Harlingen, Texas Day 11 (GA352)

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 5,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 23rd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails Lake Minden RV Resort in Nicolaus, California. I’m planning on departing later this morning.

 

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

 

 

In 2011-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

 

 

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

 

 

 

This entry was posted December 30, 2012

 

 

 

 

Mary is at home in California enjoying the holidays with her family. She has made her airline reservations to join me here at Harlingen, Texas on January 3, 2013.

 

 

The motorhome is parked at Tropic Winds RV Resort and is scheduled to be here until January 10th. While I await Mary’s arrival on the 3rd, I’ll be seeing some local attractions, performing repairs and preventative maintenance on both the motorhome and Bronco, plus thoroughly cleaning both vehicles.

 

 

Yesterday I drove the Bronco the about one mile to the Iwo Jima Monument here in Harlingen, Texas. You can read about this monument by clicking this link…
http://www.mma-tx.org/About-Us/The-Campus/Iwo-Jima-Monument/

 

 

 

 

 

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…

 

 

 

 

 

Located on the grounds of the Marine Military Academy, at over 100 feet high, this monument is really impressive. Of the six men raising the flag…only three survived the Battle of Iwo Jima…

 

 

The most famous of the surviving three men was Ira Hayes…a Pima Indian from Arizona immortalized in a song sung by Johnny Cash which you can view by clicking this YouTube video link…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdNV9JX-Xi8

 

 

You can read about Ira Hayes by clicking this Wikipedia informational link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Hayes

 

 

Directly across the street, I also visited the small museum which you can read about by clicking this link…
http://www.mma-tx.org/About-Us/The-Campus/Iwo-Jima-Museum-and-Gift-Shop/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While there, I viewed a 32 minute video about this battle which some have called one of the most savage and costly in all of World War II. The 36-day (Iwo Jima) assault resulted in more than 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead. What a shame that most young people today haven’t a clue of the price paid for their freedom today

 

 

If you have forgotten the details of the battle, you can refresh your memory by clicking this Wikipedia informational link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iwo_Jima

 

 

Enjoying a wide variety of museums is another joy of the full-time RVing lifestyle!

 

 

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Texas. 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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NOW!

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/the-next-wave/

 

 

 

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

 Forecast for today is mostly sunny and 85 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. 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

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

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 would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

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

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2018

TRAIN TO BHARATPUR-DRIVE TO AGRA

We take an early train to Bharatpur. Distances across India are vast. From Bharatpur, another long bumpy ride by bus to our hotel. Tourists travel the distance to see Fort Agra and the Taj Mahal. Transportation is quite reasonable on these trains, but Ranvir tells us we are on an expensive train for upper middle class people.

It has a toilet and food service. That is, snacks and drinks to enjoy in your seat.

 

Sleeper cars cover longer distances with a dining room and other amenities. Economy cars, the general population uses, are bare bones. Mainly because patrons steal the light bulbs, cut off the padded seating, remove any piece of wood or metal they can pry loose, no curtains or shades remain, fixtures of any kind disappear. Even the floors have holes in them where boards have been removed.  While we laugh, Ranvir reminds us that poor people think it is their right to take from the government. He adds that they are beginning to crack down on such things and provide better cars for them. He describes families with a bunch of kids, sacks of food and maybe a live chicken.

A grand hotel with over 2,000 rooms is our reward after a long day of travel. It’s nice to have luxury hotels to stay in, but this one was my least favorite.

Shiny, clean and beautiful, but you walk miles to your room. The restaurants and lobby are sandwiched between the upper and lower residential floors. I have no sense of direction and have to memorize each left or right turn in an ordinary hotel. This one is a huge challenge.

The elevators are inconveniently located and using the marble steps the intuitive way to get to your destination. As new groups come in, hotel staffers position themselves in the hallways to give directions. Apparently, I am not the only one who has problems finding my way around.

But I got my art fix.

I knew I had to pass about 30 paintings and pieces of art before I turned left.

When I saw this painting it was my set of stairs.

And pass the drum, before I found our room.

When I passed the phone, I knew where to turn downstairs to the dining room.

