R36

Mystic, CT  2016

Right on the river, this restaurant is one of the more recent additions to the other fine dining establishments found in Mystic.  During the summer months, it's a very popular spot.

A Work in Progress

Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT  2016

Many wooden boat builders display their work at the Wooden Boat Show.  This particular company specializes in restoration of wooden boats of all sizes.  

Steam Side Wheeler

Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT

I'm sure this is the smallest steam powered side wheeler I've ever seen.  

Pilar - Hemingway's Boat

This post is for fellow Blogger, Jeff, who publishes the very fine photo blog, "Taken for Granted".  If you get the chance you should check out his blog.  He posted about the Pilar, a boat purchased by Ernest Hemingway in 1934 which you can read about here.  Pictured  here is a replica of the Pilar as seen at the this year's Wooden Boat Show.

The original Pilar was built by the Wheeler Shipbuilding Co of Brooklyn, NY and was probably the most famous fishing boat of it's time.  The replica pictured here was built over a two year period from 2013-2015.  Every detail of the original Pilar, which is now in a  museum in Havana, Cuba was incorporated into this conversion/restoration.  

This particular boat is owned and operated by the Shannon River Marine Heritage Foundation (SRMHF), a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for disabled individuals and wounded veterans by providing access to the sports of recreational boating and fishing upon specially modified boats. You can find out more about this replica and the work done by the SRMHF by visiting their website http://shannonriverfoundation.org .  

Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT

When I saw this boat on display I remembered Jeff's post and thought he would enjoy seeing this.

Wooden Boat Show

Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT  2016

Home Built Wooden Boats

Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT

There are always many home built wooden boats on display during the Wooden Boat show.  These are truly one of a kind sailboats having some very unique designs.

Seaport Scene

Mystic Seaport, Mystic CT  2016

The Wooden Boat Show returned to Mystic Seaport the end of June, and I'm now just getting around to posting some pictures from that popular Seaport event.  More to come.....

Belmont University

Nashville, TN. 2016

Once again I was in Nashville, TN this past weekend, staying on the campus of Belmont University.  The campus is beautiful and the buildings interesting.  Very stately, if you ask me, but I'm not sure I really like the architecture or not.  Back to regular posts tomorrow.

Genesis

Old Lyme, CT  2016

Genesis

2016

Finished Steel

Sculptor: Richard Newton

Emergence of Our Neglect Portraits

Old Lyme, CT  2016

Emergence of Our Neglect Portraits

2009

Fiberglass

Sculptor:  Virgil Oertile

Three Sculptures

Old Lyme, CT  2016

I didn't get the particulars on these three sculptures, but I thought they were each unique.

Birth of Eve

Old Lyme, CT  2016

Birth of Eve

2015

Bronze, Steel and Brass

Sculptor: Lannie Hart

Blind Watchmaker

Old Lyme 2016

Blind Watchmaker

2011

Cold Forged Welded Steel, Brass and Found Objects

Sculptor: Jay Hoagland

Ancestral Torches

Old Lyme, CT  2016

Ancestral Torches

1993-2011

Indiana Limestone, Danby Marble and Bronze

Sculptor:  Nick Santoro

Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds

Old Lyme, CT  2016

Tucked away between the Lyme Academy of Fine Art and the Lieutenant River, renown sculptor Gilbert V Boro has a sculpture studio named Studio 80.  Outside of his studio there is a sculpture garden encompassing about 5 acres of land featuring the works of many sculptors.  It is truly an idyllic setting and the sculptures very unique and beautiful.  Anyone who appreciates fine art should take the time to stroll the Sculpture Grounds.  I'll be featuring some photos of this art during the coming week.  

Nathan Hale

New London, CT  2016

Every school child knows of Nathan Hale, a young school teacher who became a spy for George Washington's army during the Revolutionary War.  He was captured by the British, convicted as a spy and hanged.  His famous last words have been reported as:

 "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country"

The school house where he taught has been preserved and is located in downtown New London.  This statue commemorates our local hero and sits on the campus of Mitchell College in New London.  At best this rendering of Nathan Hale is a generic representation of what Nathan Hale might have looked like.  He had no official portraits done during his life so no one really knows what he did look like. 

Swing Bridge and Workers

Mystic, CT  2016

Timing is everything if one sails up and down the Mystic River.  There are two bridges which span the "river", the first is the historic Mystic Drawbridge, which has been featured in the blog many times.  The second is this swing bridge which carries Amtrak trains across the river as part of the very busy Northeast Corridor line.  About 40 trains a day pass over this bridge.  Opening of this bridge for boat traffic is highly dependent upon the train schedules.  Although I'm not sure, I believe it remains open for the boat traffic most of the time and closes when trains approach.  On our recent cruise we needed to wait while this Amtrak train passed. 

