Old New Jersey, Part 1

Concerning the American State of New Jersey, this map caption probably holds true today, as when Mr. E. John Long wrote it in 1933, "New Jersey is the traffic center of the east.  Although it is one of our smaller states, ranking 45th in area. . . and is crossed annually by millions on their way to New York or to the State's own mammoth beach resorts," New Jersey Now, National Geographic Magazine, May, 1933, p. 521.  Mr. Long compares the boardwalk at Atlantic City, New Jersey, to the grandeurs of a country fair.

"Atlantic City, with its variety and contrasts, is but one of New Jersey's many facets.  If variety be the spice of life, New Jersey is a highly seasoned State," (p. 524).  It is good for me to read this.  ALL I know of New Jersey is I-95 and the Jersey Turnpike!

It is always interesting to know how an area gets its name.  "At first New Jersey had no name.  It was lumped with New York and part of New England by the Dutch under the title of New Netherlands.  Later it was known as "Nova Caesarea," and finally as "New Jersey," in honor of Sir George Carteret, one of its first proprietors, who had formerly been a governor of the Channel island of Jersey," (p. 527).

With 120 miles of seashore, the state is dominated by water, "The map shows the State almost surrounded by water.  In fact, the proportion of water boundary is greater in New Jersey than in any other State," (p. 527).

Although New Jersey was sighted in the 1500's, it was settled somewhat later.  The New Jersey town of Shrewsbury "was settled in 1664 by emigrants from the State of Connecticut," (p. 534).

Ah, in 1933, it was still a time of working lighthouses whose lights were manned!  The 8-page section of color photographs shows shows stately Barnegat Light, "especially valuable to small craft entering Barnegat Inlet," (p. 535).  It was built in 1858 with its upper half painted red and the lower half painted white.  Today, all U.S. lighthouses in use have been automated by the U.S. Coast Guard and only one is manned.

Do you remember your U.S. History when Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr dueled?  It happened in 1804 in Weehawken, New Jersey, over political disputes.  Hamilton was mortally wounded.  Across from the dueling grounds is the Empire State Building in New York City. Another historical site close to Trenton, New Jersey, is commemorated by a park on the Delaware River where George Washington and his Continental Army crossed from Pennsylvania on Christmas Night, 1776.  As you can imagine, New Jersey abounds in Revolutionary War sites.

Here's a town I might like to visit: "Cape May City is one of the oldest seashore resorts in the United States.  Advertisements describing its beach, horseback riding, and tavern appeared in Philadelphia newspapers as early as 1776 and it was popular after the Revolution," (p. 546).

In 1933, New Jersey led the nation in the production of bathroom sinks and other clay sanitary products.  There was a large shipbuilding industry.

There were very large cranberry bogs.  I learned from this article why the cranberry bogs are flooded.  "Flooding is employed only to kill certain insects and to protect the cranberry plants from severe cold,"  (p. 543).  Although it was the second producer of cranberries nationwide, New Jersey was responsible for 95% of the nation's blueberry crops.  Southern New Jersey boasted of numerous produce farms and canneries.  "In Camden originated the idea of concentrated or condensed soups, saving almost half the previous cost in canning, labeling, packing, storage, and shipping," (p. 551).   Poultry was also a major agricultural product.  On the coast, as expected, commercial fishing flourished as did formerly a whaling operation.

For the next blog entry, we will leave the agricultural/food industry and venture into other industries in the New Jersey of 1933.

Gold Fever!

The page before author Frederick Simpich's article, Men and Gold, in the April, 1933, issue of National Geographic Magazine, displays a full-page black-and-white photo of a diver in a suit wearing a big helmet being hoisted on a chain from the sea.  "Like some strange white sea monster, a diver ascends from the wreck of the "Egypt."  This ill-fated British liner, carrying many millions of dollars' worth of bullion, sank in 396 feet of water, off the coast of France, not far from Brest, in 1922," (photo caption, p. 480).  What a wonderful incentive to read the article!

Simpich writes, "Along with religion and his love of family, man's quest for gold and his use of it for money have been the prime forces in civilization.  It has been the lure that has led men to discovery and to conquest," (p. 481).  The author explores the use of gold since Egypt and Biblical times up to the years of the 1930's, when a gold discoveries in Arizona, U.S.A., and in New Guinea were fresh.

