I hope this last day of June has been a good one for you. Here's a birthday shout out to my camping and flutie friend Linda down in SC and get-well-soon wishes for my Sistah Judy in TN. See everyone tomorrow!
On Saturday, Becky and I got back into our weekend groove by heading out for lunch and a bit of junkin'. We traveled to a little town we haven't been to before called Rutherfordton, about an hour's drive away. We threw in a scouting trip to a nearby campground on the French Broad River and we had ourselves a fine time! The mural on the side of the Victorian Lace Antique Mall set the right tone for some primo junkin'. I quickly got into pretend picker mode and found item after item that some of my camping peeps and friends might have been interested in. That's always fun and of course along the way, I found things of interest to me too. So what actually made it home with me on Saturday? One silver toast caddy for The Cup, the VA felt pennant for Splash, and the chickie planter for Wendy!
I hope this last day of June has been a good one for you. Here's a birthday shout out to my camping and flutie friend Linda down in SC and get-well-soon wishes for my Sistah Judy in TN. See everyone tomorrow! Several weeks ago, Wendy came home from work talking about succulents. While thumbing through a magazine there, she had seen an interesting article about the easy to grow, simple to maintain little plants. That sent her off on a mission to the Lowes and Home Depot garden centers in search of plants and containers. With her work station set up outside on the patio table, she created several large and small containers featuring her succulents to compliment the one that I have had for years that sits quietly on the kitchen windowsill. Emily is a container designer at The Farm in Orleans, MA. As the article says, she "is a master of eye-catching succulent displays". Do you see what's happening here? This is the article that Wendy read and got her so excited about creating her own little container gardens!
Many many years ago a young friend explained the meaning of life to me. She said simply, "Life is defined by loss and change". I believed her then and I believe her now. Maybe even more so now that I am older. When I was down in Charleston visiting with Kathie last Friday, that tenet played out once again in a very dramatic way. Behind Kathie's house was a beautiful, peaceful swampy pond so prevalent in the Low Country. It had its own unique set of sounds and smells. It was the kind of place that would make you sigh out loud. On January 30. 2010, I took three photos of her pond during a cold winter rain. Even on a day like that, it was a serene place with her little stone Buddha sitting at the water's edge. As I drove through her development, preparing to turn left onto her street, I immediately noticed something quite different, quite dramatic. Gone were the live oaks and cypress trees. Gone were the shadowy swamps. Gone were the sounds of nature. In its place were houses under development and a landscape devoid of nature and life. From her back deck I was able to see the loss and change in person and it broke my heart. Becky lost a huge mature oak in her front yard recently. The very same majestic oak that we ran around when playing scatter on warm summer evenings when we were kids. As a result, her house and Splash under her T@Bport are drenched with scorching afternoon sun. Loss and change.
Yesterday on my Colonial Williamsburg Lovers Facebook page, someone posted a photo of the new paint scheme on one of my favorite houses. The Nicholson Shop used to be a striking colonial red, especially stunning when framed by autumn leaves. It's now beige and nondescript. Loss and change. Thanks for stopping by today for a different sort of Postcard. I hope your losses are few and your changes minimal my friends. Man oh man is my internet slow this morning and I'm not even out on the road in some remote area! I've had to pull out my Verizon MiFi to get a strong enough signal to send out a Postcard this morning. Speaking of being on the road, here are a few more signs I saw along the wayside recently . . . If I had a viable alternative to AT&T internet service, I would sign up in a heartbeat. Thank goodness I have my traveling Verizon MiFi to fall back on. Happy hump day folks . . . see ya tomorrow!
