class of 2013

 

Congratulations to Taylor -- Texas Tech University Class of 2013 with degree in Chemical Engineering (summa cum laude) and a job!

 

Chemistry Building

Texas Tech

Lubbock, Texas

headless horseman

 

Remember the Southwest Conference Circle on the Texas Tech campus?  It was built in 1958 when Tech became a member of the SWC.  Using funds raised by the Saddle Tramps and other student organizations, the mascots of the SWC colleges were represented on concrete and terrazzo slabs in a circle.  The SWC Circle was the site of pep rallies and bonfires until the SWC was disbanded.  Its former location will now be the future home of the Petroleum Engineering Research Building.  TTU announced plans to "try" to preserve the circle and the removed slabs are piled on the construction site.  It appears the other SWC mascots like the Razorback and Aggie are intact slabs.  The misfortunate Red Raider and his steed, however, are missing their heads--although the smaller pieces with the heads are there.  It must be the price of progress.

amaryllis

 

My amaryllis are absolutely amazing this year.

this way

 

Since Lubbock voted "wet" the proliferation of package stores is amazing.  It seems that every neighborhood convenience store sells beer and wine.  Don't bother driving by the KwikSTOP at night to see its neon-lit sign because it isn't--and there aren't any specials listed on the sign board. Rather the KwikSTOP relies on the floodlight to illuminate its sign and the primary colors to attract passers-by.

 

KwikSTOP

Chicago and Marsha Sharp

Lubbock, Texas

Combest, Resthaven, Sanders, Agape, Lakeridge -- the metal signs are color-coded, neatly aligned and waiting.  The grave markers are stored in the maintenance barn of the City of Lubbock cemetery to be used to designate gravesites for the local funeral homes.  Before the entourage from the church, before the granite tombstones are placed -- more utilitarian signs mark final resting places.  Sometimes my travels take me to unusual places.

City of Lubbock Cemetery
Lubbock, Texas

live to ride

 

Accoutrement:  an identifying and often superficial characteristic or device —usually used in plural 

blue against blue

 

This stage of the new building construction is eye-catching with its color -- whatever that building material is under the brick.  My friend MGH is partial to rectangles and the windows here provide plenty.  If you look closely, you may also see the rectangles where the erroneous windows are no longer.

 

Future home of Burkhalt Center for Autism Education

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, Texas

the dam lighthouse

 

Playing with infrared effect. . . I like the graphic design of the lighthouse.

 

Lake Buchanan Dam

11.22.2011

 

The red DQ sign may be called the Texas stop sign but in earlier times the travelers' choices of eating establishments were more varied.  Small towns had local cafes with names like the Rock Inn and the Green Frog.  Motorists broke up the trip to Dallas along Route 114 by planning their lunch stops.  Each cafe seemed to have a specialty like chicken fried steak or home-made pies.  But people got in a hurry, highways got faster - or even by-passed usual stops like the rock gas station in Guthrie -- and cafes closed.  Faded signs remind of times past in places like Dickens, Jean, or Megargel.

Texas State Highway 114
9.19.2013

bar stools, beer signs and deer heads

 

Where the hell is Freiheit?  It was originally a small community school and country store on FM 1101 now being encroached by New Braunfels.  The country store was established in 1889 and is now a popular beer joint with karaoke, live music and great hamburgers.

 

Freiheit, Texas

5.6.2013

5.

www.freiheitcountrystore.net

fried cheese anyone?

 

Since 1982, Spanky's has been a favorite hamburger joint.  When Lubbock went wet, it added beer to the menu.  Business is good with its location by Texas Tech and recently the place expanded but kept the menu.  If fried cheese isn't your thing, then there's fried okra, fried zucchini, or fried mushrooms!

 

Spanky's

811 University

Lubbock, Texas

unusual sighting

 

 

Those umbrellas that folks have been carrying in their cars finally got used today.  Rain accompanied the Lubbock County Historic Commission members as they attended the quarterly meeting and then visited the Slaton Museum.  We need more such opportunities!

 

Slaton Museum

Slaton, Texas

tie dye at day care

 

Texas Tech College of Human Sciences operates a Child Development Research Center.  Evidently the activity of the day was tie-dye as evidenced by the row of tiny tee-shirts hung to dry in the play area.

easy sittin'

 



Remember those colorful metal lawn chairs from the old days?  The ones that, if you weren't careful, would scorch the back of your little legs on hot summer days?  Shellback chairs are popular again. If you don't find one in the garage, or a second-hand store, you can purchase a new "retro" chair.

