Entertainment

“The Ruins” from a New York City building to Indianapolis

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Holliday Park is a city park located in the near north-side of Indianapolis in one of the more higher end neighborhoods. The park is a beautiful setting with hundreds of trees, flowers and wildlife. In addition to the natural features of this inner city recreation site you will find an eclectic display affectionately tagged “The Ruins”.

The centerpiece of this ‘artwork’ is a structure that is the home of three massive sculptures atop a brick and mortar conglomeration of various architectural details. The three statues are called “The Races of Man”, are carved from (fittingly) Indiana limestone and represent Caucasian, Asian and African ethnic groups. Karl Bitter was the sculptor.

View of the whole display

Entrance of structure in 1898 showing the 3 statutes and columns

The original home of the three statues was the St. Paul building in downtown New York. The building was the work of famed architect George B. Post (1837-1913) who was the architect of many of the most important landmarks in New York City, including the New York Stock Exchange.  At the time of the completion of the St. Paul building in 1898 it was 315 feet tall and the tallest in New York City.

The original St. Paul building was torn down in 1958 to make way for a new skyscraper. The building’s owner, Western Electric, held a contest among US cities for the rights to have the sculptures. Long story short, Indianapolis won the competition. It took two decades and tons of money to bring “The Ruins” to a condition suitable for public use. For a while Western Electric considered retrieving the statues. Then Mayor of Indianapolis Richard Lugar pushed the completion of the project, which included the three  original entrance columns, in the mid 1970’s.

Detail of one of the statues

When we visited the park we frankly were amazed. What a beautiful setting! The Ruins were fascinating to see. It was fun walking the grounds and touring the extensive nature center as well. Note that there was adequate parking for RV’s and buses, making access very easy.

 

Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas, keep what you find

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Sher and I had discussed going to the diamond mine in Arkansas for some time. We’d read about this place, and it sure sounded like a fun and adventurous outing. The site is a 95 million year old inactive volcano crater. The first diamonds were discovered in 1906. Various mining enterprises have been attempted over the years. In 1972 the Craters of Diamonds State Park was established.

A small portion of the 37 acres for diamond hunting

We were able to plan a stop at the State Park on one of our trips to Austin to see family. We were of course exicited at the prospect of finding a diamond, or at least some of the other intersting and colorful stones in the park. This park is the only diamond hunting areas open to the public in the world. You keep what you find.

Getting ready to head for the diamond field.

The ground was muddy and slick so we had to watch our footing. The 37 acres open for diamond hunting is plowed about once every month, thus opening up more chances for finds. A fairly large amount of 1 carat plus sized diamonds have been found at the park.

Ready to dig! There is a sign picturing a huge diamond found.

Shed for washing dirt for diamonds and gemstones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did not find any diamonds, but we did find some nice rocks for our landscaping at home. It was a fun way to spend a couple of hours. We enjoyed seeing some of the gear that others had. Pulled wagons filled with shovels, rakes, buckets and even sieves and screens. These are serious diamond hunters!

New Orleans carriages only hitched to mules

/ Roadtirementvintage / 8 Comments

When in New Orleans you will no doubt see carriages driving around the city, taking various types of tours. Pay attention to the animal hitched to the carriage: it will be a mule, not a horse. Come to find out there is city ordinances that prohibit the use of horses. The carriage industry supports these laws, including the regulations restricting the number of hours and days that each mule and driver is allowed to work.

We saw this mule hitched to a carriage at Jackson Square in New Orleans

What is a mule? A mule has a horse for a mother and a donkey for a father. Mules  are smarter, up to 1.5 times stronger than a horse, live longer, and won’t work themselves to death. Mules also have a better tolerance to heat which is important with the high temps and high humidity common in New Orleans. It makes good sense to use mules in New Orleans.

The day we saw the Border Wall

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One winter day when we were living at an RV resort in Harlingen, Texas, Sher and I decided to head out and see if we could see the border wall between Mexico and the United States. We also wanted to see the Rio Grande River, which is of course the actual US/Mexico border.

We started our trek on US Highway 281 south of Pharr, Texas. We headed east on 281, which for this stretch towards Brownsville is also the route of the Military Highway, another historic route in the Lone Star State.

Border fence seen across a farm field

Closer to Hwy 281, with graffiti

 

 

 

 

 

We spotted some of the border wall sections that were pretty far from the road. We were closer to the fence between Los Indios and La Paloma. The vertical metal slats were mounted in a large concrete foundation.

