, and I had a lot of time on my hands while assisting her, so I transferred nearly 5,000 slides and photographs to digital format. Yesterday I used the rest of the day working with these photos to develop a Jaillet Family Album that runs from the about 1913 to 2010. There’s a total of 391 photos in the album which are contained in folders labeled by the year the photo was taken. I’ve a little more work to do “cleaning up” cropping, etc…and the album will be complete. I’ll then transfer them to an archival quality DVD and give it to my family for their use in the future.
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2009
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com
THE ISLAND COMPARED TO NEW BEDFORD
June 10, 2010
I’m sure this doesn’t surprise anyone that Marthas Vineyard is a playground for the well heeled. We sat in the ferry terminal to be loaded with the trucks and watched as this woman took her horse to line up. Bus after bus load of people loaded onto the ferry. And this is still the off season. We were jammed in the ferry so tightly, Jim had four inches on one side and six on the other while I held my breath sure we were scraping the truck next to us. We couldn’t open the door, (nor could anyone next to us,) to get out and walk around for the 40 minute ride. Makes me shiver at the thought of being trapped in a motor home should something go terribly wrong.
On the island, we drove around and gawked a bit before we got to our campsite. Jim just got the bikes hooked to the back of the Bronco before the rain started. Even so, the difference in this place and New Bedford is starkly apparent. Both have beautiful harbors, but this is play land and New Bedford is a working town. The wealth of nations is always built on the backs of the working man. New Bedford, the wealthiest city in the world at one time, has a history of those men in their Seaman’s Bethel. Here, seaman came to pray before they stepped aboard their boats and kissed their sweethearts goodbye. When they didn’t return, they placed engraved plates in the Bethel to honor and remember them. There were many, many of these to tell the tale.
Meat Pies!
June 9, 2010
Jim says:
Two days ago I shared with you the story of a New England Food Feast. In that post I told how my cousin Bob and his wife Donna surprised me with a gift of a French Meat Pie. In the photo below, it’s the larger of the two pies.
What I didn’t tell you that day was that we also stopped at a friend of theirs by the name of Dave who makes Portuguese Meat Pies. That’s the smaller of the pies in the below photo. We bought four of these pies from Dave.
Meat Pies
On Monday we decided to enjoy a meal of these pies with Bob and Donna. The French Meat Pie was delicious, but we all agreed that the Portuguese Meat Pie had an even better taste because of the spices used by Dave. As a matter of fact, the Portuguese Meat Pie tasted much like the French Meat Pie my mother used to make when I was a child.
The French Meat Pie is a Christmas traditional meal. When I was young, all of the related families would gather at one location on Christmas Eve to see Santa Claus bring all the gifts. All the women made a meat pie…each had their own recipe…so each pie would taste slightly different from the others. My cousin Jeanette told me two days ago that my mother’s pie was the best of them all.
Mary LOVED the meat pies!
Yesterday we departed Bob and Donna’s home after a great visit of several days. We are planning to return to visit with them again for several days in late July to enjoy the annual Portuguese Festival held in New Bedford every year.
Bob & Donna Parker
Thanks Bob and Donna for a great visit. See you again soon!In other news…
Today we will take the motorhome and Bronco on the 40 minute ferry ride to the island of Martha’s Vineyard for a one week stay.
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com
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