 

The Art Deco inspired stamped steel chairs were purchased by the tens of thousands during the booming years of the Post-War Atomic Era in cool . Ed Warmack’s colorful steel lawn furniture could be found on porches, in backyards, fronts of motels and around pools all across America. In 2001, Torrans Manufacturing Company of Cleveland, Texas began making this traditional lawn furniture to the same specifications used by previous manufacturers.

 

Wimberley, Texas

5.3.2013

 

 



The tin building housing Fischer's Store is located in the agricultural community of Fischer Store -- founded by German emigrants during the 1880s.  Postal service came to Fischer's Store in 1875 and the mail boxes were moved into the Fischer Store when it was built in 1902.  Unfortunately the postal service was moved next door in 1995 to a unremarkable generic US Post Office.  Today Fischer's Store, after being the post office, bank, and saloon, contains a treasure trove of antiques, including the original mail boxes.  It would be great to time your visit to Fischer when the bowling alley with handset nine-pins is open.  Next door is the dance hall, formerly the school. Several scenes from Willie's movie "Honeysuckle Rose" were filmed here.  A nice stop on the Comal County excursion.

 

Fischer Store, Texas

Old Blanco Highway and FM 181

5.4.2013

 

hoity toit...an upper class establishment

 

Bright colors and butterflies seem a strange choice for a beer joint's decor.  I get the pool table, peanuts and juke box, but what's with the Indian in an airplane?  Guess I should have gone at night and asked.

 

Hoity Toit Bar

Torrey and Lakeview

New Braunfels, Texas

zion

 

The Zion Lutheran Church,  originally located in Charlottenburg, Lavaca County, was relocated to the village of vintage buildings at the Texas Agricultural Education and Heritage Center. Circuit-riding pastors served the religious needs of German Lutheran settlers of this area as early as the 1870s. A group of worshipers met to organize a congregation in March 1902 and construction began in 1904. The church became the base for nearby rural churches.

 

Seguin, Texas

the blue hole

 

 A natural swimming pool, the Blue Hole is a unique spot almost hidden in the center of Wimberley, lined by old growth cypress trees.  The clear pool is fed by an artesian spring called Jacob's Well.  With this morning's low in the 40s and the brisk breeze, there were no enthusiasts in the water.

 

The Blue Hole

Wimberley, Texas

www.blueholeregionalpark.com

 

"before the cock crows"

 

Amid blustery winds and gray skies, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St Martin stands stalwart among the commercial enterprises built around it on the Loop 46.  Like many old churches, St. Martin's steeple has a rooster.  Wonder why?   One story has that in the ninth century A.D., the pope reportedly decreed that every church in Europe should show a cock on its dome or steeple, as a reminder of Jesus' prophecy that the cock would not crow the morning after the Last Supper, until the disciple Peter had denounced Him three times (Luke 22:34). Because of this story, "weather cocks" have topped church steeples for centuries, both in Europe and in America.  The rooster also points to the dawning of a new day, and to the joy of the resurrection.  Whatever reason this church has probably had its rooster since it was built in 1851.

 

Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Martin

New Braunfels, Texas

chihuly revisited

 

Dale Chihuly use Monet's water lilies as inspiration for his glass creations.  The dusky evening and dark pond enhance the beauty.  A worthwhile roadtrip last fall!

 

Dallas Arboretum

9.17.2013

campfire biscuits

 

The purpose of Ranch Days at the Ranching Heritage Center is to demonstrate the western ways of life.  The Ranch Host bakes biscuits in a buried cast iron dutch oven covered with coals.

 

Ranching Heritage Center

Lubbock, Texas

4.20.2013

patriotic chairs

 

The lawn chairs are lined up on the driveway, as if anticipating a parade.  The barbecue grill and drink table suggest creature comforts.  Or perhaps it's readiness to watch the world go by.

