Friday Funnies

It seems there's no escaping the preponderance of vanity plates here, either on the roadways or in parking lots. This group was collected over the past few weeks around Nashua, NH.

Love was the theme that was prominent in these plates.

Here's one for pet lovers.

These two plates seem to provide a question followed by an answer.

Here's a question with no answer provided.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

We will be doing the same on our travels

De-Bridging in Nashua

We will be traveling by the time this update is posted about local goings on and there has been quite a lot of projects in the City of Nashua, NH, especially near the Clocktower mill apartments.

This is what greeted us earlier this week as we sat by the window enjoying breakfast. It wasn't an everyday sight for sure. Can you figure out what this is? 

Here's a couple of views showing exactly we saw at the window — Yes, a large crane.

Piling were driven into the river bed to check how far down to the river bottom. This project is  being done to replace the wooden bridge seen in the above lower left photo and below.

The bridge is behind the mill apartments and the City of Nashua is coordinating the work which is necessary as the wood is deteriorating. Years ago when the former mill, Nashua Manufacturing Company, was in operation the area below the bridge was an outflow for the water that powered the mill. Today, the bridge receives heavy regular usage from recycling and trash removal trucks, seasonal plows and auto traffic, all of which place more stress on the old wooden timbers. 

Work started earlier this week and it has been interesting to look down and check the progress of the workmen. We have a direct view of the bridge from our apartment windows.

This mother Mallard led her seven ducklings away from the river construction site. This was the first Mallard family we've seen on the river this summer. 

However, we have seen many families of Canada Geese this summer in various stages of growth.

There's been a lot of crane activity around the mill neighborhood. A couple of months ago these cranes were used for renovations in Le Parc De Notre Renaissance Français, the small pocket park that's adjacent to the mill apartments on Water St.

In recent weeks, the cranes have left and this photo shows the current state of renovations at the park. The building with the curved roof seen above in front of Clocktower Place will serve as an outdoor amphitheater for musical concerts and other events. The built-in seating that surrounds it is all concrete and bring-your-own seat pads and/or blankets will be needed for comfortable seating.

There's another small park area being developed along Main Street. The top half of the above collage is an architectural image of how the area below is expected to look once renovations are done. The white arrow points to a walkway that will lead from the pocket park.

When completed, the walkway will continue alongside a Main Street restaurant and become an extension of what is called the river walk. According to local officials, the park projects are anticipated to be done by year end.

Unfortunately we will miss watching the progress of these projects for the next 12 days. That's because by the time this is posted, we will be far away in — Alaska. This land-sea cruise (my first) is a pre-celebration of our 🥂 anniversary later this month. As we opted to skip the very costly onboard wi-fi package, posts about our adventures will likely be delayed until our return.

Friday Funnies

Welcome to a brand new month, everyone, and no comments about how fast 2025 has been zipping by. I'm sure many of you are wondering the same. Enough said.

This week's photo fun is all about signs. The first two were taken in downtown Nashua, NH. The last one was taken at a beach area, just can't recall the location.

Breakfast served all day as long as your day ends at 2 pm, which is when this restaurant closes.

Why is the "Y" left on its own ? There was enough room on the line above.

Seems like no one notified the gulls of the pole rules.

Thanks to everyone for your comments on last week's Friday Funnies photo puns. Glad to read that you enjoyed the results as much as I did putting it together. Now, to start on the next collection of photos 😏

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

Temps will drop into the tolerable 70s 🆒 in Nashua, NH

Going to a Wedding

Correction, we went to a wedding last weekend in RI. This family event was to celebrate the marriage of my husband Grenville/Patrick's daughter, Shannon and her fiancé, Harlan.

This is a photo-heavy collage post which highlighs some of the day's events and participants.. (Due to privacy concerns of some, names have been omitted; however, many long-time blog readers may recognize many in our family, especially grands.)

We got all gussied up in our finery because for the father of the bride, nothing less than a tux would do for this event. We used the iPhone portrait feature to create these selfies.

The bride was escorted by her father and son, our grandson, who looked quite dapper in his tuxedo.

The groom awaits his bride. The attendants above were the bride’s sister, daughter and niece had just preceded her down the aisle.

The minister shared some final words with the groom as the two witnesses and the groom's son looked on.

After the exchange of vows and rings, the new Mr and Mrs took their celebratory walk.

Outdoor photos were taken on a small dock in the rear of the restaurant where the ceremony took place. It was a very sunny day evidenced by the granddaughters' squinting. The bride's immediate family (father, sister, daughter, son, niece) are posed in the top photo. Some of the groom's family (mother, sister, cousin) are shown in the bottom photo.

Pictured above are Patrick and his now two son-in-laws, also the groom and his sister and ourselves.

The newlyweds first dance is always a traditional photo at every wedding. Then, the mother of the groom and the father of the bride joined them for a dance.