"Only about half of the world's gold production since the discovery of America can now be definitely located, says the Director of the United States Mint," (p. 483.)  Simpich analyzes that the rest of the gold is used by industry.  Another interesting conclusion is, "The total sum spent in the quest of gold is estimated to be far more than the worth of all the gold ever mined," (photo caption, p. 493).

FYI:  Which country set up the "gold standard?"  Portugal, in 1747.

FYI:  Scales to weigh gold are "so delicately balanced that they will weight a human hair, or even the amount of lead or ink it takes to write your name!" (photo caption, p. 503).

FYI: "Gold may be beaten so thin that a pile of 1,200 sheets of gold leaf is thinner than a sheet of ordinary writing paper," (p. 508).  Also, "After several hours of pounding, the gold leaf becomes so thin that, if crumbled in the hand, its particles disappear into the pores of the skin," (photo caption, p. 512).

There are many photos of gold mining operations around the world in this article.  The equipment is incredibly large.  In addition to the traditional digging underground to mine for gold, there is a great deal of  "hydraulic" gold mining in which hills are literally washed with water to reveal the gold.  It would appear that all forms of gold mining in that era destroyed all land so involved.

In California, U.S.A., in the 1980's, I toured a played-out gold mining site.  Compared to our Kentucky coal mines, the California gold mine opening was immense! Whereas the railroad to carry miners below was one car wide in Kentucky, in the gold mine, it was nine cars wide.

Recently I looked at the inscription on an old gold wedding band I inherited.  I thought it was my grandmother's ring.  I examined the inscription, "L. H. to M. D.  Jan. 6, 1898."  It was my great-grandmother's wedding ring.  What a treasure!

Perhaps Mr. Simpich is correct in his conclusion: "Exciting tales of rich strikes, of dazzling fortunes exposed by one lucky stroke of the pick, the spirit of adventure and romance that clings to the gold hunter's career, leave man indefatigable in his search."  A very interesting and informative article, this one is!

The Worker Woodpeckers

If you live in a city, like I do, you've probably never seen a Woodpecker bird.  They prefer to live in woods and forests where they can make their homes IN trees. These are the only birds which can peck holes in trees.  They live chiefly on the insects and larvae in tree bark.  Thus, they do us a great service, particularly in orchards.

"No other bird leaves behind such striking evidence of its presence.  A hundred thousand warblers may migrate through a small region. . . when they have gone, little sign of their former presence will be left behind, but a half dozen woodpeckers in the same community will leave very definite evidence. . . numerous holes in dead trees, with here and there an entrance to a nesting cavity," T. Gilbert Pearson, Woodpeckers, Friends of Our Forests,National Geographic Magazine, April 1933, p. 456).

The birds possess specialized equipment for their work: four clawed toes (in most species) to climb trees, stiff tail feathers to brace themselves on the trees, and a long, spiny tongue.  In addition to pecking holes in trees for their homes, one species of woodpeckers, the sapsuckers, drink the sap from many trees from the small holes; this may actually harm or kill the tree. The more than 400 species of woodpeckers are found throughout the world.

Once I saw a woodpecker!  Last summer, when I was visiting my friend, Pam, in her cabin near Lake Cumberland, Kentucky, in the woods, she pointed out a woodpecker on the tree directly behind the cabin.  I looked at it, quickly grabbed my camera, but the bird moved between trees too quickly for me to get a snapshot.  It appeared longer but not as rotund than a common robin.

In this article are eight pages of colored paintings of various woodpecker species.  Nearly all have spots, stripes, or larges areas of red.  They are quite beautiful.

Old Man, Old River

 Once upon a time in the County of Shropshire, England, near the banks of the Severn River, lived a man who died at the astounding age of 152 years. His name was Thomas Parr, and he met his Maker in the year 1635.  He lived during the reign of ten kings and queens; he was buried in Westminster Abbey.  This piece of trivia is part of the long history of a relatively short river (210 miles) in England dating back to pre-Roman settlements in the area.

Frank Wakeman authored The Beauties of the Severn Valley, National Geographic Magazine, April, 1933, and tells many such true tales. Even poet William Shakespeare is linked with a tributary of the Severn River, Warwickshire.  Charles Darwin, proponent of the theory of evolution, hailed from the town of Shrewsbury.

Close to the village of Tong, "The Severn now enters a narrow gorge which Nature made the prettiest in the whole course of the river.  Unfortunately, in her bounty, she made it rich, also, in mineral wealth," (p. 432).  This is Coal Country!  The first large iron bridge, with a single arch of 100 feet, was built over the Severn to access coal from the ironworks at Coalbrookdale. It is still in use (1933) and claims a tribute from us of one half penny from every person crossing it," (p. 432).

