Zanesville, OH. Holiday Inn

I really like Zanesville Ohio.  I found this cool Holiday Inn postcard, sent in 1966 recently!

Howard Steamboat Museum- Jeffersonville, Indiana

I am not going to say much about the Howard Steamboat Museum in Jeffersonville Indiana, just across the bridge from Louisville.

We took a tour there recently and we were overwhelmed!  The place is huge and has a ton of great steamboat relics.  Our guide must know everything about steamboats imaginable.

We LOVED this place and we really want to go back again.  Check out the photos and check out their website!

http://www.steamboatmuseum.org/



Mammoth Cave Souvenir Shop

The back of this postcard notes that this is the largest souvenir shop in Kentucky! I will take some of that Mammoth Cave Onyx for ten cents thank you!

Way Out in West Virginia by Jeanne Mozier

Several months ago we picked this book up at a shop in West Virginia.  I gave it a quick look and figured at 300 plus pages (and a reasonable $15 cover price) it was worth a gamble.

"Way Out in West Virginia" by Jeanne Mozier is easily one of the most enjoyable books about a state I have ever read.  This one gets a solid A.

The book is very different from other basic easily available travel type books, in that it is organized by topic (art, architecture, oddities, shopping, etc) instead of by region.  This was one thing that almost made me think twice about purchasing the book, but this system actually works well for the book.  For example, I might skim the chapter about shopping, but I will likely read the chapter titled "Historic Oddities" very carefully!

Something else unique about "Way Out in West Virginia" is the author's unashamed pride in her state.  I have read a lot of travel guides, brochures, websites, etc. where the author tried to, but could not hide their lack of enthusiasm.  Ms. Mozier does not have that problem.  She knows her state has a lot to offer, and she wants to tell you all about it.  The book is full of great exciting detail- and absolutely no filler. 

We have made several trips to West Virginia over the last few years, and I have developed a real love for the state.  It has grown on us, and there are several well known sites I really want to see soon in the area.  I have found a lot of general info online about the state.  "Way Out in West Virginia" has given me a lot of additional information on some great sites.  I can't wait for my next drive through the area to check out some interesting theaters, places to eat (ice cream, peperoni rolls, fish sandwiches), toy museums, and other novel destinations.

Something else worthy of note in this book is Mozier's great descriptions of the places she discusses.  Some of the entries in her "Mother Nature's Wonders" section are poetic.  You will get a good idea of exactly what to expect at each location.

I hope other writers hoping to publish a book about the great sites in their states read Jeanne Mozier's book first.  She knows her state, and she enthusiastically wants to tell you about why you should spend some quality time there.

Service Firing 240-MM Howitzer, M17

 

Sent from Camp Pickett, VA, 1942 from a private to his mom.  "US Army FREE" was written in place of a stamp.

Greetings from the Black Hills of South Dakota

This postcard went through the mail in 1937!





Union Station, Washington, DC

Train Concourse, Union Station, Washington DC.

Washington's Chair Alexandria Washington Lodge

This postcard notes that this chair was used by General George Washington while he served as the Master of the Alexandria Washington Lodge, No. 22.  It was in constant use for 117 years.

 

Rushmore Memorial, Black Hills, SD

Where's Teddy?  I found this vintage postcard recently and I love it!  The photo is from the 30s.

Administration Hall, Evansville College, Indiana

Glasgow Motel, Kentucky

Balboa Park, San Diego, CA

Sent from LA in 1955, the back of this postcard says-

 

Presented to the City of San Diego by John D. and Adolph Spreckels, this gigantic outdoor organ is the center for many important musical activities.

Owensboro Rage vs. The Kentucky Drillers

Owensboro's professional indoor football team played their FIRST regular season game ever this past weekend!

I was able to make it to their first exhibition game a couple of weeks ago and the team looked great! 

For their first regular season game they were playing the Kentucky Drillers, who are starting their third season this year!  In the world of indoor football, that makes the Drillers one of the older teams around.

Its a bit funny, because I was able to catch the Drillers play against the defunct Northern Kentucky River Monsters.  I do have photos from back then on this blog- go to this entry-
http://kentuckytravels.blogspot.com/2011/04/northern-kentucky-river-monsters.html

That seems like forever ago!

The River Monsters were a fun team to watch too.  Luckily, there are some connections to the old River Monsters and the new Owensboro Rage.  Head coach Mike Goodpastor and offensive coordinator Brian Schmidt both contributed to the success of the River Monsters and now they are helping out with the Owensboro team!

I am really happy to see Goodpastor and Schmidt still around, and I am glad to see that the Drillers are making it!

I am hoping to make it to one of their games in Pikeville this season.  There is another town with a lot going on!  AND, that is a cool area showing their local professional football team a lot of support!

