O is for Old Sacramento on ABC Wednesday

This 1927 riverboat sits on the Sacramento River and was converted into a floating hotel with 44 rooms, restaurant, and a theatre. After falling into disrepair in the 1980's, it had actually sunk into San Francisco Bay until it was towed to Old Sacramento for a $9 Million restoration. Click here for more historical facts about this boat.

One of the 53 old buildings that are still standing in Old Sacramento since the Gold Rush days of the 1840's. Click here for more history.

The horse carriages you see around town are a novelty and used to shuttle visitors around the few blocks of Old Sacramento.

I happened to visit Old Sacramento during their "Living History" celebration where volunteers would dress up in 1800's period costumes and reenact those good old days. This woman was cooking what looked like beef stew and biscuits while I talked to her husband about digital cameras.

This is the town blacksmith and cobbler.

For more ABC Wednesday photos, go to Mrs. Nesbitt's blog.

- AV

Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Hero Was Suggested By Mary Ann

Wednesday Hero was started to put a face to the men and women of the American Armed Forces and what they do for us. Vary rarely has there been a member of a foreign military profiled. In fact, in the two years Wednesday Hero's been going on it's only been done once before. Here's the second.

Lance Corporal Matt Croucher
24 years old from Birmingham, England
40 Commando Royal Marines


L/Cpl Matt Croucher is not only one of the bravest men alive, he's also one of the luckiest men alive. On the morning of February 9, 2008 L/Cpl. and his unit were searching a compound near Sangin in Afghanistan that was suspected of being used to make bombs to be used in attacks on British and Afghan troops. Walking in the darkness among a group of four men, Croucher stepped into a tripwire that pulled the pin from a boobytrap grenade. His patrol commander, Corporal Adam Lesley, remembered Croucher shouting "Grenade!"

As others dived for cover, Croucher did something nobody expected. He lay down on the grenade to smother the blast. Lesley got on the ground, another man got behind a wall, but the last member of the patrol was still standing in the open when the grenade went off.

"My reaction was, 'My God this can't be real'," said Lesley. "Croucher had simply lain back and used his day sack to blunt the force of the explosion. You would expect nine out of 10 people to die in that situation." L/Cpl. Croucher was that 1/10. Not only did he survive, amazingly he only suffered shock from the blast and a bloody nose. He was saved by the special plating inside his Osprey body armor. The backpack he was wearing was thrown more than 30ft by the blast.

"I felt one of the lads giving me a top to toe check. My head was ringing. Blood was streaming from my nose. It took 30 seconds before I realized I was definitely not dead," said L/Cpl. Croucher.

For his actions that day, L/Cpl. Croucher was in line for the Victoria Cross, the highest award for a British Serviceman, but it has yet to be awarded.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Fort Worth's Old West - Part 3

I arrived just in time to see the twice-a-day cattle drive show.

Here is a close up of the cattle who probably know this route in their sleep.

You can see the rest of the street as the cattle passes by.

Sign indicating the daily cattle schedule.

This sign was displayed on the exterior wall of a building showing herding techniques.

- AV

Fort Worth's Old West - Part 2

"Cowlamity Jane" says not to sit on or lean against her.

My tour guide says come this way.

Leather horse hitched next to an antique shop.

"Fincher's White Front Western Wear" opened in 1902 draws tourists to buy its cowboy hats & boots.

See what's serving up on Riscky's menu.

This is the 2nd photo series of my recent trip to Forth Worth, Texas.

Happy Sunday,
AV

Fort Worth's Old West

A sign enticing visitors to stay at Miss Molly's Hotel, a former boarding house and bordello.

"The Duke" shows you the way to the entrance of Miss Molly's Hotel.

The Star Cafe is below Miss Molly's Hotel.

During my visit to Dallas, TX a few weeks ago, I also made a side trip to Fort Worth, the next city over. Since I didn't have a car, it took over 2 hours using public transportation to get there. It was a highly recommended trip so I'll be sharing some photos with you in another short photo series.

Happy Friday,
AV

N is for Naval Reserve Readiness Center on ABC Wednesday

I originally thought this statue at the top represented the Navy, but it was originally part of the International Exposition related to Pan American Airways. Can anyone identify it? I have no clue.




The photos you see were taken in 2007 of the former Naval Reserve Readiness Center on Treasure Island, a landfilled island on San Francisco Bay. In 1939, the Golden Gate International Exposition was held here. With the beginning of World War II in 1941, the island along with the attached Yerba Buena Island were converted to a Naval Air Station where troops were trained and housed. In 1997, this military base was closed due to budget and inactivity. For further history about Treasure Island, click here.

Additional ABC Wednesday photos can be accessed from Mrs. Nesbitt's blog.