What we didn’t get, however, was why the wall/fence stopped out in the middle of nowhere. It seemed odd that it seemed to be random as to where the fences had been constructed and where there were none.

We continued our drive into downtown Brownsville into the historic commercial part of town. What a treat to see all the colorful store fronts and signage in Spanish. Different for a couple from Indiana. I spoke with a Border Patrol Agent who kindly directed us to a small city park where we could see the Rio Grande river. It too had a high fence, complete with coils of razor wire on the Mexico side.

Mexico on left, Border Patrol watching the river

Looking across the river at Matamoros Mexico

Parked at the Alice Wilson Hope Park

 

 

 

 

 

All in all we had a very nice day. It was most interesting seeing the thousands of acres of irrigated crop ground. There were some workers in the fields, but mostly it seemed that new crops were just starting to grow, and other fields had been recently tilled in preparation for new crop plantings. Early in the year compared to our crop seasons back in the Midwest.

 

We enjoyed great food and great music at The Maison on Frenchmen Street New Orleans

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Sher and I visited New Orleans in January, 2018, the beginning of the 300th year anniversary of the Big Easy. On one of our evenings in town we found a great place to both have a great meal and to listen to some fabulous live jazz music. We had been to the Market and another live music bar and decided we wanted to get something to eat. I had seen The Maison on the web, so I recognized the sign.

Maison @508 Frenchmen

We were seated right away at a table just a few feet from the stage, which was already occupied with the Baby Giants Jazz Band! Doug, our waiter, appeared right away and showed us the drink menu. Sher ordered a “Dixie Revival” made with tequila and grapefruit juice and some other good stuff. Once I took a sip of hers, I had to have one myself. What a great drink!

The Giant Babies Jazz Band

Enjoying our “Dixie Revival” cocktails

We then ordered our dinners. Sher ordered the Penne Primavera, pasta with seasonal vegetables sautéed in a Creole garlic and butter sauce. I opted for the Cochon de Lait Poboy, a Cajun style slow roasted pulled pork dressed with coleslaw and drizzled with Barbeque sauce, and with a side of fries. It seemed like in no time our plates were brought to us. I actually declared “Wow” out-loud when I saw my Poboy and the huge pile of fries!

Check out that bowl of pasta and that huge Poboy and pile of fries!

The food was absolutely decadent. Sher said her vegetarian pasta was the best that she has ever had. The Poboy was my first, but I just loved the pork on that bed of coleslaw in the bun. And those fries came out almost too hot to touch, so they stayed hot and crisp throughout the meal. I don’t think either one of us could have been more pleased. Hats off to our waiter Doug who took care of us. Even when all of the tables in the room occupied he still was able to continue to serve us. We had a wonderful evening in true Big Easy style that day.

 

Sunset Beach at Tarpon Springs offers free concerts

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This is a recap of a delightful experience we had at a beach near Tarpon Springs, Florida a few years back. We had been selling our wares at shows and markets and took advantage of a break for some R&R.

The bandstand at sunset on the beach

Bonfire on the beach, doesn’t get any better

We had left the Sponge Docks shopping and attractions area and were headed towards one of the Tarpon Springs beaches. We wanted to see the sun set over the Gulf. We ended up at Sunset Beach and much to our surprise and delight we spotted signs for a free concert on the beach that evening.

When we first pulled up in our RV a nice lady stopped us and she thought we were one of the food vendors there to set up! Once she realized we were not the food truck she politely directed us to the other parking areas.

Sunset Beach is just beautiful. The covered stage was perfect for live music, and everyone of the many folks there enjoyed the music, the bonfire and the available refreshments.

Good food, reasonable prices!

The sunset was stunning: one of those cloudless events that brought a beautiful orange hue to the entire skyline. It was pretty windy, but folks just bundled up, brought their own chairs, and enjoyed the band. Free marshmallows and sticks were also provided for everyone who wanted a toasted marshmallow.

We checked the Tarpon Springs website, and in 2022 the free concerts are still being offered. This is the link to the concert information. 

Good timing at Mt. Rushmore National Memorial

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One thing we have discovered about Roadtirement is that timing is sometimes everything. We hit perfect timing when we visited Mt. Rushmore a while back on one of our trips to Seattle. We were at Mt. Rushmore National Memorial on a Sunday in late August a week before Labor Day. The traffic was minimal, and we discovered a vehicle pull off on the Norbeck Parkway, Route 244, where you can see George Washington’s face in profile. The parking area was nearly void of cars and outside the Park grounds.

See George directly above the white truck?

