May 23rd, Wednesday – Back in Business

Back in business at least for the time being.  So I’ve found an answer of sorts, more a work around that gives me some time to figure out what is the actual, official solution.  It’s going to take time to sort things out, but come on now I’m retired and the one thing I have in abundance is time!

So let’s get started.  We’re going to call this the odds and ends blog meaning a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  Nothing really that important here instead some funny, some odd, and some of everything else.

Let’s begin with breakfast.  The other morning guess who crawled up on the dinette seat

to join me for breakfast?  My eggs he wanted, but he turned down a cup of coffee.  Fussy.

Where have we been?  What states have we been in?  This is our little map which I’m sure is no where as full as others but we’re getting there.  By the way, we only put the states we’ve actually had an overnight stop in for at least one day or more on the map.  Counting our home state of New Jersey that gives us a total of 10 states.  And to think prior to this in the past twenty years we’ve for all intents and purposes never gone anywhere!  Yup, as our motto says we’re out to explore as many new states as possible.

Now if you think that the map is empty take a look at this, this is Pumpkin Patch today.

 It will be interesting as to what happens this Memorial Day weekend given that the weather is not supposed to be all that great.  Time will tell if we will have neighbors again.

Now let me introduce you to a giant of a figure that you see as you enter the town of Bangor.  This is the one and only woodsman known as Paul Bunyan.

 

Bangor claims to be both the birthplace of the lumber industry and the birthplace of Paul Bunyan.  A larger than life statue in the city reminds residents of their connection to this legendary character.

Bangor’s Paul Bunyan, “Reputed to be the largest statue of Paul Bunyan in the world,” according to its sign, stands on a stone pedestal in front of the Bangor Civic Center in Bass Park. The statue is 31 feet high and weighs 3,700 pounds, not including its double-sided ax and lumber spike pole. Paul Bunyan’s fiberglass-over-metal frame is hurricane-proofed to withstand 110 mph winds.

The statue was donated to Bangor in 1959, on Bangor’s 125th anniversary, by New York-based builders Messmoor & Damon. It was designed by local artist J. Norman Martin, who was reportedly paid $137 for his efforts.

Now, Mr. Martin wants to add the giant lumberjack of American folklore’s trusty friend, Babe the Blue Ox, to the site.   “When you talk about Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, they’re together,” he said. “It’s a pair, so it’s natural to have Babe the Blue Ox.”  If constructed, Babe would measure approximately 20 feet in length, according to Martin.  To date the City Council has not approved the oxen’s construction.

Here’s something you don’t see many of any more.  However, my sister told me that there are a few near where she lives in PA.  It is of course the drive in theater.  But do you know the history of them?  Keep reading and I’ll fill you in on how and where they came to be.

On June 6th in 1933, eager motorists parked their automobiles on the grounds of what was then known as a Park-In Theater, the first-ever drive-in movie theater, located on Crescent Boulevard in Camden, New Jersey.

Park-In Theaters–the term “drive-in” came to be widely used only later–was the brainchild of Richard Hollingshead, a movie fan and a sales manager at his father’s company, Whiz Auto Products, in Camden. Reportedly inspired by his mother’s struggle to sit comfortably in traditional movie theater seats, Hollingshead came up with the idea of an open-air theater where patrons watched movies in the comfort of their own automobiles. He then experimented in the driveway of his own house with different projection and sound techniques, mounting a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car, pinning a screen to some trees, and placing a radio behind the screen for sound. He also tested ways to guard against rain and other inclement weather, and devised the ideal spacing arrangement for a number of cars so that all would have a view of the screen.

The young entrepreneur received a patent for the concept in May of 1933 and opened Park-In Theaters, Inc. less than a month later, with an initial investment of $30,000. Advertising it as entertainment for the whole family, Hollingshead charged 25 cents per car and 25 cents per person, with no group paying more than one dollar. The idea caught on, and after Hollingshead’s patent was overturned in 1949, drive-in theaters began popping up all over the country. One of the largest was the All-Weather Drive-In of Copiague, New York, which featured parking space for 2,500 cars, a kid’s playground and a full service restaurant, all on a 28-acre lot.

The popularity of the drive-in  reached its heyday in the late 1950s to mid-60s, with some 5,000 theaters across the country. Since then, however, the rising price of real estate, especially in suburban areas, combined with many other factors forced them out of business.  Today, fewer than 500 drive-in theaters survive in the United States.  Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania have the most drive-ins still in operation in the U.S., with each state having almost 30 left.

Finally, let me end with this.  This was my first and, hopefully, not my last while we are here in the great state of Maine.  Yes, it was delicious and I enjoyed ever bite I took!

Love lobster? Love it even more already out of the shell, soaked in butter, and on a steaming roll? Eating lobster rolls is a pastime in these parts, and traditional restaurants and road side shacks across the region serve them.   But that was not always the case.

A hundred years ago, nobody had even heard of a lobster roll — not even in Maine. For most of the 20th century, a smattering of New England restaurateurs hawked the dish in relative obscurity.  A Milford, Connecticut restaurant named Perry’s served the first documented lobster roll in 1929. The sandwich quickly became popular along the coast but never spread far beyond the state. Later, in 1965, the lobster salad roll took off in Long Island,  New York, at a restaurant called – you guessed it – The Lobster Roll.

Despite this, the lobster roll’s origin generally traces to Maine – understandable because the state’s coast makes for some pretty fantastic seafood – where lobster meat was served in butter on hot dog buns at various road stands beginning in 1970.

Nowadays, nearly every seafood restaurant in New England serves lobster rolls. While there is no single “founder” of this delicacy, it’s safe to say that a few restaurants caught onto the tasty idea over time, and the love for the sandwich grew from there.

So there you have it.  I’ll continue to publish the blog one way or the other.  I’m sure there is a permanent solution to the issues I face.  I just have to find the right people to talk to.  WordPress?  Sure, one call will cost you about $100!  So I’ll keep searching until I find exactly what I need to do.

So our day is now done.  It’s been a weird one.  We’ve had rain, we’ve had hail, we’ve had wind, we’ve had sun.  As of now, late afternoon, it appears again to be clearing up.  We’re enjoyed the day and it’s challenges.  Just need to remember to go with the flow, to remember the situation is the boss and there is no way you can fight against it.  We hope you had a great day as well.  Let me end with this thought for all of us to ponder:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and finally some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before