- AV

Wednesday Hero

Click To Enlarge


Cpl. Markbradley Vincze gives students from al-Raqhaa School backpacks in the Monsouri area of Iraq. Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1-76th FA, 4th BCT, 3rd Inf. Div., delivered backpacks, soccer balls and notebooks.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Hammering Man

This is a continuation of Jonathan Borofsky's sculptures from yesterday. A 20 ft. high Hammering Man sculpture at the Nasher Sculpture Center is another one of his creations. Its arm is suppose to move up and down, but this one appears to be out of order...on "strike" if you will. According to Borofsky, the moving arm conveys the common worker's boring and montonously repetitive job.

Each Hammering Man sculpture is numbered to signify common laborers.

Roomful of working gigantic Hammering Man sculptures were on display at the mall about 15 miles from the sculpture center. Their arms were literally moving up and down. Sorry for the poor quality photo, I used my camera phone on this last one. Who knew I would find something interesting at the mall to photograph.

- AV

Walking to the Sky

100 ft. stainless steel pole at a 75 degree angle.

Here is a view from a different angle

Also part of the sculpture are these characters looking up at the pole

During my Dallas trip, I visited the Nasher Sculpture Center and discovered this unique artwork by Jonathan Borofsky called Walking to the Sky. I think the artist was trying to convey "a celebration of the human potential for discovering who we are and where we need to go."

It was originally displayed at New York's Rockefeller Center before moving to the Nasher Sculpture Center. A copy of this sculpture is also at Pittsurgh's Carnegie Mellon University where Borofsky is an alumnus.

- AV

Cancer Survivors Plaza

During my trip to Dallas, I discovered this area dedicated to cancer survivors. I thought this was a unique place until I looked up on the internet that the Blochs have quite a few cancer survivor parks around United States.

Ever since Richard Bloch beat lung cancer in 1980, he decided to dedicate his life to helping cancer victims. Read more about the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation here.

- AV

M is for Mailboxes on ABC Wednesday

I thought this mailbox was interesting with the twisted tree branches in the background.

I saw this mailbox at a Dallas shopping mall last week. It was part of an art exhibit on display.

This huge mailbox has a historical significance of being the mailbox for the first cannery in the area.

If you would like to see more ABC Wednesday photos, visit Mrs. Nesbitt's blog.

- AV

Wednesday Hero

Maj. Mark E. Rosenberg
32 years old from Miami Lakes, Florida
3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
April 8, 2008


Mark Rosenberg grew up in South Florida. "All boy," his aunt, Madelyn Rosenberg, remembers. "Very active, but very lovable." As long as she can recall, Maj. Rosenberg wanted a military career like his father, Burton Rosenberg, had.

He attended New Mexico Military Institute and entered the Army in 1996. Later, he met a woman, Julie, and they
married one day after his sister's wedding. He and Julie had two boys, now 3 and 22 months. They settled in Colorado near Fort Carson, where he was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division.

Maj. Rosenberg was on his second tour of duty when the Humvee he was riding in was struck by an IED in Baghdad.

"He would say he's over there to do a job," Madelyn Rosenberg remembered. "He loved what he was doing."

These
brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Reunion Tower & Hyatt Regency

This scenery looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. The 560 foot tower is called Reunion Tower and part of the all-reflective glass Hyatt Regency Hotel next door.

I read the tower has an observation deck on the first-level, a restaurant on the second-level, and a cocktail lounge on the dome-level. Unfortunately, the tower was under renovation during my visit so I could not take a look.

- AV

Dallas Mall

This is the Plaza of the Americas mall right next to my hotel. I ate here quite often because the hotel food was so expensive. The mall is surrounded by office buildings and a hotel with eateries on the 1st and 2nd floors. In the center of the mall is an ice skating rink which you can see 2 skaters practicing their routines.

Statue in front of the hotel inside the mall

Here is a close up of the statue. Does anyone know what it is?

My husband and I were in Dallas, Texas this past week so you will be seeing quite a few photos of my adventures soon. We were "lucky" enough to be victims of the American Airline flight cancellations due to the required FAA mechanical inspections. After numerous calls to American Airline, we finally were able to get a hold of a human on the phone and be booked on another flight. Let's hope we can get on that flight although Dallas is not a bad place to stay.

Have a nice weekend,
AV

L is for Lights on ABC Wednesdays

Chandelier lighting up flowers at the Hotel Del Coronado Hotel lobby

Lights at the Miracle Mile Shopping Mall in Las Vegas

Las Vegas Strip neon lights

For additional ABC Wednesday photos, please visit Mrs. Nesbitt's Place.

- AV

Wednesday Hero

Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael T. Williams
(Click Image For Full Size)


Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael T. Williams, a kennel master with Task Force Military Police, 1st Battalion, 10th Marines, and his dog "Kitt", search for ordnance and firearms during a route reconnaissance operation through the western Anbar province of Iraq April 1. The dog handlers conduct operations in support of 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion to bring peace and stability to Iraq and its people.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.