Here's an interesting account of how early Christianity came to the British Isles.  "The Romans established Glevum at this important crossing of the Severn. . . in A.D. 43.  A Roman soldier named Pudens married a British Christian named Claudia, and their son was christened Linus.  Afterward they returned to Rome and St. Paul passes on their greetings to Timothy in his epistle of that name," (p. 451).

I love British architecture, history, but especially the friendly people who live there.  Daughter #7, Marie, and I visited England in 2008, to honor my deceased nephew, Justin, on Remembrance Day in November.  We caught one of the efficient British black cabs to the Victoria (train) Station.  From there we had a most pleasant ride through the beautiful countryside to Shrewsbury Station.  A sergeant from the British Army met us at the station.  The main event was the religious ceremony at St. Mary's Church in Market Drayton and town parade honoring all British soldiers killed in the line of duty in any war.  Since Justin had been killed the previous September in Afghanistan as a member of the Irish Regiment of the Royal British Army, his widow, Vilma, put a red poppy wreath on the centaph in the town square.  Then we went to a reception at the nearby Army installation.  Even though the occasion was sad, Marie and I were glad to see family members and meet some of our British cousins.

There was a sea of crosses on the lawn at Westminster Abbey in London to honor ALL soldiers killed in ALL wars.

A large red poppy wreath and more crosses in front of Westminster Abbey in London.  The entire country participate in Remembrance Day.

I would love to re-visit the quaint town of Shrewsbury in the summer.  I imagine it is quite lovely with blooming flowers everywhere!  Market Drayton was equally beautiful and interesting with very narrow streets.  I would seek out castles, old churches and ruins in the Severn Valley.

Another Old South American River City, Part 2

The river city, Asuncion, Paraguay, is the capital city, and the center of controversy regarding the vast land directly to the country's east.  In the 1930's, Paraguay and all its neighbors claimed "The Chaco, with its high native stock grasses and ample water supply. . . a most promising cattle country," Harriet Chalmers Adams, River-Encircled Paraguay, National Geographic Magazine, p. 400.  Our own American President Rutherford B. Hayes, as the arbitrator, determined that the disputed lands belonged to Paraguay.

Meet the Paraguayan cowboy, the chacrero: "Although usually smaller in stature than his cousins, the Argentine gaucho, and the Chilean huaso, he is muscular and hearty, a typical roughrider," (p. 401).

I must repeat, word for word for you, Mrs. Adams' account of the amazing Guarani (native) women.  "Guarani women are most accomplished head-balancers.  At the market I saw a bronze Hebe with a basket on her head filled with five struggling turkeys and a chicken. Under one arm she held a husky youngster; under the other a large bundle of firewood.  At the same time she directed the progress of three children, led a stubborn, heavily laden donkey, and smoked a long, black cigar. . . They never think of carrying anything in their hands," (p. 401)  What a woman!

1930's agricultural products of this land were tobacco, mandarin oranges and other varieties, cotton, yerba tea leaves, tapioca (a thickener used in cooking made from the roots of the plant), and rum.  Extensive hardwood logging was done in the forests.  Rivers other than the great La Plata River are Alto Parana River and the Paraguay River. There is a very large waterfall called "Guaira" on the Alto Parana River which Mrs. Adams compared to the Niagra waterfall.  "Niagra's average flow, above the falls, is estimated at 12,500,000 cubic feet a minute.  Guaira's is estimated at 13,000,000 cubic feet a minute in normal flow and double and treble that amount in normal flood season," (p. 410).   Wouldn't we LOVE to view these magnificent falls!

We need to keep in mind that Paraguay is a country of palm trees and jungles, a tropical jungle.  On one river trip, Mrs. Adams commented, "The Indians spear alligators, but the passengers on our steamer shot constantly at the beasts with indifferent success.  We saw water snakes 15 feet long (!!). . . poisonous snakes, including rattlers, are a menace to the naked feet of the Indian," (p.  416).

To conclude, Mrs. Adams writes, "Among my most vivid memories of Paraguay are scenes on its two great flowing highways; and the exquisite coloring of terra-cotta earth, chrome-green forest, and rainbow-tinted sky." She felt that the country was peopled by content, well-fed people.  I will anticipate with interest further developments in the country of Paraguay in future National Geographic Magazines!

