North Dartmouth, Massachusetts – Day 7

The motorhome is parked at my cousin Bob’s and his wife Donna’s home at North Dartmouth, Massachusetts. We are planning to depart tomorrow.

Yesterday was a somewhat decent day. With a light cloud cover the high temperature was 79 degrees with 63% humidity. Still too humid for my liking.

Yesterday we drove the Bronco the about five miles to New Bedford. Our first stop was Saint Anthony’s of Padua Church where my mother and father were married in 1938. I wanted Mary to see this beautiful structure built 101 years ago. It’s spire is 256 feet…making it the tallest in New England.

You can read all about this beautiful church by clicking this Wikipedia link… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Anthony_of_Padua_Church_%28New_Bedford,_Massachusetts%29

I really recommend you view these church photos in full screen!

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…

Padua is a city in northern Italy…

Then we drove a couple of miles to downtown New Bedford and went to the New Bedford Art Museum which is rather small and does not allow photography…Boo on them!

In this part of Old New Bedford, a number of cobblestone streets are still in existence…

A couple of blocks away we arrived at the Old Star Store. Once New Bedford’s leading department store for many years, it apparently fell victim to today’s modern malls. My grandmother worked at the Star Store for many years as a saleslady in ladies clothing…

Today the old Star Store houses an extension of UMASS-Dartmouth and has a few old photos and paintings…

We visited New Bedford extensively during our visit here in 2010. You can see those Blog entries in our archives during the summer months. In the mid-1800’s, New Bedford was the most famous city in the world because of its whaling industry. It was known as the City That lit The World. You can read this history on the official government New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park which we visited in 2010… http://www.nps.gov/nebe/index.htm

You can read all about New Bedford by clicking this Wikipedia link… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Bedford,_Massachusetts

Enjoying beautiful old buildings is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

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

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity 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

FAMILY CHRISTMAS

We celebrate Christmas in waves. First comes Christmas Eve with the immediate family. My kids and grandkids. Always fun.

Daughters, Laurie and Kris, chatting over a glass of wine.

An unusual event, sharing new tattoos. Son Ken at 51 surprised all of us with his first tattoo.

Grandson Alec with his first tattoos.  He also has one on a thigh and the backs of his biceps. Hmmm! I’ve been thinking…no, not really.

We had a guest from Northern Italy, an exchange student by the name of Emil, who fit right in. We played a loud game called Pass Phrase, I think that was the name of it. All ages could play. It was loud and raucous.

Dinner was unusual as well, with smoked pheasant that Ken bagged during his recent hunt. Very tasty, replacing the usual turkey or ham or beef.  We had paella, a green salad, butternut squash and spinach souffle.

After dinner, we opened our gifts, which for the adults is an anonymous book draw. Each person buys a book, wraps it without any tags and puts it under the tree. The books are drawn by number allowing you to keep the book you’ve drawn or steal one from another person. Son Doug turned his book into a scavenger hunt, giving clues around the house for whomever chose his package, which was a 13 clue, fun, mystery enjoyed by all.

The grandkids kept company as the younger generation does, with their fingers texting away.

I finally understood that they do communicate with each other and texting isn’t such a dissociative practice.  I saw plenty of interaction besides the texting. It is no different than me talking to someone and taking notes. It was an eye opener for me.

And there was plenty of time for interaction between generations, with Stewart and Austin wrestling. It rained and rained. Kris wanted to take her exchange student to see the snow and big trees. They got turned away at Forest Meadows without chains. Timing is everything.

We celebrate on Christmas Eve. Played cards until the wee hours. Then, the next morning, we set up my computer and  skyped with Virginia and her family who are in Pisciotta, Italy with her husband’s sister who has a four-month old baby.

It was a calm Christmas, quiet. Between downpours, we walked the dogs, five of them,  and  nibbled and gamed the day away. I hope everybody had a happy Christmas.

MADE IN AMERICA

Normally when my son Ken visits, he leaves in a suit and tie. He is transitioning from Nevada to California, and stays with me periodically. This time, he was dressed as a huntsman. He brought 4 smoked pheasant for Christmas dinner and took clients hunting again on Friday. I’m not overly enthused about hunting in this day and age, but the hunt clubs provide birds just like stocking a lake. So, I guess I shouldn’t diss the practice too heavily. Better than depleting wild stocks of duck, pheasant and quail.

 

Anyway, he had wet socks from Thursdays hunt and went to Big 5 to buy another pair. They were identical to his 10-year-old socks he still wears.   A big sign at Big 5 proclaimed, Proudly Made In America. Quality in a pair of socks that will see him through another ten years.

Yesterday, I picked up my wounded Toyota and stopped in Stockton to buy some art supplies, and a few items.  At a Marshall’s store I was surprised to find under garments made in America and socks, made in Italy. There was plenty of goods made in China, as well, but at least I had a choice.

I guess I’ve come to the point where I don’t want to buy anything made in China even though I like and respect the hard-working Chinese people.

I don’t often have a chance to eat Indian food, but at Swagat, I met Misty. She pointed out that Swagat is the best Indian restaurant in Stockton and pointed me to her favorite dishes. All was delicious and such a bargain.

It was nice to get out and away from the rain for a day.

The cook made some of the best tandoori chicken I’ve ever tasted. My own recipe is from a family friend is good, but this was better.

I drove home with the sun setting in my mirror. It was spectacular, but by the time I found a spot to pull over, it was nearly over.

I like it that I can go to nearby Stockton and come home with a bit of India, Italy and Made In America. Don’t we live in a wonderful country?