Ivoryton, Connecticut Day 11 (GA523)

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 RV resort in Palm Desert, California. I’ll depart from here December 19th.

 

 

 

 

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 June 18, 2013…

 

 

 

The motorhome is parked at my son’s home where I’m expected to remain until July 17th visiting with my family.

 

 

Mary has finally returned to her home in California. She has a tentative return-to-me-date of July 16th.

 

 

Yesterday I showed photos of the downtown Village of Ivoryton, Connecticut…the only place so named in the entire world according to this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivoryton

 

 

Ivoryton takes its name from the ivory industry that imported tusks. In the beginning combs, buttons, toothpicks, billiard balls, and other items were made here. Later they moved toward piano keys and eventually also made piano movement. There were two factories…

 

 

 

 

 

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…

 

 

 

 

 

This was the first factory as it appears today…

 

 

 

 

 

This is the second factory as it looks today…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found this photo of how the second factory once was in a visitors guide magazine…

 

 

You can read about the history of the Ivory industry and how it effected this community by clicking this link…
http://www.ivoryton.lioninc.org/ivorytrade.htm

 

 

Enjoying visiting family is another joy of the full-timing lifestyle!

 

 

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Connecticut. 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/

 

 

 

 

 

 

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/2013/06/18/famous-pizza-and-on-to-valley-springs/

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

Forecast for today is light rain and 57 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

 

“Let me recommend the best medicine in the world: a long journey, a mild season, through a pleasant country, in easy stages.” –James Madison

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 -2018

Harlingen, Texas – Day 17

The motorhome is parked at Tropic Winds RV Resort and is scheduled to be here until January 10th.

Yesterday Mary and I took the Bronco the about one mile to the Harlingen Arts and Heritage Museum. It’s an unusual museum because there are five museums at one location. Here’s their website link…
http://www.myharlingen.us/default.aspx?name=museum.home

You can read all about Harlingen, Texas by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlingen,_Texas

The cornerstone of the museums seem to center on Harlingen’s Centennial in 2010. The Arts and Historical Museums were closed because of exhibits rotations. The other three buildings are associated with the city’s creation in the early 1900’s.  The three buildings are the Lon C. Hill Home (first in Harlingen), the early Harlingen Hospital and the Paso Real Stagecoach Inn.

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…

In the main lobby is a piano more than 160 years old…

The Lon C. Hill Home…

The Harlingen Hospital…

The Paso Real Stagecoach Inn…

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/

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

CHRISTMAS CAROLING LOST

The Sonora Elks Lodge I’ve joined has an organ/piano player, Lenny. At our meeting last night he played Christmas Carols while the rest of us sat around and chatted and sipped pre-dinner cocktails.

A few people gathered to sing along, myself, included.

I enjoyed the sing-along, something I hadn’t had an opportunity to do in years. In high school I relished high school choir, the recitals, the camaraderie, the whole process was so enjoyable that when it came to church choir, I would attend two masses each Sunday so I could sing twice. Fellow Elk member, Judy Roberts, (in pink) told me that she recently attended a community Christmas Party where many young people attended. At a community sing, they were lost. It is something they’ve missed along the way and they didn’t know the words or tunes to the most common of Christmas Carols. She sighed, feeling sorry for them. I hadn’t realized that our Christmas Culture is generational. As children, we caroled on the street from house to house with our school teacher leading the way. At our last stop, (my house one year) my mother had hot chocolate ready for our weary voices and a fire to warm cold hands and feet. I  guess we are turning into old fogies and caroling isn’t hep anymore. Their loss is our loss too.

THE MARIGNY DISTRICT OF NEW ORLEANS

One of my favorite places to visit this year was the Marigny District of New Orleans. Its a colorful, heavily gay/lesbian community with great art, friendly people and wonderful food. We spent part of Mardi Gras there, touted as the best part of Mardi Gras by some locals we talked to. Here are some interesting pictures of the area. Where else would you see a bunny eared woman riding her bike around town?
 

If you have old shovels and pitch forks, they make great wall sized outdoor art.

This guy was in a hurry and wouldn’t turn around for me.  His back was to the sun.

Graffiti here is like a sport. The windows of this building are painted over, but its open for business. We never did figure out WHAT business but we are guessing children were not allowed.

Quite a few restaurants have musicians. This guy was quite entertaining and funny, too.

Even the birds seemed unthreatened and friendly.

Phone booths are fair game now that they are unused.

The local bulletin board had literally thousands of staples stuck in the wood.

The owner of this shop occasionally sits out front and chats with passersby. I loved the chair, of course.

A dog lovers door.

An inviting door knocker turned art. I’d love to return to The Marigny.

THE DUGAN HOME OF DECATUR

Charles A. Dugan didn’t set out to be a banker. He fell in love with a banker’s daughter, married her and built her dream house for her. She designed it in 1899, it was finished in 1902. Charles stayed in Decatur, Indiana and became the town banker after his father-in-law had long passed.
The Dugan’s had three daughters, one died of TB quite young and the Dugan’s raised their granddaughter in this house as well.

The third daughter never married and lived in the house until her death in 1967. This lovely old place, uniquely and comfortably designed for its time,  was by then,  run down and in rough shape. Covered with vines, badly in need of paint and restoration, the newly organized Adams County Historical Society wanted to buy it, but didn’t have the money. Somehow, they cobbled things together with the will of their supporters and purchased the beautiful old home for $17,000.  Other bidders backed backed off when they knew the historical society was interested, and this wonderful jewel allows us all to step back through time.

Here is not only the history of the Dugan family, but relics from the Civil War, 69 years of local sports memorabilia, artifacts and equipment from two prominent local doctors, maps, journals, old photos, toys, quilts, books, records, trinkets and furnishings.

Mrs. Dugan loved  built in furnishings, such as this  black satin sideboard buffet with a mirror and leaded glass prism doors. She had built in cupboards and pieces all over the house including the benches in the Cozy Room.

Not pictured is a unique “telephone” room (now converted to a downstairs bathroom)  built when telephones were new.  Folks of the day considered telephone communication to be private.

The “built ins” ,benches, fireplaces, open foyer, stained glass windows, lighted newel posts, chandeliers and oak wood beams lend this house such personality. The house has five bedrooms and a  full usable attic. The attic once had a lead cistern that collected rainwater from the roof.

Only one bedroom has furnishings original to the Dugan Family, but all of it is local and much of it appropriately Victorian. The zither above is so unique, no one knows how to tune it. The Adams County Historical District is looking for a professional who may know how to do that.

I loved this old piano and especially the fancy leg. My favorite room, though, was the Cozy Room that the family enjoyed the most as well. For more pictures, click on the link below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/1579penn/82910DecaturMuseum#