Maryland Senate Chamber

Today, Feb.26, Maryland senators discussed proposals for a gun-control bill and are scheduled to consider amendments to the bill Wednesday morning.  Enough of that, this is not a political blog.

On either side of the desk at the front of the chamber are two small maquettes for statues on display in the U.S. Capitol  (click to enlarge the image to see them more clearly).  The one on the right is of Charles Carroll of Carrollton.  I had written about him in an earlier post.  The one on the left is of John Hanson; the first President of the U.S. to serve after the full ratification of the Articles of Confederation.  Then came six more Presidents, each serving one year terms.  So technically, George Washington was not the first President of the U.S., but the first President of the U.S. under the Constitution that we have today.

Trimper's Antique Carousel

On the south end of the boardwalk of Ocean City, Maryland, close to the inlet of South First Street, is the amusement park, Trimper's Rides.  There, you will find one of the oldest operating carousels in the nation.  Installed in 1902, it has 45 animals, three chariots and one rocking chair.  The hand-painted, hand-carved animals consists of two dogs, two pigs, a frog, a stork, a giraffe, a deer (with real antlers), a lion, a sea lion, a tiger, an ostrich, a rooster, a cat and a zebra.

Elizabeth Tower - London, England

Viewed from across the River Thames is the Westminster Bridge, the Palace of Westminster, and the Elizabeth Tower.  Big Ben is the nickname of the bell in the clock tower, but has often been extended to refer to the clock tower also.  But on June 26, 2012 the clock tower was officially renamed the Elizabeth Tower in honor of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.  Another interesting note, although a diamond jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 75th anniversary, it is only the 60th anniversary in the case of a monarch.

Ethelfleda's Mound - Warwick Castle, England

On the southern end of the courtyard of Warwick Castle stands Ethelfleda's Mound.  Ethelfleda, daughter of King Alfred the Great, was known as the Lady of the Mercians.  Her kingdom of Mercia covered the middle of England and was under constant attack from Vikings.  This fortification, spearheaded by Ethelfleda in the year 914, was the first of significance at Warwick Castle, replacing ineffective wooden ones. But she did more than build defensive fortifications.

She led armies into battle against the Vikings and defeated them in Derby and Leicester, she invaded Wales, she took on the Vikings at Chester and in 918 forced the Vikings to surrender their stronghold in York – and everywhere she went, she built castles.

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Spa Creek, Annapolis MD

Yachts, sailboats, dinghies, tenders- vessels of all kinds usually bob about in Spa Creek all year.  However, each Wednesday from April through September, members of the Annapolis Yacht Club hold a regatta.  Approximately 150 sailboats race around markers on the bay before speeding toward the finish line in Spa Creek.  The colorful race is easily viewed from the creek's drawbridge or along City Dock.

The Gettysburg Address

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.  We are met on a great battlefield of that war.  We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.  It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate - we cannot consecrate- we cannot hallow this ground.  The brave men, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.  The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.  It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus so nobly advanced.  It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth - Abraham Lincoln

Historic Markers in Annapolis

Annapolis is a museum without walls.  For over 350 years the city has preserved its architectural and historical integrity, earning a designation as a National Historic Landmark in the 1960's.  The buildings are preserved and maintained by private citizens and the Historic Annapolis Foundation.  Colored markers issued by the HAF inform visitors about the style and period of each building.

To the left of the blue door is such a marker.

The markers used are:

Red: 18th-Century Vernacular and/or Georgian, 1715-1800 

Bronze:  Georgian Buildings of National Importance, 1730-1800 

Blue:  Federal, 1784-1840

Green:  Greek Revival, 1820-1860 

Gray:  19th/20th-Century Annapolis Vernacular, 1837-1921 

Purple:  Victorian, 1869-1901Yellow20th-Century Distinctive, 1901-1938

Dubrovnik Cat, Croatia

A medieval walled city off the Dalmatian Coast. Encircled by fortress walls, this ancient city of narrow winding streets, terracotta rooftops and medieval, Renaissance and Baroque architecture has survived invasions and earthquakes for over 8 centuries.  It is now on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.

Walls of Dubrovnik, Croatia

Built between the 13th and 16th centuries, the walls that completely encircle the old town are over 2 km long and up to 25 meters high.  Dubrovnik is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.

Iambic Pentameter

Isn't it interesting how the rhythm and cadence of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How Do I Love Thee?  Let Me Count the Ways" and Shakespeare's "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?" are so similar?
Masters of the iambic pentameter.
Anyway, tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Some love it, some hate it.  If you belong to the latter, forget those sonnets, and rock along with The J Geils Band :
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah

A Mexican Caribbean Sunset, Cancun Mexico

Cancun is known as the gateway to the Mayan world.  But aside from the wonders of ancient temples and pyramids in sites like Chichen-Itza and Tulum, beats the pulse of a thriving Mexican city.  Restaurants, shopping centers, night clubs, and the Cancun flea market brings one back from the dusty past and into the  present.

Pony of Assateague Island

About 8 miles from Ocean City is Assateague Island;  roughly 37 miles of shoreline, pine forests, shrub thickets, marshes and a rich variety of wildlife.  The blue crab, herons, snakes, and the Assateague Pony
share this bird sanctuary and wildlife preserve.