Another Old South American River City, Part 1

Let's admit that the country of Paraguay, in the very center of the South American continent, is hardly ever in the news.  It is one of two land-locked countries in South America, the other being Bolivia.  In the April, 1933, issue of National Geographic Magazine, an author familiar to me, Harriet Chalmers Adams, writes River-Encircled Paraguay, an account of her travel there.

Mrs. Adamss begins by telling us of La Plata River, which runs 1,000 miles north from the eastern coast, between the countries of Urguay and Argentina to the large capital city of Ascuncion.  The city dates from 1526 when explorer Sebastian Cabot discovered it for Spain.  It took the author fully four days in a river steamer to travel from Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the mouth of the river, to Ascuncion.

"The colonial Spaniards showed rare judgment in selecting their sites for cities.  Here (Ascuncion) they chose a high bank of the river, safe from floods, at a point where a peninsula, jutting out into the wide stream, forms a little bay. . . The winter climate is not unlike that of southern California," (p. 389).

There are always the old churches in these colonial cities.  "The Cathedral, near the river, beautiful old church of the conquistadores, is the heart of the old town I love," (p.  392).  Paraguay obtained independence from Spain in 1811.  From then until 1865 the country had a series of dictators as rulers; they isolated the country from the rest of the world.  Then a war with nearby countries nearly destroyed the country. "The population was reduced to one-fifth of its pre-war numbers," (p. 392).

In the time when Mrs. Adams visited, the 1930's, the population was a mingling of Spanish with the native Guaranis.  Also native to Paraguay were Ostrich birds, but they were nearly wiped out then, for their large, colorful feathers.  The Spanish language was spoken by the educated classes, but the others spoke Guarani.  "Dancing is its chief diversion," (p. 396) although soccer, from the British, was the national sport.  "Cattle-raising has become the chief industry of the country," (p. 396).

There was a very large land west of Paraguay that was wanted by Paraguay and its neighboring countries.  Let's leave it at there for now and resume our study tomorrow.

An Important Early Balloon Trip

Professor Auguste Piccard, of the University of Brussels, wanted to study cosmic rays in the stratosphere in 1930.  For means of transport ten miles above the earth, and for a place to carry two men and the necessary instruments, Piccard considered the plane, the balloon, and the rocket.  Since neither planes nor rockets had progressed to be practical in his study, he chose the balloon.  He did surmise, however, that "none of these three had ever risen ten miles.  The rocket will do so one of these days.  Eventually it will go far higher, even. . . The plane will certainly go up ten miles in a few years but it is not yet adapted to that altitude," Ballooning in the Stratosphere: Two Balloon Ascents to Ten-Mile Altitudes Presage New Mode of Aerial Travel, National Geographic Magazine, March, 1933, p. 355.

In order to overcome the problem of the two scientists needing an oxygen supply at a high altitude, the professor studied submarines.  As this was a costly venture, he approached King Albert and Queen Elizabeth of Brussels who readily financed the venture with $14,000.  Other problems faced included building a fairly lightweight, aluminum sphere large enough to carry the two men and their instruments; the finished product weighted 850 pounds with the men inside.  The balloon and rigging to carry this was extremely large and heavy, covering nearly an entire acre.  Hydrogen gas would be used.

The first attempted take-off in September of 1930 failed due to windy weather.  Apparently, through the news media, the "absent-minded professor" was the laughing stock of the world the following winter.  The next attempt to ascend in May, 1931, was successful but damaged equipment in the process.  After the balloon took off, Mr. Piccard worked feverishly to repair a major oxygen leak, with vaseline.  The ascending balloon with capsule was 15 stories tall.

The professor had planned to keep the aluminum capsule an even temperature by painting the side closest to the sun shiny, to reflect the sun's rays, and the other side black, to absorb the sun's rays.  Even though the atmospheric temperature ten miles above earth is approximately minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit, this is necessary.  The motor to turn the capsule failed and the inside temperature reached over 100 degrees.

I held my breath while reading of the professor's cavalier attitude when the excessive heat softened the rubber around the capsule openings, thereby allowing air to escape, "The internal pressure of the gondola was slowly dropping. . .we decided to wait and see what would happen. . . we were then seven and a half miles up.  Here we remembered other aeronauts who had been to this height, some of whom survived, and this was comforting," (p. 373).

