Archive for June 2010
On the road – Greenwich,CT, and The Joseph Pilsudski Society
Greenwich Connecticut is exac-tickely 1160.6 miles from Sorrento Florida. First day was a twelve hour excursion through the southern coastal states with a side step over to Savannah, GA – really nice city, but it was sooo hot yesterday – so Friday was 653 miles of hard road.
I must say that North Carolina has the most beautiful section of I-95 with beautiful yellow lillies and red/coral crepe myrtels throughout the state. I’m sorry to report, but Maryland ranks tops with the suckiest roads.
As my wife was navigator from FL to CT, I’m afraid to say she lost the will to live somewhere on the New Jersey Turnpike as our trip (B) odometer hit 940 miles – NJ by the way has the rudest drives bar-none!
I took a look around town of Greenwich this evening as I used to work in here back in the early 80s. My fav bar at the time was Mickey’s on Greenwich Ave. but is now a place called Sundown. I did find solace in a small Polish pub/club on Arch St… .The Pilsudski Society. Hmmm.
I signed the guest book… and put down a pint of their standard bar brew.
The Joseph Pilsudski Society
The fine folks at the JP Society
On the road…Savannah
Traveling up I-95 we couldn’t resist taking a look at Savannah – we’ve never been there before… and of course – I had to scope out probably the most famous restaurant in that neck of the woods.
We drove 653 miles today… Made it to Roanoke Rapids, NC — tired, very tired!
The Lady and Sons, Savannah, GA USA
Thursby House – Along the St. John’s River
This is the Thursby house along the Saint John’s River in Central Florida – In 1872, the Thursby family built a large frame home atop the Indians’ shell mound, safe from the floodwaters of the St. Johns. The pilings of the steamboat dock remain, relics of a bygone era.
Thursby House - along the St. John's River at Blue Springs
Happy Father’s Day 2010
My son and his kids – out today on the St. John’s River —
Happy Father's Day
The Metro
I love these old theater marquees – again, we built beautiful things when we cared about how things were built. Look at the detail. This is the Metro Theatre in San Francisco.
The Metro
4 Images of Nordstrom at Westfield
These are four post-processing effects of the escalators at Nordstrom in the Westfield Mall in San Francisco. I particularly like the gold effects that come out in some of these – the “night” effects one is cool too!
View from the Pan Pacific Exposition – way back when
This shot was taken in San Francisco near the site of the Pan Pacific Exposition of 1915.
The Panama Pacific International Exposition was the 1915 worlds fair held in San Francisco, California. Taking over three years to construct, the fair had great economic implications for the city that had been almost destroyed by the great earthquake and fire of 1906. The exposition was a tremendous success, and did much to boost the morale of the entire Bay Area and to help get San Francisco back up on its feet.
Officially, the exposition was a celebration of the completion of the Panama Canal, and also commemorated the 400th anniversary of the discovering of the Pacific Ocean by the explorer, Balboa. San Francisco was only one of many cities hoping to host the PPIE. New Orleans was its primary rival, but in 1911 after a long competition of advertising and campaigning, President Taft proclaimed San Francisco to be the official host city.
Beautiful View
Let’s Go Out for Drinks
Some nice spots in San Francisco – if you have a thirst ~~~
Bar and Lounge
Blue Mermaid - San Francisco
Dirty Martini
Westfield Dome
Westfield Dome
Reposting this photo using enhancements with Topaz Adjust
Car Club Badges
I’ve always like those Car Club Badges that adorn the front bumpers of (mostly) British cars. They look sturdy and classy and just plain cool.
Arnie Brown in Maryland has a bit of history on these jewels.
Motoring had started in earnest in the early days of the 20th Century. It was natural for car owners to form themselves into clubs, and there were good reasons. The condition of the road was abysmal at best, and only by some form of united pressure could motorists hope for improvement.
The main reason behind the formation of these early organizations was to make a stand against the antagonism shown to motorists by the public at large, the legislators and by the Police whose attitude was nothing short of outright hostility.
This was particularly true in Great Britain, because in 1865, the Locomotives on Highways Act restricted mechanically propelled vehicles to a maximum speed of 5 mph on country roads and 2.5 mph in built-up areas. The act required three drivers for each vehicle. Two to travel in the vehicle and one to walk ahead carrying a red flag. (The Red Flag Act) This act was repealed in 1896 when the speed limit was raised to 14 mph.
The “Red Flag Act” was repealed after nearly two decades of strong support from horse interests. Horse-less vehicles were now free to travel faster than walking pace. The Royal Automobile Club was founded, and the first RAC London to Brighton run was held to celebrate the new era of speed.
Car badges were introduced by the Automobile Association in March of 1906 to identify members and warn them of police speed traps up ahead. If the road was clear of police, the AA man would salute the driver if his vehicle displayed an AA badge. This practice was continued until the late 1960s.
Car badges have made a comeback in recent years, and rapidly continue to become more popular as a way to dress up your car and show pride in your club membership.
Arnie Brown’s Automobilia