 

1705 46th Street

Lubbock, Texas

mr j'

 

In the rear, off the alley near the former bowling alley, Mr. J's Hair Salon has a bright yellow, formerly lighted sign.  In the front, off busy Avenue Q, the business has pallid, hand-painted signage.  If you look closely, through the hair salon, the logo of the closed Chevrolet dealership is visible.  Disregard the "open" message -- it evidently is a direction for the door, not a description of the business on this Sunday afternoon.

 

Mr. J's Hair Salon

4006 Avenue Q

Lubbock, Texas



along the waterfront

 

Old Montreal, Canada

4.5.2013

117

 

While wandering around Old Town Montreal I had to stop frequently to photograph interesting doors.  What does one do with dozens of doorways?

 

Old Town Montreal, Canada

4.5.2013

forsythia

 

Forsythia is one of my favorite spring flowers. It has been a delight traveling in West Virginia and New York and seeing the masses of forsythia bushes in bloom.  I prefer the shrubs to be naturalized but the pruned and shaped ones are still beautiful. 

 

Rochester, New York



rain

 

This is not a great photograph but it's hard to capture a phenomenon  such as rain.

 

Rochester, New York

mouthful

 

Ranch Days at Ranching Heritage Center

Lubbock, Texas

4.20.2013

great wall

 

Another long-time Lubbock landmark closes.  The Great Wall Restaurant was a favorite dining place for many years  - one of the first in town offering Chinese and Mongolian BBQ cuisine.  With the removal of the brick facade, the iron steer is revealed.  I remember eating at this location in the '70s and it probably was a steak place but the name escapes me.  It had to be after 1972 when Lubbock finally voted in liquor by the drink.  Maybe it was the "Iron Steer."  Just another entry in the long list of restaurant closures -- perhaps we should list old favorites like the Brookshire, Hickory Inn, Silver Spurs, Zuider Zee, et al.

 

Great Wall

1625 University Avenue

Lubbock, Texas

lampshades

 

Every time I drive by the building at 1202 Main, I wonder about the lampshades in the windows.  They appear to be in fair shape despite hanging there for decades.  The Civic Center Inn was built in the early 1970s and was a draw to downtown with its coffee shop, restaurant and night club.  However, although centrally located and near the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, it was never a hit.  It became an unsuccessful residential substance abuse center (Jim Kimmel Center, not to be confused with Jimmy Kimmel the entertainer).  During planning for the Marsha Sharp Freeway, there were unfounded rumors it was to be a Rodeway Inn.  If you believe in urban regentrification and have investment dollars, here is a property for you.  The lampshades are vintage and may not even need replacing!

 

Former Civic Center Inn

1202 Main

Lubbock, Texas

ranch hand

 

Ranch Days at the Ranching Heritage Center

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, Texas

wanna-be's

 

When I was in Memphis a few years ago, there was an Elvis impersonation convention in the hotel.  It was "dead Elvis" week commemorating his death August 16, 1977.  Tonight I saw Elvis impersonators with talent at the "Elvis Live" show.  Average age of audience was closer to what his age would be today-- 78, than his age at death --42.

 

Memphis, Tennessee

8.11.2011

in remembrance

 

The Lubbock Regional Public Safety Memorial is reaching completion with the setting of the bronze monument.  The memorial at Leroy Elmore Park will honor first responders from Lubbock and 15 surrounding counties who have fallen in the line of duty since the 1940s.  Lubbock sculptor Garland Weeks was commissioned for the bronze sculpture depicting first responders.

 

Leroy Elmore Park

66th and Quaker Avenue

Lubbock, Texas

www.garlandweeks.com

 





chef

 

Jacksons Restaurant
Doubletree Hotel
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

night life

 

We are required to stay at places which honor GSA rates (which translates "cheap rooms furthest from the front desk").  Because of the gas boom, rooms are somewhat difficult to find.  Our motel mates are mostly involved in the oil and gas drill business-- which can be deduced from the ratio of pickups to cars in the parking lot - about 48:2.  This morning while waiting for the ride to the training venue, we observed the night shift of workers coming in to be replaced by the day shift workers.  The night shift guys took over the rooms just left by the day shift guys -- talk about a "hot sheets" motel!!  By the way, after dinner we found a letter under the door:  "Dear Guest - the water will be shut off at 9:30 tonight in order to install shutoff valves.  We apologize for any inconvenience."  I didn't actually visit the High Life Lounge but it is at the bottom of the hill down from our motel.  I overheard a guest say that the walk down wasn't bad but the crawl back up was hell.  Travel is an enlightening experience.