The balloon and gondola were slowly descending.  "At 8:50 (p.m.) we were two and a half miles up, and there opened the manholes.  We were above high mountains (in Austria) but that made no difference.  At least the sea and asphyxiation had been avoided," (p. 373).  The balloon landed uneventfully on a flat glacier.  The two men camped overnight and walked to a village the next morning.

A second flight was made the following year, in August of 1932.  "The second was almost commonplace, lacking adventure, but was of greater scientific importance because of the studies made of cosmic rays and the measurements taken," (p. 373).  The balloon and capsule landed in Italy.

Why were scientists of this era studying cosmic rays?  They hoped to determine the origin of these rays (not accomplished then) and wanted to use them for possible future energy use when wood, coal and oil were depleted on the earth.  Professor Piccard fantasized about future plane travel between New York and Paris "taking only six to eight hours."  He correctly predicted that "the stratosphere is the superhighway of future intercontinental transport," (p. 384).  Gee, I didn't realize that this past Wednesday, when I traveled from Providence, Rhode Island, to Lexington, Kentucky, I was in the stratosphere!  I totally took for granted that the pressurized cabin was safe and comfortable!

FYI: our present knowledge says that the origin of some cosmic rays is our sun but most of them originate from outside our galaxy.

Need an Ice Cube Thought?

What an unusual first page to an article in the March, 1933, issue of National Geographic Magazine!  It is a full-page photo of a skier swooping down a steep, snowy hill, "Frost flowers replace the blossoms of spring and summer; icicles assume fanciful shapes. . . To this magical land, sparkling under the rays of a brilliant sun, come lovers of winter sports - skiers, skaters, tobogganers and curlers," (Skiing in Switzerland's Realm of Winter Sports, photo caption, p. 345).

Turn a page and I find the whole article is photos - a first for me to discover!  And my question is answered: Why are the Swiss such good skiers? "The wide popularity of skiing in Switzerland is due largely to its many opportunities for sport and utility.  In the tiny mountain villages boys and girls go to school on skis which sometimes are made of two barrel staves.  Postmen in the snow-filled valleys deliver mail on skis.  They are a common means of pedestrian travel in winter," (photo caption, p. 346).   The best skiers begin the sport at a young age.

Concerning ski-jumping, "Jumping is a development of skiing which has become so popular in Switzerland that now practically every center of  winter sports activity has a jumping hill.  The important feature of a ski jump is not the height attained, but the distance traveled through the air," (photo caption, p. 351).

As a pre-schooler with my parents on vacation in Switzerland (dad was stationed in the Army in Germany), I remember looking out a train window at the steep mountains.  The train was very slow and the windows were nearly all fogged.  Far below I spotted a small, circular, blue lake in a valley. At the top of the mountain was a station for the train to pull in and a restaurant.  It was called the Zuder Zee.   I didn't know then that the entire country of Switzerland is full of the Swiss Alps, very high mountains.

This delightfully short article has made me feel cooler on this blistering hot summer day!

The Morning After

Sometimes you just have to choose to settle down, rest, and change gears.  After two weeks of non-stop fun and travel and visiting, I should not be surprised at feeling like doing nothing!!  The only reason I drove into town this afternoon was that I was totally out of milk and had to turn in a library book that was due.  Other than that, I unpacked, decided what was pressing to do - next week.

One thing that took a bit of time today was sorting through two-weeks worth of mail.  I missed my family in Massachusetts, but then other family are here.  I looked around the house and was very happy that I had made it clean before I left.

The yard is greener than ever before!  It was storming when I flew into Lexington yesterday and it rained some today.  I picked several cherry tomatoes; they have done well this year.  The "Big Boy" tomatoes have been a big disappointment.

What I missed most of all about my yard when I was gone was the strikingly gorgeous blooming mini-pom-poms of my Mimosa tree in the back yard.  I feared the blooms would all be gone when I returned but they were still looking good.

The mimosa tree looks great any time of the day but when it is backlit by the sun, the blooms seem to be little pink lights!

It's too early to think of bedtime, although I'm sleepy.  The most ambitious thing I'll do tonight is watch a Netflix mystery.  I'm watching the "Midsommer Murders," a British series.  Bye for now!

From Smiling Faces to Smiling Faces!

It was hard to leave my daughter, Mary, in New England, but home and family in Kentucky beckoned.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014:  This afternoon I experienced an uneventful, relatively quick air trip home back to Lexington, Kentucky from the Providence, Rhode Island T.F. Green Airport.  My vacation in Massachusetts and Maine was so wonderful!  

