MEPHIBOSHETH, the little Mule

Now, when I look back on it, our kids really did have an idyllic childhood at the country church in the middle of Iowa. One of the parishoners loaned us the use of a pony that was pregnant by a donkey. She had her colt in our horse yard (while the kids were in school) and we named him Mephibosheth!

He is the "last of his line" because the offspring of a horse and a donkey is called a mule and it cannot procreate.  "Meffy" was cute - and a great source of interest for the kids.

Oh yeah - they learned how to "scoop the poop" as well. We can't have that in the preacher's horse yard on Sunday, can we?

This is the pony - small enough to give the kids rides, and gentle, too. But I can't remember her name...

"Meffy" was just like most colts, playful and nosy. He loved to nip you when you weren't looking.

Good memories.

The Nina and the Pinta - The Ships of Columbus

Photo from: www.thenina.com

Sunday, March 4th was beautiful, sunny and warm. A special day. So, to celebrate, we took this jaunt to Freeport, TX to view (and tour) what (in 1988) was "the first truly, historically correct replica of a 15th century Caravel." "It was in Valenca, Brazil, using only adzes, axes, hand saws, and chisels, in addition to naturally-shaped timbers from the local forest, that the Sarsfield 'Nina' was built." (Taken from material handed out at the Columbus Ships site.)

The Pinta

The Nina

Information on the Nina

Photo displayed on the Pinta.

There are no pix of the Santa Maria because that ship, if replicated accurately, would have required deeper water to sail and would not have been able to visit as many ports as have the other smaller ships. However, if you "google" the Santa Maria, you will find pictures there.
The original Santa Maria ran aground in Hispaniola and sank on the first voyage. She was a nao, or freighter and was built in Galicia. She became the flagship because she was the largest of the fleet but Columbus disliked her for her dull sailing qualities, and when she sank he recorded in his journal she was very heavy heavy and not suitable for the business of discovery. The least was known about the Pinta, and after the first voyage she disappeared from history without a trace. The Niña, like the Pinta, was a caravel, which was a common trading vessel in use during the Age of Discovery.

Columbus changed the Niña's rig to a Caravela Redonda before the first voyage. The Niña was Columbus'; favorite. She made the entire first voyage, bringing the Admiral safely home. When Columbus had the pick of the whole Merchant Marine on his second voyage he selected her out of 17 ships as his flagship for an exploratory voyage to Cuba, and purchased a half share in her. After his return she made an unauthorized voyage from Cadiz to Rome, was captured by a pirate off Sardinia, recaptured by her master and crew and returned to Cadiz in time to sail to Hispaniola early in 1498 as advance guard of Columbus third voyage. She was lying in Santo Domingo in 1500, and we last hear of her making a trading voyage to the Pearl Coast in 1501. The Niña logged at least 25,000 miles under Columbus' command.

(www.thenina.com)

GULF COAST ACTIVITY - SEEN FROM THE FERRY

It just happened that we were going across to Bolivar Peninsula at the same time as these two cruise ships were coming and going. The Carnival Magic was just coming in - waiting for the tugs to do their job.

This one was going.

This one was coming.

A FEW FAVORITES OF OUR AFRICAN DOG

Born in the fall of 2001, this "super dog" lived for about seven years.

He went everywhere with us and loved to "ride shotgun" in the truck.

Notice how his feet are crossed.

He is memorialized in the "Tales of an African Dog" series.

CORONA DEL MAR, CA - 1963

It's a long, long road trip from Iowa to the Pacific Ocean. Our little girls were two and four years old. We house-sat for friends. This was our first time at a beach. We chose Corona Del Mar.

We were amazed at the palm trees - seeming to grow everywhere. You don't see palm trees in Iowa.

This view of the beach and parking area shows off both sailboats and old cars. Of course, they weren't old then!

 

There must have been a place above the beach where these pictures were taken.

 

My husband had the camera and took most of these photos, but I have no idea how he got this one.

 

But he was surprised at this skimpy bathing suit. (We had never seen a bikini before.) He told me that he had "shot from the hip" to remain nonchalant. That's the reason for the blurring, I'm sure.

 

I took this shot, but I cropped out their father who was sitting beside them, shirtless and burning. It was on this day that he developed sun poisoning and since has had to be very careful in the sun.

Wait! Who in the world would go to the beach in a long dress with rollers in her hair!?!

THE ALASKA HIGHWAY - 1970

It was the adventure of a lifetime! Our little family of five headed for Alaska. Over 3600 miles of highway, 1200 miles of it gravel.

The gravel roads were fine - some of the way, but full of potholes and mud the rest of the way.

We saw mile after mile of wilderness filled valleys and snow tipped mountains.

So beautiful! We had a 35 mm camera back then and little money, so pictures were a rare thing - a thing to be rationed.

The children, ages 5, 9 and 11, were tired and restless.The back seat of our two-door LTD was getting smaller and smaller.  Hey! A great idea up ahead!

 From below the foot-bridge we got this shot of the kids walking off their boredom.

The Miles Canyon footbridge is a few miles outside of Whitehorse, Yukon.

These pictures should jog our memories and plant the seeds of anticipation as we prepare to make our 46th trip along the same route this summer.

MARINER OF THE SEAS AND A MYSTERIOUS NIGHT PASSAGE

The Mariner of the Seas was just leaving the harbor when we were on our way to the ferry landing. This is the same size ship as the Costa Concordia that overturned in Italy.

THE MYSTERY

Three barge pushers were attached to a huge four-level, lighted mystery

that included three barges up front.

We saw it heading up the Intercoastal Canal last week at about one mile per hour

so we jumped in the car to take pictures - in the dark.

After asking around, this ship still remains a mystery to us.