 

High Life Lounge

Fairmont, West Virginia

wallpaper

 

No much to comment on.  Welcoming cows on the wallpaper in the Pittsburgh airport.  I also like the statue of France Harris, Pittsburgh Steeler.  It's hard to be enthusiastic when the Dallas flight is 3.5 hours delayed because of mechanical difficulties and there is still a 1.5 hour drive ahead.  Maybe I can capture the green hills and blooming trees in West Virginia for tomorrow's post.

 

Pittsburgh International Airport

lubbock beach

 

With the drought and receding water levels, Lubbock's playa lakes have developed beaches.  Today's summer-like weather of 87 degrees (compare with 22 degrees and snow on Wednesday), the picnickers, fishermen, strollers and sun-seekers --even the ducks and grackles-- are out in full force.

 

David Casey Park

66th and Avenue W

Lubbock, Texas

jesus saves

 

Need a place of worship on Sunday mornings?  The Truckers Chapel is open.  Located in a semi-trailer parked at a truck stop, the Truckers Chapel is an outreach ministry of the Redbud Baptist Church.

 

Chisum Truck Stop on Slaton Highway

Lubbock, Texas

what's your sign?

 

In its lifetime, the hotel at 6th and Avenue Q has been a Hilton, Sheraton and Radisson. The next phase of its career is pending.  We'll watch for the sign.

 

505 Avenue Q

Lubbock, Texas

heavenward

 

Notre-Dame Basilica de Montreal is in historic Old Montreal. It is a great example of 19th century Gothic Revival style.  It shares only a name with its Parisian counterpart.

 

Montreal, Canada

4.5.2013

http://www.basiliquenddm.org

snowshoeing

 

The Von Trapp Family Lodge is noted for its cross-country skiing.  Although the season was ending, many were still on the trails.  As novice snowshoers, we trekked to the sugar house to observe the maple syrup process.  The elevation of these Vermont mountains is 1200 feet; difficult to contemplate when the official elevation of Lubbock is 3,256 feet above sea level -- and we had snow today -- in April!

 

Stowe, Vermont

4.7.2013

the kissing bridge

 

The sign declares it the "Kissing Bridge."  It was placed there in the 1950's as a prank, which has since become a local tradition.  Also known as the Codding Hollow Covered Bridge, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 1, 1974. On a short trip to Vermont, it's hard to visit all 104 covered bridges, but we had fun finding those along Vermont routes 100, 108, 109, 118.  Oh, to have been there during winter snows or fall foliage for better photographic opportunities.

 

Lamoille County, Vermont

4.8.2013

des rivieres covered bridge

 

The Des Rivieres covered bridge, constructed in 1884, spans the aux Brochets River.  This was the best example of our covered bridge excursion from Stowe, Vermont to Montreal.

 

Des Rivieres Covered Bridge

Notre Dame de Stanbridge

Quebec, Canada

grade a light amber

 

The maple syrup sample on the left is the finest grade.  We sipped straight from the vat -- sure doesn't taste like Aunt Jemima's!

 

Von Trapp Faimly Lodge

Stowe, Vermont

www.trappfamily.com



got an itch?

 

As evidenced by the tufts, a barbed wire fence comes in handy whenever this Scottish Highland cow has an itch.  These shaggy creatures are cute!

 

Von Trapp Family Farm

Stowe, Vermont

along the waterfront

 

The doors of the buildings in Old Town of Montreal along the St. Laurent River waterfront were intriguing.

 

Montreal, Canada

bluebonnets and raindrops

 

Bluebonnets and raindrops are two things one won't see in West Texas.

 

Coppell, Texas

johnny-jump-ups

 

With April's nippy weather, these johnny-jump-ups may have wished they stayed in bed (get it?).   Violas are petite cousins to pansies and cold-weather tough.  The flowers contain antioxidants and are edible. Tri-color flowers on your salad may cure your epilepsy, asthma or eczema. -- maybe even chilblains!

purple chairs

 

Old Town

Albuquerque, New Mexico

3.11.2012

garden art

 

Always a fan of geraniums, the repeating curves also caught my eye.

Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Restaurant

Fort Worth, Texas

4.13.2011