My last day started out with Mary and I driving grandson, Michael, and his friend, Kevin, to Lego Camp.  The boys were happy to show us the large room where they would happily build all day.

Two very excited 7-year-olds: Michael (left) and Kevin.

 Back home, I spent a few minutes walking around the yard, enjoying the cool morning and flowers, taking a few last photos.

Mary and Dave's well-groomed front yard, from the birdbath corner.

One of my favorite places to relax: their deck with the fire pit.

Dave is up early, watering the tomatoes, peppers, kale, and cucumbers.

Mary and I needed to leave for the trip to Providence, which takes less time for travel than the Boston airport.  We took a small detour for Dunkin' Donuts coffee, and to take a closer look at the state capital building in Providence.

State Capital of Rhode Island at Providence.  Mary worked there straight out of law school and reports the downtown area has been largely renovated in the last 15 years.  It is very colonial and interesting, more spacious than the Massachusetts' capital, Mary judged.  the golden statue on the top of the dome is "Independent Man," symbolizing the spirit of the state.

Home, at last, to Lexington!  The Bluegrass Airport was recovering from loss of power from a major rainstorm.  It was good to see my smiling granddaughter, Sarah, and daughter, Carole!  My yard looked fuller and greener than ever.  Carole said, "I only had to water (the outside yard) two days.  The other days it rained!"

Unpacking will wait until tomorrow!  It is good to be home, very good!

Family and Pets, Day 14

Tuesday, August 19, 2014:  Today I wanted to take photos of the two family pooches I've so come to enjoy during this vacation, Lily and Dudley.  So we took them to a nice "Dog Park" in nearby Hingham, Massachusetts.  What a perfect, lovely, sunny, cloudless day with a cool breeze we enjoyed today!

The two beautiful, sleek black dogs, Lily, at the top, a Newfoundland mix, and Dudley, a Chow mix, run and run in the large park, over the hills, in the woods, and swim in the nearby harbor.  Mary and Dave brought water for them because they ran so hard!

Nearby, a picturesque marina in a bend of the Weymouth Back River.

Dave with Lily at the top of a hill.  After walking around the shore and paths, Mary and I found a shaded bench and sat for a while enjoying the park, doggie and people interaction.  When we were ready to go home, our dogs couldn't be found!  Dave called and called them, unsuccessfully.  About then he received a call on his phone from a woman in a nearby town; the dogs had apparently jumped over the Dog Park fence, swum across the river, and ended up in her back yard.  Dudley had the phone number on his collar.  The woman kindly put the dogs in her car and brought them to us at the Dog Park.

We passed over this drawbridge, the Four River Bridge, on the way back to Brockton.

 

The family, Mary, Dave, Michael, and I had a fine dinner at the Stoneforge Grill restaurant.  Then Dave took Dudley to his obedience training (sorely needed!) while Mary, Michael, and I went to Hilliard's for ice cream.

Hilliard's is a fairy-tale ice cream and candy shop!

Guess who are worn out tonight?  (One guess!) Lily and Dudley!

The official (sort of!) portrait: Dudley (left) and Lily, on the back deck.

Fish and More Fish! Day 13

Monday, August 18, 2014:  This morning, after Michael went to Lego Camp with his good friend, Kevin, and Mary went to the office, Dave and I went back to the Boston Harbor area to tour the New England Aquarium.  I personally haunt aquariums!  I love them and have visited many on the east coast of the States.

The New England Aquarium features Penguins!

Large, friendly birds, they fly like jets through water.

This Right Whale skeleton is suspended above the Penguin Exhibit.  It is called 'right' because (according to Dave, whose degree is in Marine Biology) it was the right whale to hunt in the New England waters.  It was hunted nearly to extinction; few are in the ocean today.

Note the grayish-colored whale 'fin' bones: they look like a human hand!  The whale is a mammal; its young are born alive. It is NOT a fish!  The very large skeleton is visible from all levels of the immense central aquarium saltwater tank.

The Seals were very entertaining and quick in the water!

Very nice Harbor view from the Aquarium stairway.

Clownfish or "Nemos"

Dave and I had reservations for an Imax 3-D movie at noon, "Journey to the South Pacific," wonderful, amazing, so real we felt we were wet!

The Cuttlefish has tentacles in the front like octopus or squid (a Cephalopod), changes colors to match its surroundings; its fins look like lacey doilies, ruffling in the water as it propels itself forward. 