Good Tuesday mornin' to you! I'd like to take you back up to the Mid-Hudson today and give you the 4-1-1 on Otto's Market in Germantown, NY. On Saturday during our recent trip north, Becky and I did some exploring and Otto's Market was on our list of places to stop. Otto’s Market is a small town grocery store carrying an amazing selection of products in a small space. The market has been a part of the community since 1927 and you will find an old-style grocery store that has about anything you’ll want. From the very basics, to the best of natural foods, and an outstanding selection of local and specialty foods. Otto’s Market is the best of both worlds: a hometown, intimate old-time grocery with a supermarket-sized selection. Our timing was impeccable because we walked through the door at 12:30 . . . lunch time! We placed our orders, strolled through the aisles, and waited for a table at the window to open up. Our sandwiches, grilled ham and cheese for me and chicken salad for Bec, were brought to our table and we enjoyed watching a steady stream of shoppers come and go as we ate. We listened in on conversations taking place at the counter and I think we might have been the only foreigners there since everyone else seemed to know each other. Otto's Market is a rarity these days and I'm tickled we got to experience it.
We are headed off to the movies today to see Jersey Boys and as for the rest of the day, it will be what it will be. See ya tomorrow! Mornin' everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and thanks for checking in today to pick up your Postcard. I believe I'll share a half dozen more road signs with you from my recent multi-state trip. Here you go . . . Y'all have a great Monday and I'll see you back here tomorrow!
While Miriam was attending her math conference in Charleston on Friday, I scooted over the connector bridge to James Island for a long overdue visit with my dear friend Kathie. Kathie is a Jersey Girl with a Southern soul. It took about three years for us to get her to leave her northern home and move our way, but once she did, she never looked back. And our lives have been richer because of that move! We went to breakfast down in Folly Beach at a place we lovingly call "The Dog". Formally, it's the Lost Dog Cafe and we first ate there with flutie friends way back in January of 2004. So Kathie and I had breakfast together once again. The Dog Angels were looking over us because I scored a parking place out front and we were seated at a table for two immediately. In the height of summer, that's just unheard of!! I had my usual . . . fruit & yogurt parfait. I dug into it so fast, I forgot to take a photo! See all those framed photographs on the walls? Those are pictures of dogs, hundreds of dogs! It's just another reason this little Folly cafe is so much fun.
Back at Kathie's after breakfast, we talked and talked and talked as if it hasn't been over a year since we've seen each other. That's how it works with a friendship like ours. Next October I'll be camping back at James Island and we'll get to do this all over again! I love you Kathie . . . see ya soon!! Thursday night greetings from . . . . . . . Charlestown, SC. I am down here with Miriam for an overnight. She is attending a state math conference and didn't particularly want to come by herself. So being the traveling sister that I am, I volunteered to keep her company! We pulled out of Fort Mill one-ish and then into the parking lot of the Charleston Marriott about two and a half hours later. Good driving weather, but oh so much traffic on I-77 and I-26. Boy I thought the Hampton that Becky and I enjoyed in PA was plush and swanky, but this place is a notch above that. I was hoping that we would have a view of the harbor and the ballpark, but not. Our plan was four-fold. Check in the room first, catch the shuttle to The Market second, go straight to the Charleston Shoe Co. third, and finally meet my dear friend Kathie for supper at Tommy Condon's at 6:15. The only hitch in our plans, was that Kathie was feeling a bit under the weather with a sore throat and wasn't able to join us. We stopped at our favorite Charleston kitchen store after hopping off the shuttle at Waterfront Park. There were a few items that Miriam was looking for and she found them successfully. From there we strolled through the Market to the shoe store where Miriam scored not one, but two pairs of shoes! As a pre-supper bite to eat, we went to the Peanut Shop for some free samples, just like Becky and I do when in Williamsburg. M ended up getting a small can of my favorite - Chesapeake Bay Snack Mix. It was a quick walk to Tommy Condon's and I was tickled to see that the patio was quite empty and we could grab a table in the corner and watch the Charleston world walk, drive, and trot by. I had my mind set on shrimp and grits but when we saw that the Thursday night special was half price appetizers, we took the unconventional route! First drink of the night for Miss M was a pink Cosmos and then we shared the smoked salmon dip. Yumm-O!! Round two was a Fireflies Tea Martini and homemade pretzels with a Cheddar Ale Spread. Double yumm-O!! My tab came to a whopping $3.87 because I was drinking water. Miriam's was a bit more because of those fancy drinks she was enjoying. Before catching our hotel shuttle, we moseyed back to The Market to get some free praline samples for dessert. One praline set Miriam back three bucks, but I got a bite and that was all I needed. Miriam has the alarm set for 6:00...YIKES. She'll need to find her workshop registration desk and get a quick breakfast before the conference starts at nine. My plans are to drive over to Kathie's and we are going to have breakfast at the Lost Dog Cafe in Folly Beach.
