Everywhere a Sign

We like signs, which you would readily see if you ever visited our apartment, as there's quite a varied collection. Signs are everywhere — above doorways, bedroom walls, kitchen walls, in the dining area, living room and in the entryway.

Since we can't invite everyone to our home, although you are always welcome, this post shows most of our sign and wall decor. The two below are in the entry.

These next two signs ↓ are in the kitchen area. To date, the first one hasn't deterred anyone from dining in our apartment. The second one is really so true.

The next signs ↓ are in the dining area above the wine glass holder and wine rack.

The two bathroom doorways and the bedroom doorways also have signs on top.

Our bedroom walls ↓ display a collection of signs, photo art and framed cards.

The bedroom also has these large decals on three walls; the last behind the headboard.

The wall hanging below is a handmade gift sent years ago by fellow blogger, Kathleen, and it's also on display in our bedroom.

Signs ↓ related to age and adulthood are displayed in the living room above bookcases.

This top shelf of a bookcase dedicated to a collection of penguin and snowmen also has a sign above it.

Our living room bookcases contain cookbooks and framed family photos with a few signs. A message composed with Scrabble tiles is displayed in front of Boyds bears figurines.

Our largest sign is a roadmap for life; it summarizes some of the sayings on many other signs. It's the final line on this sign that says it all.

We create messages using Scrabble tiles with magnets glued on the back and have a board with extra letters. Correct spelling is optional, if we get the meaning.

The outside entry to our apartment also has signage, which is rotated seasonally or by holidays. The top sign previously hung in our VA home, where we did have a back door.

Yes, this post has lot of wall art and signage, but looking at these daily makes us happy and these days that's not such a bad thing.

Speaking of signs, does anyone remember the 1970s protest-rock song, Signs?

Performed by the Canadian rock group, Five Man Electrical Band, it was penned by the group's lead, Les Emmerson, who as he was traveling on Route 66 to Los Angeles from Canada, was offended by signs and billboards obscuring his view of the scenery. This reportedly led to his penning the tune which questions who had the right to make arbitrary rules interfering with nature and people. 

Signs was originally a B-side to an 1970 unsuccessful single, Hello Melinda Goodbye. After it was re-released as an A-side in 1971, it reached No. 4 on Canadian pop charts and No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Overall, it ranked as the No. 24 song of 1971 selling over 2 million copies worldwide and garnering a gold record.

Five Man Electrical Band disbanded in 1975 after touring fatigue and member departures. Emmerson, the lead singer and songwriter, revived a local version of the band for live performances. He died in 2021 at age 77 from COVID-19 complications.

For anyone interested in hearing Signs, again, or for the first time, you can find it online,

Listen at the risk of having an ear worm the rest of the day.

Friday Funnies

Today's post is connected to a now famous movie line from the 1975 classic film, Jaws.

The actual line in the movie is: You're gonna need a bigger boat. However, it's widely mis-remembered as We're gonna need a bigger boat. 

And, I thought of that line recently after seeing this car with its load of two kayaks, only my take was: Maybe they need a bigger car ?

Maybe a bigger car is needed?

In the film, Chief Martin Brody (played by Roy Scheider) speaks the words after he gets a close-up look at the huge great white shark as it surfaces next to the boat owned and piloted by Captain Sam Quint (played by Robert Shaw).

But, did you know that line wasn't in the original script?

That's because it originated during film production since the production's support barge, which carried camera equipment and food, was too small for its load. What started as an inside joke became a line repeated among the cast and crew. Whenever anything went wrong on set, the crew would joke to the producers, You're gonna need a bigger boat.

During the actual filming, Scheider improvised the line during the shark encounter scene and director Steven Spielberg kept it in the final cut.

And, now you know — the rest of the story.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

It's a cooler and quieter weekend in Nashua, NH

Something Fishy

That's because our destination at the end of July was the New England Aquarium located on the waterfront in Boston, MA, it's one of the city's most popular attractions.

It's less than an hour from Nashua, NH, yet we'd never ben there in our 12 years of living in New England. Last month we visited as many local attractions as possible and the Aquarium was on our bucket list.

Entrance to the New England Aquarium, Boston, MA

Boston has been home to several aquariums since the 1880s, the most recent before this one was the South Boston Aquarium at Marine Park, which closed its doors in the 1950s. After that, Boston officials sought to spearhead a massive urban renewal effort that would replace earlier local aquariums with a world-class educational facility, reconnect a decaying industrial waterfront to the life of the city and also celebrate Boston’s maritime history.. 

Opened in June 1969, the New England Aquarium was built as one of the world's first modern, immersive aquariums and set a global standard for modern aquarium design. It spearheaded the development of Boston's once-neglected waterfront. Designed by the Massachusetts firm CambridgeSeven, old-style small glass boxes were replaced with a massive, four-story central core tank. A circular walkway lets visitors spiral downward while watching marine life up close. The design focused on a darker interior space to focus attention entirely on underwater life. 