The Emperor Angelfish.

A Blue Clam.  They come in many colors and sizes.

The Moray Eel.

This quite large sea turtle has its head very close to the window of the aquarium.

One of the Rays.  I took dozens of photos, trying to capture a good one.

A diver at the top of the tank appears to be cleaning rocks as the fish swim past her.  Meanwhile, an aquarium narrator is telling the crowd surrounding the top of the tank about the tank: it is 22 feet deep and 40 feet wide.  Lights above it are turned off at night so the fish are in a normal sleep cycle (I didn't know that fish 'slept').  He mentioned that many folks ask, "Why don't these fish eat each other?"  The answer is that, in the wild, they may eat once every two weeks.  At the aquarium, they are fed twice a day. Also, dead fish are quickly removed.  Another question was, "Do they reproduce in the tank?"  Answer: No. Their eggs are filtered out by the water system.

A sea Cucumber: in the same category as sea stars (an animal).

A rare blue Lobster, moving backwards (my favorite animal of the whole aquarium!).

The Goosefish or 'angler.'  it has a 'protuberance' behind its eyes that tempt small fish to come close so it can eat them!

Beautiful anemones of many colors with a bright red Sea Star.

The common Flounder.  How well it is camouflaged!  It swims sideways and has one eye on top of its head.

Sea Dragons.  They look like twigs with leaves!

Control tower, Logan International Airport, photo from parking structure close to the aquarium.

Another view of the airport Hyatt Hotel (the one with the top three floor windows blacked out!), taken from parking structure.

Something new to me: "Zip" lines: the two rows of concrete barriers.  These are opened during morning and afternoon rush hours to provide an extra traffic lane for vehicles going into Boston (a.m.) and leaving Boston (p.m.).  The extra lane is for commuters only, with two or more people in the vehicle (H.O.V. - High Occupancy Vehicle - lane).  After Dave explained what this accomplished to me, I told him about our Lexington, Kentucky, solution: 'Xs' on the traffic signals in the changing lanes on the major road to the city's largest employer, the University of Kentucky.

The 'Zip' truck: it passes over the side of choice and moves it:  Cool!

Tonight we are all tired and called for pizza.  Yum!

Boston Skyline, at Last! Day 12

Sunday, August 17, 2014:  Today began with attendance at the 8 a.m. Church service at Our Lady of Lourdes church in Brockton, Massachusetts.  For details and photos, please see my relationship blog, www.stoptwistedlove.blogspot.com.

As Dave and Michael went to a Lego event, Mary, Theresa, and I were traveling to downtown Boston to board a ship for a 2 1/2 hour brunch/cruise of the Boston Harbor.  In a word, the cruise was wonderful!  As we ate, walked and sat on one of the three levels of the boat, "Majesty," we listened to our tour guide explain the various sites, give interesting stories and history, and a bit of his personal connection with Boston.  And I finally was able to snap many photos of the broad Boston skyline.

Our cruise ship today, August 17, 2014.

The ship was the most elegant I've ever boarded.  I told my daughters, "I feel like I'm on the Titanic!"  The service and food were also outstanding.

While it proved impossible to capture the Boston skyline when traveling around or through the city, I could capture views from the harbor at leisure.

This is the U.S.S. Constitution, the oldest working naval ship in the world.  It never lost in any of its 44 battles.  It was nicknamed "Old Ironsides" because its thick oak sides seemed to repel cannon shots.  Note the tall obelisk, visible behind the mast on the left side.  That is the Bunker Hill Battle Memorial, over 200 feet tall.

The Bunker Hill Battle monument.  The colonists were so overwhelmed by the British (who had to try Three times to capture Bunker Hill!) that they cried, "Don't fire till you see the whites of their eyes!"

Now note the two towers of the Zachim suspension bridge.  It was designed to duplicate the rigging of the U.S.S. Constitution and the Bunker Hill Battle Monument behind the ship.

The boat traffic, particularly the sailboats, was very absorbing.

There are 34 islands in Boston Harbor.  I snapped over 200 photos today of the Harbor and afterwards, when Mary, Theresa, and I had a leisurely stroll through the Greenway, took a carousel ride, and saw many interesting sights.  I'm just exhausted!  I promise that tomorrow I'll update this blog entry and include many more photos!  Nighty-nite!