This game was just as fun as the first one I attended.  There is a good, fun vibe going on here.

First off, Larry Mitchell performed the National Anthem on guitar before the game.  The guy has won a Grammy, and he has performed with everyone!  That was kind of a nice bonus before the game!  I get goose bumps when I hear it done well, and Larry nailed it!  His version was true and melodic, and it wasn't the Hendrix version that you have heard a million times before.

Also before the game started, the team had a nice tribute to Eddie Cronin who was a huge part of the team before their move to Owensboro from Evansville.

There is something touching and motivating about watching an organization go on after one of its key members passes on.  I am not a fan of the over used cliche about the Phoenix but it may be appropriate to make that comparison with the Rage.  It is inspiring that this team is fighting on after such a devastating loss.

The Rage have added Brent Clary as their on field announcer for this season.  Brent is a witty football fan and really kept things moving.  I appreciated his ability to update the fans on the score and other stats as the game went on, while making jokes about himself and the fans during breaks.  He encouraged fans to keep any football they may catch as a souvenir, but he stressed the importance of returning any players that may fly into the stands.

Oh, I appreciated the fact that Brent took a moment several times to thank the Drillers for coming to town to play the Rage.  Very classy.

I talked to Brent briefly after the game.  When he is not watching football, he enjoys collecting Precious Moments figurines and Beanie Babies.

The Owensboro Rage won the contest 52-18!  Of the 2 games I have attended this season (and pre-season), the Rage have beat their opponents by a score of 112 to 18!

After the game, I had a moment to chat with some of the players.  EVERYONE of them thanked us for coming out!  They were all very kind and sincere about it.  Team announcer Brent Clary also thanked fans for coming out several times during the game. 

There is a very warm feel going on at the Next Level during these games.  Young kids were tossing a football around,  Renny, the teams mascot was all over the venue entertaining everyone, and the home team dominated!

https://owensbororage.com/en/home


http://www.kentuckydrillers.com/



Cumberland Falls in Southeastern Kentucky

Hollywood Boulevard, CA 1940

Sent in 1940.  On the back-

World famed Hollywood Boulevard with its fascinating shops, cafes and theatres, is the main thoroughfare of the motion picture capital.  Brilliant at night with colorful lights and blazing searchlights, it is a never ending pageant of celebrated characters of Stage, Screen and Radio.

Schimpff's Confectionary Jeffersonville, Indiana

I have a sweet story to tell about Schimpff's in Jeffersonville before I even get to the main story.....

We arrived in Jeffersonville and parked in front of the candy store/museum about 20 minutes before they opened.  It was a cold day, so we remained in our car until the open sign flipped.  As we waited, we noticed something that brought a smile to our faces.

Probably 5 or 6 times, a car would pull behind us, driven by a man, with a significant other in the passenger seat.  There would be some brief chatter between the two, then a short goodbye kiss between two sweethearts.  The girl would exit the car to go to work and the driver would drive away.  About a minute later the same thing would happen again.

We got to a point where we would watch for the next car to pull behind us and sure enough, the exact same thing happened each time.  :)

On to our main story.....

I love tradition and I love partaking in something that has been done the same way for years.

The Schimpff family has been making candy the same way and in the same spot, for well over a century!  Check out the photos of the molds and other tools that they use to make their candies!  The items have obviously been around for a long time.

I enjoyed sampling several items all made in the same way they have always been made at Schimpff's!

In addition to selling candy, Schimpff's has a large candy museum attached.  The candy museum is very special, as it has all sorts of old molds, packages, store displays, etc.  Being a huge fan of Halloween, I really loved the witch and ghost themed items.

We really like Schimpff's and it is right across the river from Louisville.  If someone is travelling to an event in Louisville, I would make this one of the "must stops" in the area.  It is very special, and I haven't come across many other places like it. 

This great place accomplishes something amazing that other places can't.  It displays all sorts of cool candy related relics in its museum, but it still functions as a lively candy shop, using old methods to make its product.  The company has survived decades keeping its tradition alive while other similar businesses became the victims of modern day mass production techniques.

You can go there today, and appreciate the fact that much of the business here has been unchanged since the late 1800s.

http://www.schimpffs.com/

Yosemite National Park, CA 1943

The top postcard, "The Fallen Monarch" shows how large the big trees are here.

The bottom left one is the only one postally used, and it is postmarked 1943.  The others look to be from the same era.

The bottom one on the right says on the back-

"Wawona" in the Mariposa Grove of Bog Trees, about 4,000 years old, 227 feet high and 90 feet in circumference at the base, with a hole large enough to permit the widest and highest vehicle to pass through and ample room to spare on either side.

Cumberland Falls, Near Williamsburg, KY