Visitors walk a winding ramp inside the Aquarium

While the Aquarium may not seem like the most attractive building from the outside, the interior attractions and educational experiences are what received the majority of focus when it was being built. 

The concrete exterior building with its cavernous interior welcomed over 12,000 visitors on opening day and over 450,000 visitors during its first year. While the Aquarium doesn't provide an exact daily visitor count, it currently averages over 1.3 million annual visitors for an average of 3,500 to 4,000 visitors daily. Of course, these numbers change based on the season, weekends and school vacations. The day we visited, the Aquarium was crowded with summer camp groups and families.

The Aquarium features 70 individual exhibits and is home to nearly 10,000 marine animals across four main levels. Exhibited species include harbor and northern fur seals, California sea lions, African and southern rockhopper penguins, giant Pacific octopuses, loggerhead and green sea turtles, and thousands of saltwater and freshwater fishes. 

Giant Ocean Tank, top view 

The Giant Ocean Tank, a 200,000-gallon cylindrical exhibit with a large Caribbean coral reef inside was built first and the rest of the aquarium was constructed around it. The tank features over 100 varieties of fish including stingrays and eels. In 2013, the tank underwent a massive renovation to upgrade its coral reef habitat and viewing spirals. Its permanent residents include a giant green sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtles, and hundreds of colorful tropical fish, reef-dwelling sharks, stingrays, and moray eels. Open and accessible for viewing at the top, the concrete tank is surrounded by a spiral walkway with 67 windows that allows visitors to see into the exhibit from every angle.

Myrtle, a giant sea turtle, is the star of the Ocean Tank

Myrtle, a large green sea turtle, is not only the star of the Giant Ocean Tank, but one of the aquarium’s largest residents at four and a half feet long and over 500 pounds. She took up residence in 1970 as a donation after the Provincetown Marine Aquarium closed. Myrtle is estimated to be 95 years old which puts her beyond the upper boundaries of the species’ longevity. Myrtle draws a crowd at her twice daily feedings of vegetables like romaine lettuce, Brussels sprouts and cucumbers, along with some fish and squid. 

The Indo-Reef Coral Exhibit is very colorful

The most colorful exhibit is the Indo-Pacific Coral Reef exhibit in the Tropical Gallery. It highlights vibrant warm-water marine ecosystems featuring colorful fish like tomato clownfish, longnose butterflyfish, and yellow garden eel. The floor-to-ceiling exhibit accentuates the biological richness of a coral reef, which can support thousands of fish species, sea turtles, sharks. Unfortunately, coral reefs are disappearing worldwide due to climate change and other factors.

Shark and Ray Touch Tank had many visitors

In 2011, the 25,000-gallon Shark and Ray Touch Tank became a permanent exhibit in the Aquarium's West Wing. Here, visitors can interact with multiple species of stingray and shark, including leopard whip rays and brown-banded bamboo sharks, in a naturalistic habitat. Both children and adults crowded around on the day of our visit, which is most likely a daily occurrence.

Sea jellies or jellyfish are beautiful

One of my favorite displays was the sea jellies, which aren't technically fish, and more commonly known as jellyfish. These are ancient marine animals consist of 95% water. They have no brain, heart, bones or eyes, and belong to the phylum Cnidaria. Sea jellies drift in every ocean and use pulsing bells and stinging tentacles to catch food. They group together in swarms called smacks. Their average lifespan is about a year.

Cnidaria is a major phylum of over 11,000 species of mostly aquatic, marine animals characterized by radial symmetry, a gelatinous body, and specialized stinging cells called cnidocytes to capture prey. Examples include jellyfish, corals, sea anemones, and hydras.

Electric eel

The electric eel (Electrophorus) is a South American freshwater fish known for generating powerful electric shocks of over 800 volts. It uses this electricity to hunt, navigate, and defend itself.

African penguins entertained visitors

The Aquarium is home to 50 African penguins and southern rockhopper penguins. Ironic as it sounds, the African Penguin lives in Africa. It is the only penguin species that breeds on the African continent. They can be viewed on several artificial rock islands and can be seen from the spiral walkway around the Giant Ocean Tank. Each penguin has a unique bracelet on one of its wings to identify them; females on their right wing, males on their left.

Napping sea lion

The New England Aquarium is open seven days a week year-round with some holiday closures. Our visit was at a reduced cost thanks to museum discounts funded by the Friends group of the Nashua Public Library of which we are supporters. 

Friday Funnies

The Nashua River which is directly behind the our mill apartment residence often has kayakers and occasionally those fishing from a boat.

Recently, this couple was seen on the river. The female boater seemed interested in fishing, unlike than her male companion.

Seems some folks can't get away from their cell phones no matter the location.