The Air Traffic

Logan International Airport is on the edge of the harbor water.  It is very exciting both to take off or land at this airport!  During this boat cruise, one of the first things I saw was a plane taking off at the very edge of the water.  There were red lights at the end of this runway.  I tried many times to capture this, hoping the red lights would show up in a photo, and did it - once!

These red lights are at the very end of the runway - before the water! - very exciting to watch, time after time.  Planes leave the airport approximately 30 seconds apart!

The building on the left is a very large hotel at Logan Airport.  At the top is a revolving restaurant.  When it first opened, pilots would confuse it with either a lighthouse or air traffic control.  It had to have the windows at the top blacked out!  The restaurant still revolves.

There goes another one!

The Harbor Lighthouses

There are four lighthouses visible from the Boston Harbor plus one Lightship visible in the harbor.  I have seen many photos of the three Nantucket "Lightships," and was quite happy to see that one was actually in the Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston harbor.

This ship served as a lighthouse for many years off the Nantucket shoals because it was impossible to build a lighthouse.  Now it has been restored and used for education.  (Some day I hope to tour it - gotta save a few things for the next Boston trip!)

Called Nix's Mate, this is not a lighthouse but is a "daymarker," an important navigational aid.

Deer Island Lighthouse

Boston Light, America's first lighthouse, originally built in 1716, destroyed in 1776 by the British then rebuilt in 1783.  It is the ONLY MANNED LIGHTHOUSE in the United States today.  Boston Light is surrounded by scaffolding, currently undergoing renovation.

My other photos of lighthouses were blurry, taken from too far away by my simple camera.

More Boats!

Meet "CODzilla!"  It's the fastest ship in the harbor, turns around quickly and gets everyone WET!  It's very popular!

The Tugboat pushed the oil tanker up from New York; it was cheaper.

This research ship, the "Sea Hunter," from Portland, Maine, recently found a sunken British ship with cargo worth many millions of dollars.  The British, Americans, and Russians are presently legally contesting WHO deserves it!

The small speedboats were fun because their front ends went 'slap, slap' on the water as they passed by.

Wherever did this strange vessel originate?  It's the "Upper Deck Trolley" which we also saw on land!

This is the lone Navy ship in the Charleston Navy Yard, the "Cassin Young," a World War II ship now used only for tours.

Wanna go on a nice tour of a navy boat?

The "Adirondack III," a beautiful, stately sailboat.  The harbor contained dozens and dozens of one-sail boats.  Wouldn't you like to sail a long way on one?  (or not!)

What a memorable cruise on the "Majesty!"  I bought a small stuffed white whale to remember this day.

The "Big Dig" and the Boston "Greenway"

Years ago (1982), there was an inadequate highway, Interstate 93, raised above the downtown Boston area close to the harbor. For 25 years, new underground tunnels, under the Charles River, skyscrapers, and existing subways, were dug and a new Interstate 93 was completed at a cost of billions of dollars.  With the land formerly under the old highway, a public green space called the "Greenway" was formed.  It is in the central city, dedicated to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, mother of President John F. Kennedy.  It is spacious and beautiful, a welcome respite to the tall buildings which tend to shadow the city.

Fountain in the Greenway

The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial Rose Garden: this photo in no way does justice to the beauty of the many different varieties of roses.  Surrounding the garden are closely-planted bushes of delicately scented,soft pink roses.

Did you ever ride a Merry-Go-Round or Carousel?  When you were a child?  What a thrill for me today!

The old-fashioned, traditional merry-go-round had carousel horses to ride.  This new one has rabbits, squirrels, birds, etc.  I rode a whale!

My view ahead of my whale.

When we reached the end of the Greenway, Theresa announced, "I want to see some old stuff."  So we walked down some narrow street which turned out to be the old Italian sections, Mary's husband, Dave's ancestry.

Paul Revere's House, our first really OLD place!  Our tour guide informed us that Revere probably didn't ride through the Boston street hollering, "The British are coming, the British are coming!"  because everyone was British!  Revere might have quietly told the protesting citizens, "The Lobster jackets are coming!" because that's how the British soldiers, with their red uniform coats, were called.

Paul Revere's house: note to self: tour this the next time in Boston - no time today!

Sacred Heart Italian Church

This golden dome intrigued us.  Turns out it's atop a "Traffic Tunnel" headquarters.

There was a parade close to this sign for St. someone else.  We were too tired to walk to watch it and see the band.  Instead, we dragged our tired feet to the parking garage then drove home.  A wonderful day we had!!