So that's it from Charleston. As soon as the math conference is over at 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon, we hit the road back to Fort Mill. I'll spending the night there and then get back home early Saturday morning. That's the scoop on my mystery trip. Have a good evening everyone!! I've shared with you here before on Postcards how much fun I have snapping photos of signs. I always look forward sending out a Postcard that features the ones I spied along the road. Here are a half dozen of the ones I captured in ten days on the road with Becky . . . I'll continue with another six signs next week because I've got a gypsy trip to make tomorrow and you'll want to hear all about that tomorrow evening. Betcha money you cannot guess where I'm headed in the morning and why!
You know I appreciate your dropping by to pick up a Postcard from the road! See ya tomorrow night from somewhere special. One week ago today, Becky and I were out and about on our westward Route 6 journey. I teased you last Tuesday night with a photo of the Kinzua Bridge Skywalk and promised that I would send you a special Postcard with the backstory. Here you go . . . The 329-acre Kinzua Bridge State Park is in McKean County four miles south of Mt. Jewett, PA and features the remnants of the 2,053-foot railroad bridge (viaduct) that was a National Engineering Landmark. Placement of the viaduct's stone bases began in 1881 while the ironwork and entire bridge were completed in 1882. At that time, the Kinzua Viaduct was the highest railroad viaduct in the world. It was constructed as an alternative to laying an additional eight miles of track over rough terrain along the line leading to McKean County's coal, timber, and oil fields. The bridge stretched across the Kinzua Creek Valley. Later that year, about 100 to 150 men, working ten-hour shifts, completed the job in 105 days. The new steel viaduct had the same measurements, but now weighed 6,706,000 pounds. Freight traffic discontinued in 1959. In 1963, the Governor signed a law that created Kinzua Bridge State Park and the park officially opened in 1970. In 1977, the Viaduct received national recognition when it was placed on the National Register of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks. Beginning in 1987, excursion trains traveled from Kane, PA, through the Allegheny National Forest, stopping on Kinzua Viaduct before returning to its point of origin. In February 2002, engineers decided the structure needed a full-scale inspection and in June, excursion trains were barred from the bridge. As the inspection continued, engineers found that sections of steel were rusted through. In August, the bridge was closed to all traffic, including pedestrians. Engineers determined that high winds could create lateral pressure on the bridge, shifting the center of gravity, increasing the weight on one side. Such an event could send the whole bridge crashing to the bottom of Kinzua Creek Valley. Beginning in February, 2003, repair work began to restore the Viaduct. On Monday, July 21, 2003, at approximately 3:15 p.m., an F1 tornado with wind speeds up to 112 mph struck the side of the bridge. Eleven towers from the center of the bridge were torn from their concrete bases and thrown to the valley floor. The eleven twisted and scattered bridge towers blown over by the tornado remain at the bottom of the valley for visitors to view from the deck railings. Today, park visitors like Becky and I can once again walk a portion of the Kinzua Bridge. Built on six restored, original towers, a pedestrian walkway (skyway) leads to a 225-foot high observation deck that gives a towering view of the surrounding valley. A grand opening of the Skywalk was held on September 15, 2011. A partial glass floor in the deck reveals a breathtaking glimpse into the steel structure of the bridge. I hope you enjoyed your Kinzua Bridge State Park history lesson and if you ever have the opportunity to make a visit in person, by all means stop there!
I'll see you tomorrow with another Postcard . . . ta ta! |
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