The grounds around the building are just as vast as the hotel itself. Beautiful and green and spacious. I saw only workmen, never anyone from the hotel enjoying it. If I had a week to stay, I wouldn’t need the cues.  I changed money at this hotel and they wouldn’t take small bills like tens or fives. Twenties or a fifty, only. Their limit, $5o a day. Then they gave me mostly small denomination rupees and apologized.  I was a bit discombobulated here as I complain a bit tongue in cheek. And, as always the food is excellent.

We visited Fort Agra before the Taj Mahal, but I’m posting my pictures of the Taj Mahal taken by a professional photographer.

The Taj Mahal is now one of the seven wonders of the world since so many of the ancient wonders of the world are gone, such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Temple of Artemis and the Statue of Zeus  all destroyed. If you click on the links, it will take you to Wikipedia where you can see and learn about these magnificent pieces.  The only ancient wonder of the world to survive is the Pyramid of Giza.

Look at the picture carefully and you can see just how huge this beautiful building is. The people are like little midgets. The Taj was abandoned and deteriorated for many years. Vandals chipped marble and removed tiles from areas. Some places inside have not, and never will be restored. The outside is being fully restored.

It was mobbed when we visited. Wall to wall people, crowding to get inside with lines waiting a turn to get in. It was a crush. The towers were engineered with a slight cant toward the outside of the domed center in case they were to fall and crash, they would not damage the main building. When you stand in front of one tower, it is so perfectly aligned, you cannot see the exact same tower behind it. Twenty thousand workers toiled 22 years to build it. The verses of Holy Koran are inscribed on it.

This  group is single women on the trip. Behind, Diane and myself. Front, Sandy, Ellen, Kathy and Trish. Notice the tiny figures on the Taj veranda. You get a better idea how huge this building is. It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan as a tribute to his wife, Mumtaz Mahal in 1648 A.D. Their remains are encased in flowery decorated Centotaphs hidden from our view by a mesh screen. We could  peek into the darkened room, but could see nothing with clarity. Better to buy the post card.

Our group from left to right: Standing, Hugo, Adam, Kris, Chuck, Pam, Otto, Paul Theo, Carol, Hazel. Seated: Diane, Sandy, Ellen, Kathy, and Me. On the outside of the building, are marble panels, tiles and inlay marble of great craftsmanship. The towers, too, have intricate patterns. And high above, the  inscriptions. A wonder of the world. How did their architects learn to build so well?

Veterans Memorial Museum – Fresno, California

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

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Yesterday I drove the motorhome 123 miles from Bakersfield to Fresno, California.

 

Along the way I stopped at the Veterans Memorial Museum in Fresno…Home of the Legion of Valor. This is the only such museum in the entire United States. I spent an enjoyable 1.5 hours at this unique museum. If you find yourself in the Fresno area, I highly recommend you take the time to visit…you will be happy that you did!

 

You can read all about the Legion of Valor by clicking this link…https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Valor_of_the_United_States_of_America,_Incorporated

 

Here’s the museum website link…http://www.fresnovetsmuseum.com/

 

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 museum was established in 1991…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My guide was Jesse Parela. He is standing next to his photo taken during his tour of duty in Vietnam, 68-69. He was 20 years old at the time…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many of the photos and displays are behind glass which makes photography due to reflections…

 

 

To see the other 30 photos that I took, click the below photo and the slideshow…

Veterans Memorial Museum – Fresno, California

 

 

 

 

After my visit to the museum, I proceeded about five miles north to VFW Post #8900 where I parked for the night…

 

 

 

Here’s the usual dinette window photo…

 

This was just an overnight stop. I’ll depart later this morning.

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

 

Recently I’ve been running blogs about my 2004 Central America trip. While here I’m intending to continue those postings while also alternating with other past blogs.

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

 Yesterday was sunny and 85 degrees. Forecast for today is sunny and 67 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. 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

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

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 would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

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

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2016

Patsy Cline Crash Site Memorial – Camden, Tennessee

The motorhome is currently parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. My current departure date is scheduled for December 1st.