There are 2 main theories on how the horses ended up on the island.  One is that they swum from a Spanish galleon that sank off the coast.  The other is that they are the feral descendants of livestock that colonial settlers owned.

The terms "horses" and "ponies" have been interchangeably used when it comes to the Assateague pony.
As a general rule, horses are 14.2 hands or more at their withers.  A hand is 4 inches, so that translates into 56.8 inches.  The height of the Assateague pony falls below that standard - when they remain on a diet of marsh grass.  But foals that have been auctioned off and raised on a healthier diet grow beyond the height qualifier.  But then there are some horse breeds that are shorter, and still classified as horses, and ponies that are taller, but still classified as ponies.  Ponies also tend to have a thicker head and chest.  It's a subject not worth a debate as far as I'm concerned.  A rose by any other name.        

Cancun on the Riviera Maya

 On the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula is the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.  Within that state is Mexico's Caribbean coastline, know as the Riviera Maya.  On the northeast section of that coastline is Cancun.  A beautiful place, with white powdery sand beaches and turquoise crystal clear warm waters.  

 

Doors of the Anasazi Ruins, New Mexico

Deep into the desert of New Mexico, past miles upon miles of dirt road, lies Chaco Canyon.  Within that canyon sprawls the Anasazi Ruins, dating back to A.D. 700.  Anasazi is a Navaho word which literally translates into "enemy ancestors", but has now come to mean "the ancient ones".  Modern descendants of this culture object to this term, however, and choose the term Ancestral Pueblo peoples.  

Ponte Vecchio Over the Arno River, Florence Italy

The Ponte Vecchio, in Florence Italy.  The name means "Old Bridge".  Highly appropriate, since its first design, in stone and wood, was built during the Roman Empire.  Its current appearance dates back to 1345.

In the opera "Gianni Schicchi", by Giacomo Puccini  is a beautiful aria, "O mio babbino caro".  In English, "O my dear father".  Lauretta, finding her budding romance with the young man Rinuccio threatened by her father, sings to him:
(translated into English)

Yes, yes, I want to go there!
And if my love were in vain,
I would go to the Ponte Vecchio
And throw myself in the Arno!

Early Morning in Ego Alley, Annapolis MD

Ego Alley,the waterfront's gateway to Annapolis.
On evenings and weekends this little canal fills with boats and yachts.  It is a place to see and be seen, for  boaters and landlubbers to enjoy.  There are restaurants, souvenir shops, hotels, a yacht club, outdoor seating, benches, a coffee shop, an ice cream parlor all within a few steps from Ego Alley.     
Annapolis is also the Sailing Capital of the world, and hosts the sailboat and power boat shows every year in October, drawing enthusiasts by the thousands into Ego Alley.
It is a vibrant and energetic little canal.
But not now.  Right now I have Ego Alley all to myself...along with a couple of ducks, the sunrise and silence.  I think to myself, if I can take a good enough picture, maybe somehow, I can convey the serenity.
I take my shot and leave before the crowds arrive. 

Naval Academy Chapel, Annapolis MD

The Naval Academy Chapel was consecrated in 1908 and has a seating capacity of 2,500

In honor of the Academy's 150th anniversary in 1995, the Chapel was featured on a US postage stamp.

Lighthizer Gazebo of Quiet Waters, Annapolis MD

The gazebo is called the Lighthizer Gazebo, in honor of former county executive James Lighthizer, who secured about 300 acres to be used as a county park. 

 Quiet Waters officially opened to the public on Sept 3, 1990.

Tecumseh and Tammany - USNA Annapolis MD

On the Yard of the Naval Academy is a bronze figurehead named "Tecumseh". The original wooden figure was salvaged from the man-of-war ship "Delaware" and sent to the academy in 1866.  The builders of the ship intended the figurehead to portray Tamanend, but the midshipmen of the period renamed the bust "Tecumseh", warrior chief of the Shawnee and Tecumseh's Confederacy.  In 1891 the bust was immortalized in bronze.

Tamanend, also know as Tammany, was the chief of Lenni-Lenape nation and played a prominent role in establishing peaceful relations between the Native American tribes and the English settlers of Pennsylvania.  A quote attributed to Tamanend :  "live in peace as long as the waters run in the rivers and creeks and as long as the stars and moon endure."


By the early 1770's Tammany festivals were held annually on May 1 in Philadephia and Annapolis .  Even George Washington and his army, while camped at Valley Forge in 1778, celebrated the day... The "men spent the day in mirth and jollity...in honor of King Tammany" (Military Journal of George Ewing, 1928)

(Originally published on 1/27, but it got layered over by the large blank area, so I'm reposting it)

Eiffel Tower and the Seine River, Paris France

Gustave Eiffel, whom the tower is named after, was not its original designer; Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier were.  Gustave, however, bought the rights to the patent on the design, and was the engineer in charge of the tower's construction.  Gustave also engineered the construction of the New York's Statue of Liberty.  The entire statue was erected in Paris before being dismantled and shipped to the United States.

Replicas of the Statue of Liberty can be seen not only around Paris, but around the world.

The Seine River divides Paris into two - the Rive Gauche, or Left Bank, skirting the south side of the city and the Rive Droite, or Right Bank, the north side.  Historically and traditionally, the Left Bank was the artsy side.  A place where such literary greats as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, Ezra Pound, and Gertrude Stein called home.  The Right Bank, historically, is the more affluent side.