Sure there were some vehicles that pulled in to the turn off, but very few stayed for any length of time. It seemed like we had that beautiful slice of Mt. Rushmore all to ourselves.

George’s big profile view

Some statistics: George’s face is 60 feet tall, his nose is 20 feet long and his mouth is 18 feet across. Oh, and don’t forget his eyes. They are 11 feet wide each. Glad we had a telephoto lens!

 

The Addams Family at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre

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Indy’s Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre has published a general invitation to “meet The Addams Family” during October and most of November this year. We took them up on that invitation, and thoroughly enjoyed the performance Saturday night.

(snap snap) When you’re an Addams theme song

A B&B press release sets the stage: “Few things frighten the eerie Addams clan. But Gomez Addams faces a nightmare when his daughter, Wednesday, falls in love. What’s worse, she loves a boy Gomez has never met – who is from a respectable family. To complicate matters even more, Wednesday pleads with him not to tell her mother, Morticia, and Gomez must do something he’s never dared – keep a secret from his wife. Everything changes forever for the famously frightening family when they are put to the test hosting a dinner for the “normal” boyfriend Lucas and his parents.”

The (family) Ancestors and Uncle Fester (Kurt Perry)

That said, it should be noted that all of the cast were on point with the quality of their performances. Eddie Curry and Jill Kelly Howe portray Gomez and Morticia Addams with skills that successfully define their characters. The show begins with Uncle Fester “dancing on the graves” of ghostly Ancestors, who provide dancing choreography throughout the performance.

Jeff Stockberger as Lurch

Amanda Butterbaugh as Grandma

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shelbi Berry plays Wednesday Addams,  while Ray Gleaves plays her “normal” boyfriend Lucas. John Vessels and Sarah Hund play Mal and Alice Beineke, the ridiculously normal parents of Lucas. Mal and Alice have a hard time adjusting to the Addams macabre way of like, their house in a Park in New York, and just about anything Addams!

The Beinekes and Lurch

Wednesday challenges Lucas with a crossbow and apple on head

Wednesday sings while torturing Pugsley (Eli Neal)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The conflicts that arise between the Addams family members, Beineke family members, and each others set the tone for the hilarious interactions seen in Act to Act to Act. Gomez and Morticia clash over his lying about the engagement of Wednesday and Lucas. Mal and Alice had tough time with their marriage. Pugsley was worried about Wednesday leaving him so no more torture.

Gomez reacts to the news of the engagement ring

The humor in this production is constant and hilarious. Some scenes border on slapstick, others are filled with subtle references to current political issues. Uncle Fester is in love with the Moon. Yes, the moon that orbits Earth. His featured Act “The Moon and Me” will have you rolling in the aisle. Lurch greets the Beineke family with the classic “You rang?” line. He later gives a mime explaining his death (yes, Lurch is neither dead or alive) involving a motorcycle and a bunny.

Portrait of Gomez and Morticia Addams

The set, lighting and special effects for The Addams Family are very impressive and set the tone of the production. Costumes reach a level of creepiness that is , frankly, creepy. Eddie Curry’s artistic direction is spot on, and coupled with the music rounds out a delightful production. You will be perfectly and hilariously creeped out when you meet The Addams Family. Reserve your seats early! The theater was sold out when we attended. This is a great Halloween season show.

To purchase tickets online, visit beefandboards.com. Tickets are also available by calling the Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre Box Office at 317.872.9664 anytime between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays. A discount of $6 off per ticket is available to children ages 3-15. The Addams Family is rated PG-13 for some language, innuendo, and dark references.

Stockberger and Curry together in Beef and Boards “The Addams Family”

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This is our Review of The Addams Family posted after we enjoyed the show!

Sher and I have been enjoying Beef & Boards shows for years now. Among our favorite performers are Jeff Stockberger and Eddie Curry. These two talented actors and directors always bring a spark to whatever production they are part of. And they really shine when they are on stage together. (Remember The Odd Couple performance a while back?) Their timing is perfect and they put you in mind of classic comedy duos like Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis or Abbott and Costello.

The Addams Family cast

Jeff Stockberger as Lurch

This October we’re excited to see that Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre is presenting the spooky-ooky macabre musical comedy The Addams Family  starring Stockberger and Curry, among other B&B veterans of the stage. The show opens tonight, October 6th. We’re going to the show Saturday night.

To purchase tickets online, visit beefandboards.com.  A discount of $6 off per ticket is available to children ages 3-15. Also check out VIP memberships for next year’s 50th Anniversary Season. There are some great ticket deals available for some awesome shows.