It just goes to show that you never know what sights can be seen on the river.

Enjoy Your Weekend Everyone

Stay 🆒 another heat advisory 🥵 in NH until early next week

Steaming on Moosehead Lake

That would have been a nice trip, but one that's no longer possible now as the steamboats that once operated on the largest lake in Maine are gone. Only one remains and is now diesel-powered. So, of course, we went on a road trip.

Cruising on a vessel that's the last-of-its kind and still cruising on the largest lake in Maine was a good reason to drive to Greenville, Maine, home of the Katahdin II. And, it also meant cruising on another largest state lake in New England. Recently, we toured the Lake Winnipesaukee, the largest lake in NH on a mailboat cruise.

Weather was overcast for most of our tour, thankfully no downpours

Moosehead Lake is very big — not only is it the largest in the Maine, but the largest completely within New England, it's the second-largest in New England after Lake Champlain and the largest mountain lake in the eastern U.S.

Vintage Steamboat advertisement

Years ago, before roads provided easy access and transport, Moosehead Lake relied on numerous steamboats to travel its very wide expanse. Speed wasn't a factor years ago.

Vintage steamboat loading  (Moosehead Historical Society)

Steamboat travel on Moosehead Lake dates to 1836 when as many as 50 boats worked on the lake carrying passengers, livestock, mail, supplies, equipment and even vehicles. These steamboats were the only means of transportation to large resorts, like the Mt Kineo hotel and to hunting camps and villages around the lake. 

Katahdin I steamboat (Moosehead Historical Society)

The first Katahdin was an 111-foot wooden-hulled steamboat built in 1896 for the Coburn Steamboat Company/ The vessel caught fire while towing a boom of logs, ran aground and burned in 1913. It was replaced by the steel-hulled Katahdin II (referred to as the "Kate") built in 1914 at Bath Iron Works in Maine and shipped in pieces by rail to Greenville, where it was reassembled. Both vessels were named after Mount Katahdin, the state's highest mountain derived from the Penobscot Indian word for The Greatest Mountain.

Katahdin II at dock in Greenville, ME

Katahdin II was converted to diesel power in the 1940s as diesel engines offered higher fuel efficiency, required smaller crews, and freed up cargo space. For the next 30 or so years, the ship hauled large timber booms (rafts) across the lake for paper companies. In 1975, it participated in the nation's last major log drive, afterwards it was in danger of being scrapped..  

Moosehead Marine Museum, Greenville, ME

And, it might well have met that fate, if not for a local citizens group who founded the non-profit Moosehead Marine Museum in 1977. Not only was the Katahdin spared but in 1978 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places (Being on the National Register of Historic Places means a building, site, structure, district, or object is officially recognized by the U.S. government as worthy of preservation for its historical, architectural, or archaeological significance.) 

Exhibits in Moosehead Marine Museum

The building that houses the Moosehead Marine Museum was built in 1904 and functioned as a Universalist Chapel before becoming a museum. It's open seven days a week late June to mid-October and houses maritime exhibits. It's also the ticket office for Katahdin cruises. The museum raised funds from federal grants and donations to keep up with the boat's maintenance and repairs.

The proginal plan was to use Katahdin II as a floating museum. However, after a marine inspection proved that, with repairs, the ship could be made seaworthy, extensive restorations were undertaken in the 1990s. As the last surviving steamer on Moosehead Lake, the Kate provides scenic tours and dining cruises during summer months for up to 225 passengers from its Greenville, ME base.

How did the lake get its unusual name? No one person gets that credit. The name evolved from early European settlers who used the descriptive term since, on a map, the lake's shape resembled the head and antlers of a moose. It seems appropriate that the state's largest lake was named after the second-largest land animal in North America. Not only that but Maine has the largest moose population in the lower 48 U.S. states. There's plenty of roadway signs cautioning motorists to watch for moose. Yet, as carefully as we've watched, we've never seen a moose.

Mount Kineo, Moosehead Lake, on a very overcast day

Moosehead Lake has over 80 islands in the lake, the largest are Sugar Island and Deer Island. The lake's most prominent geological feature is Mount Kineo located on a 1,150-acre peninsula that extends from the easterly shore of the lake, famous for being the largest mass of rhyolite volcanic rock in North America. With 700-foot cliffs that rise straight up from the water, it's the central feature of Mount Kineo State Park, a protected area of 800 acres managed by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. 

Fellow passengers on Katahdin cruise

Unfortunately, we were only able to glimpse this mountain through overcast skies. It must bea very impressive sight on a clear day. While the weather was not perfect on the day of our Moosehead Lake cruise, it was still an enjoyable experience.

Soon, we’re considering a visit to another of New England's largest lakes — Lake Champlain in Vermont. Thabkfully, this road trip would be half the distance (3 hours) compared to the nearly 6 hour trip to Moosehead Lake..