There were a number of family photo group shots. The top one is the bride's immediate family (sans myself who was taking the photo). The bottom photo has members of the groom's extended family, so many names to remember. His mother and other family travelled to RI from his native Columbia; other family came from Spain and Australia. In the last photo above, the bride and groom posed with their teenage children, aged 14 to 18, including our shoeless oldest granddaughter.

The cake and all of the desserts were handmade by the groom's cousin, who came from Columbia for the wedding. 

The top photo was a remembrance table with photos of family members who have passed. The bottom photo showcases all the delicious handmade desserts 😋.

Just a few more random photos of the happy couple and grandchildren Lots of folks, including ourselves, had fun at the photo booth; yes, we took multiple selfies here.

And, now it's time to dance out of this post with a couple of photos from the ever popular and always fun conga line dance. Have you ever been part of one?

If you reached the end, thanks for sharing in this happy event. As a new month starts this week, we're finished with major family events for this year. Now, we will be concentrating on our fall travels, one of which starts next week. It's not a road trip, but is quite far and will be a new adventure in many ways, details early next week.

Friday Funnies

After the serious tone of the previous post, a bit of humor was needed. 

This post includes a caption given to some monochromatic images. These random shots were taken on visits to flea markets, antique stores and walk arounds.

Hammered

Tired

In plain sight

Decision time

Saw it

Beat It

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

We're going to RI for a family wedding

What to Do ?

There are many types of pain, both physical and emotional including here in blog land with other bloggers. 

In recent weeks, many fellow bloggers have posted about how what's been happening and how they have been dealing with these issues, either their own or of loved ones or even both. 

And sadly, some bloggers are dealing with multiple situations. Several have shared what's been happening in heartfelt posts that myself and others have read and commented on. 

Reading these posts can be difficult since as fellow humans, we feel empathy and compassion for others, wishing we could do more than expressing those feelings in our comments. We can only hope this provides some measure of comfort.

While, this post does not list specific bloggers going through difficult times, several are listed on the sidebar. Anyone who has read their blog and recent posts knows what issues they have been and are still dealing with now. Some may be on your blog lists or you may know others dealing with some similar issues.

Each of us has our own ways of dealing with pain and suffering — either our own or that of others. Perhaps it involves prayer, every one is different. But, I believe that even a virtual hug and words of comfort could lift someone's spirits even if just for a while.

Kindness and caring are indeed priceless.

Please note, comments are off for this post. It's not about myself, but others.

Drive-In at Airport

Last Saturday's weather was picture perfect, a break from recent sweltering temps here in NH.  It was a perfect day for a short road trip to a local aviation museum.

A lineup of vintage and muscle cars at the Aviation Museum car show

No, we didn't go to see planes — instead, we saw a lot full of vintage and muscle cars on display at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire in Londonderry, NH. The auto show was a fundraiser for the museum and show admission also allowed visitors to tour the museum at no additional charge. We did too, but the museum is small and was very crowded, so no interior photos taken on this trip.

Aviation Museum of New Hampshire, Londonderry, NH

The main building includes the airfield’s 1937 passenger terminal and control tower. In 2011, the museum was enlarged to include an Aviation Learning Center. The museum supports plane building programs at area high schools. The historical museum is operated by the New Hampshire Aviation Historical Society, a non-profit group focused on preserving aviation history within the state through various exhibits and programs. (Astronaut Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr, a native of nearby Derry, NH, was the first American to travel into space. In 1971, he became the fifth and oldest person to walk on the Moon, age 47.)

There was no lack of vintage autos at Saturday's show. Below are assorted views of some beautifully restored cars with a bit of history and tunes. Over the years, autos have been glorified in in pop music across genres. Why? In music, cars symbolize the open road, settings for romance, cruising and nostalgia.

There were a number of vintage Ford cars in this show, although I'm not sure any were the 1932 Ford Coupe hot rod popularized in the 1963 song, Little Deuce Coupe by the Beach Boys. This song was the B-side to group's hit single, Surfer Girl. The term specifically references the year of the car's production, with deuce being slang for two in 1932. The Beach Boys released an album titled after the car and also included the song on the later Sounds of Summer album. The Deuce Coupe became a cultural icon and appeared in hot rod culture movies like American Graffiti.

This Oldsmobile model was spotted in two different colors, red and gray. 

The photos below show a close up of the front and rear styling of the vehicles.

There were a number of colorful pick-up trucks at the show.

Here's a look at a few more colorful autos, including a Hot Wheels version of a popular die-cast toy car.

The Buick auto below had a vanity plate of Tank with a carful of passengers. The front seat driver was a large stuffed toy version of the Tweety Bird cartoon.

And, this Dodge ↓ had a plate of Esther, perhaps a sweetheart or the car's owner?

