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.

Friday Funnies

If you've visited this blog before, you will know that Friday Funnies often features vanity plates. Here's a few more funnies that are related to automobiles.

It would be nice if no fuel was required, just a good old-fashioned wind-up.

Both these autos were spotted recently in downtown Nashua, NH.

These car owners didn't have vanity plates, but their vehicles were unique for other reasons.

There's never a lack of something unusual to see even when we're out doing errands locally.

Full disclosure - My other half, Patrick, has a couple of bumper stickers on his car related to ham radio; there's not one on mine

Your turn — do you have any bumper stickers on your car ?

And, Patrick thanks everyone for the 🎂 wishes. We're continuing the celebration and going to Happy 🎉 Hour at a downtown restaurant with fellow residents tonight 🍷🍻.

Keep 🆒😎 & Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

It's been a 90℉ week in Nashua, NH; cooldown is forecast this weekend

Bloomin' in Nashua

It took quite a long time for spring to arrive in Nashua, NH, and it wasn't until late May and early June that flowers were seen in outdoor areas of Clocktower Place (CTP), our mill apartment residence.

This display is at the main entry as people drive into the apartment parking area. The mill apartment has two main entrances referred to as CTP 1 and CTP 1

This is the large flower pot that leads up to CTP1, which is our entry.

There isn't an entry ramp at CTP2. These flowers are placed in pots close to the main door.

These flower pots of colorful blooms are also at two of the side entrances.

Downtown Nashua has a lot of colorful blooms, like these at pedestrian crossings on Main Street. Most of the Main Street restaurants that offer outdoor dining have various floral arrangements.

Martha's Exchange is a popular restaurant and brewery serving lunch and dinner daily.

Surf Restaurant is a few doors down from Martha's, and specializes in seafood dining. It has been regularly named as the Best Seafood in New Hampshire. This restaurant also benefits from its location adjacent to the Nashua Center for the Arts and on show nights, there's usually a lengthy wait time to be seated.

Nearly all of the Main Street restaurants that offer outdoor dining have various flowers.

Red, white and nearly blue flowers are popular colors in many of the arrangements.

The city's Department of Public Works does a great job of regularly watering all of these flowers so that residents and visitors can enjoy them all summer.

Speaking of enjoyment, we celebrated 🎉 a special occasion yesterday — Patrick's 🎂.

His lunch time choice was to go to the Big One, a local family-owned ice cream stand for the lunch time special of two hot dogs, soda and chips capped off with a hot fudge sundae for dessert. This local visit is a once-a year treat, usually around the time of his birthday, this year, it was a timely one as well. 

That's because today, July 16, is National Hot 🌭 Dog Day, which is celebrated on the third Wednesday in July. The earliest known Hot Dog Day began in Alfred, NY, in 1972 started by two Alfred University students as a fundraiser for local charities and community organizations.

The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC) is an American trade association that promotes the hot dog and sausage industry. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., it was founded in 1994 by the American Meat Institute, which promotes July as National Hot Dog Month and October as National Sausage Month. During the pandemic, the council designated the third July Wednesday as cause for a national celebration. According to council statistics, Americans eat about 7 billion hot dogs during hot dog season, or some 818 each second. 

That's a lot of  🌭. Patrick helped this week but won't be entering any eating contests !