During this time I’ll be attending to my cataract surgery, cleaning, routine maintenance and minor repairs to the motorhome and Bronco in addition to assisting Mary with her activities. None of these items are particularly exciting to write about…so…instead I’ll be showing Picasa Web Albums from our 682 day, 2011-2013 circumnavigation of the United States. It was Mary’s second circumnavigation and the sixth for myself.

Unless we do something unusual, this Blog will feature a photo album from the circumnavigation and will change daily. So come back tomorrow.

To read about today’s photo album location, click this link…http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/14079

CLICK ON THE BELOW PHOTO. ONCE YOU ARRIVE AT THE PHOTO ALBUM, SIMPLY CLICK “SLIDESHOW” AND ENJOY!

Patsy Cline Crash Site Memorial, Camden, Tennessee

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

The cataract surgery on my right eye was successfully accomplished at the VA Hospital in Palo Alto, California on October 9th and I’m in my recovery mode. I have a post-op exam scheduled for October 24th. Also at that time I’ll have a pre-op exam for my left eye. That surgery is scheduled for November 6th.

Yesterday was a sunny day and 71 degrees. Forecast for today is sunny and 74 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather 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 California. 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 would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 500 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

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

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2014

CAUSLAND MEMORIAL PARK ANACORTES

Jim and I have moved on to Monroe, Wa. where we are parked at Thunderbird Thousand Trails on the Skykomish River. But, I’m still blogging Anacortes because it has so many unique features, like this World War I Memorial Park. It is named for Vernon Causland a local vet killed during the war.

War memorials are fairly common things to see as we travel about the country. This is the 2nd one we’ve seen designated a National Heritage Site. It is a beautiful and unique park. The single building, this gazebo type structure is at the front entrance.

The park is fenced on two sides by unique rock walls. This is one corner.

I walked along the side street, fascinated by the detailed work put into this wall.

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The wall undulates, dipping at places and higher at other spots.

It curves into a side entrance.

The walls are unique, but it isn’t the only beautiful aspect of this park.

It has sweeping vistas of tiered grassy seating and about an acre of lawn above this spot with beautiful trees and flowers. A very restful place.

 

I’ll blog no more of Anacortes, but if you want to see the 40 pictures I took of Mitchell’s Murals in a slideshow, click on the link below.

2014-8-15-Anacortes Murals Project

 

 

REWARDS OF BLOGGING.

Keeping in touch is one of the rewards of blogging. Between email, the internet and my blog, I feel I have a lifeline to the greatest community in the world. Information at my fingertips and above all keeping in touch with people. Remember the telephone ad?  Reach out and touch someone? That is what it is like.

I heard from Genvieve Hardy, a Navajo woman we met on the road who invited us to dine with her and educated us about her culture. She weaves, teaches and works hard. I love it when we get a hello from our travels. We met her in 2012 in Arizona.

I blogged Joan Higgins yesterday and up popped Pat Seiferth, a person I dearly care about and because of a computer glitch, we went our separate ways. I’ll explain it in as few words as possible. I received two emails from Pat that had a cryptic note: PLEASE REMOVE ME FROM YOUR MAILING LIST. I was hurt and she denied sending it. The second one came and she denied sending it, as well, as did her husband. Several years later, my daughter told me that some email programs do that when the box is full, or just as a filter in their system, they will send the very message I was sure came From Pat. Mystery solved. By then, Pat had moved out-of-state, address unknown.  My apologies, Pat. I’m smarter now.

And, my good friend Marilyn Pinnow let me know, as she sat among the moving boxes admiring the leaves out her window, that she had moved back to Murphys and asked me to attend a Day Of The Dead Procession that has gained a following in Murphys over the last three years. It is something you see in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil. It is about celebrating the lives of those you love who have passed. Another way of keeping in touch.

My friend, Ron Heinsma, sends me so many emails from so many fields of interest, I look forward to them every day.  This morning I got an email about how to connect with the Viet Nam Memorial Wall in D.C.  If you know someone who died in Viet Nam, it might be of interest to check out the Virtual Wall on the link below:

http://www.virtualwall.org/iStates.htm