Some of my earliest car rides were taken in a car similar to this one ↓ which was the pride and joy of my late father years ago..

This Studebaker Coupe was like one owned by my father

The 1950 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe attracted attention because of its ultramodern styling. Its center "nose" resembled part of an airplane, its wraparound rear window and long, horizontal rear deck were radically different from 1930s and 1940s teardrop cars. (This term referred to autos with a distinct aerodynamic, shaped body design, which is referred to as Streamline Moderne.) 

The 1950 and 1951 Studebaker models marked a sharp break from 1930s streamline or art deco styling and the beginning of flamboyant, futuristic styling of the 1950s. Studebaker led the way in this design and marketing change. The unique front end, combined with sleek and stylish lines, set it apart from anything on the road and Studebaker sales were fairly strong after WW II reaching a peak with the 1950 model. The Champion was one of Studebaker's best-selling models because of its low price, originally between $1,514 to $1,592, depending on the specific model (Custom or Deluxe). Today, the price of a 1950 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe varies, ranging between $17,309 and $31,037 depending on condition.

The Plymouth Road Runner was named after a cartoon character

Beep Beep is the sound most associated with the Plymouth Road Runner, a muscle car that Chrysler introduced in the US for the 1968 model year, marketed under its Plymouth brand. The Road Runner combined a powerful engine with a sparse trim and a price that undercut increasingly upscale and expensive muscle cars like the Pontiac GTO and Plymouth's GTX. The Roadrunner model was initially a sales success. However, in the 1970s, its performance and sales declined due to an increasing focus on fuel economy and the adoption of stringent US emission standards. 

Plymouth paid $50,000 to Warner Bros.-Seven Arts to use the Road Runner name and likeness from the Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner cartoons. Plymouth also paid $10,000 to develop a beep beep horn.

Two different model years of Pontiac GTO

The mid 1960s Pontiac GTO remains one of the most popular muscle cars in auto history with nearly 100,000 sold in a single year. The GTO name was inspired by the Ferrari 250 GTO and is an Italian abbreviation for Gran Turismo Omologato 

The most iconic song about the Pontiac GTO is the 1964 tune, Little G.T.O by Ronny and the Daytonas. This pop song celebrates the then-new muscle car, highlighting its performance and features like the three deuces and a four-speed, and a three-eighty-nine. The song was a hit. It sold 1,250,000 records and reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in September 1964.

According to one story, originally the Beach Boys were approached to record the song, but wanted a lot of money up front to record it. The Beach Boys later did the song, but in my opinion their version is not as good as the original.

Ironically, the Beach Boys released their own muscle car song in 1962 song, 409 was about a Chevrolet Impala, equipped with the 409 cubic inch V8 engine. The song, which celebrates the engine's power and performance, was originally released as the B-side of the single Surfin' Safari.

Monkees & Monkeemobile (Internet source)

The Monkeemobile was the iconic car of the 1960s pop group, The Monkees. This customized 1966 Pontiac GTO was built and designed by custom car designer Dean Jeffries and further customized by George Barris for the group's popular TV show The Monkees. Two cars were contracted and built in 4 weeks, one for the TV show and one as a promotional for touring car shows around the US. After the television show ended, both cars were offered back to Jeffries for $2,000 each. He declined to purchase them.

The AMC Nash Rambler was featured in a popular novelty song

The Nash Rambler was a compact, front-engine, rear-drive automobile manufactured and marketed by the Nash Motors division of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation for model years 1950-1954 in a sedan, wagon and convertible body style. When Nash-Kelvinator merged with the Hudson Motor Car Company in 1954, the Rambler became a product of the American Motors Corporation (AMC).

This car was featured in the humorous novelty song, Beep Beep (the Little Nash Rambler) recorded by The Playmates (1958). The song describes a road duel between drivers of a Cadillac and a Nash Rambler. Concurrent with this song, AMC was setting production and sales records for the Rambler models. Beep Beep was also popular with workers building the cars on assembly lines in Kenosha, WI.

The Playmates from Waterbury, CT, were one of the first rock & roll groups signed to NY-based Roulette Records. The label didn't want to release Beep Beep as a single for several reasons: it changed tempo with the increasing speed of the drivers; it named contemporary cars on the market; and it wasn't danceable. However, when disc jockeys began playing it off the Playmates album it forced the label's hand, and Roulette released it as a single. It stayed on the Billboard Top 40 charts for 12 weeks and peaked at No. 4 selling over a million copies and garnering a gold record. 

Obviously from previous posts about cars, we enjoy seeing them in all shapes and styles having gone to many outdoor shows and indoor museums. Summer months are the most popular for outdoor shows as most vintage car owners keep them garaged the rest of the year. Apologies for any ear worms from the song links. For anyone who enjoys novelty car songs, here's a 1959 tune sung by Paul Evans.