As we sailed past the swing bridge, I noticed these bridge workers.  It was about 7:30 PM, so they must have been putting in some long hours.  I wondered what they could be working on at that hour, just after a train had passed.

Another Beauty

Mystic, CT  2016

Pleasure Craft at Sunset

Mystic, CT  2016

Marina at Sunset

Mystic, CT  2016

Tennessee State Capitol

Nashville, TN  2016

Allow me one parting shot of the Tennessee State Capitol building taken on our last day in Nashville. I like this photo much more than the previous one I posted.  The contests are over, and the new champions have been crowned.  It was a great week in Nashville.  Tomorrow we'll return to our regular programming.  

AT&T Building

Nashville, TN  2016

Nashville is a vibrant, growing city.  I was told by some locals that 100 people a month are moving into the Nashville area.  The downtown area is a mix of older, historical buildings along with some striking hi-rise skyscrapers, with more under construction.  Does the AT&T building remind one of a certain, caped superhero?  It looks particularly ominous when it is lit up at night.  

Spontaneous Quartets

Nashville, TN  2016

Barbershoppers from all over the world come to listen to the best quartets and choruses on the contest stage. Before and after the contest sessions, and really just about any time of day or night,  you'll see guys gather in groups of 4, or sometimes more to sing.   Nobody cares where you're from, what race or nationality you are,  or what you do for a living.  The only thing that matters is that you can harmonize.  We believe that a lot of the world's problems would  go away if more people would harmonize.  

Barbers Hop

Nashville, TN.  2016

In honor of the Barbershop Harmony International Convention in Nashville, The Rock Bottom Brewery created a special brew.  Between all the various contests and other activities, there were plenty of opportunities  to partake of this special Belgian Pale Ale.  I enjoyed it. 

Shot on an iPhone

Nashville, TN. 2016

All my shots this week are being taken on my ancient iPhone 4s.  The quality of which is certainly good enough for posting to the web, but probably would not be sufficient enough to allow for huge bill board type displays like seen here. 

Tennessee State Capitol

Nashville, TN. 2016

This is one of the few times I've seen blue skies around the state Capitol building.  We've been dodging some pretty severe thunderstorms and flash flood warnings all week.  The weather has been hot and humid.  

Honky Tonks

Nashville, TN. 2016

There is no shortage of honky tonk saloons, and restaurants in downtown Nashville.  There is live music everywhere at every hour of the day.

We interrupt our regular programming

I'm not sure if anyone else was having problems with Blogger over the holiday weekend, but I had a hard time posting pictures starting last Saturday, July 2.  I wanted to post a number of pictures that would post automatically during this week, while I was away on vacation.  Blogger was misbehaving, and I couldn't post anything.  I also noticed problems in opening other blogs that relied on Blogger, as well as any other sites or applications that relied on Google.  I hope I can post somethings now while vacationing, but we'll see.  

Nashville, TN. 2016

This week I'm attending the International Convention of the Barbershop Harmony Society in Nashville, TN.   The big activities start tonight with Youth Barbershop Quartet contest featuring 30 quartets with members younger than 24 years.  Tomorrow starts the regular quartet contest with 57 of the best barbershop quartets from all over the world.  Our convention is just small addition to the festivities of this city which has such a strong musical heritage.

No Wake

Nonank, CT  2016

The light was just gorgeous coming back from our cruise.  Everything was bathed in a warm orange glow of the setting sun.  

Rena

Noank, CT  2016

There was no shortage of boats to admire docked along the shores of the Mystic River during our evening sail on the Argia.  This particular yacht dominated the marina.  A little searching revealed Rena is a luxury charter yacht built in 1989 and underwent a recent retrofit in 2010.  She's 145 feet long and can accommodate 10-12 charter guests in 5 luxurious staterooms. Like any good luxury yacht, she comes complete with a large assortment of water toys for your outdoor leisure activities.  She has a crew of 7 and can be chartered for only $105,000 per week.  I think I need to check my 401K plan.... mmmmm. 

North Dumpling Island

Fishers Island Sound  2016

North Dumpling Island is a privately owned by the inventor of the Segway Human Transporter, Dean Kamen.  Mr Kamen, in a somewhat joking manner, decided to secede from the United States and established the Kingdom of North Dumpling.  He declared himself "Lord Dumpling", established a constitution, printed money, and maintains an army, navy and air force.  The secession is not legally recognized, and I'm pretty sure he's signed a nonaggression treaty with the US.  The island is totally self sustaining with power coming from a combination of solar and wind.  In addition to living quarters there, Mr Kamen has also built a replica of Stonehenge.  It must be nice to have that much money. 

The Passengers

Fishers Island Sound  2016

The schooner Argia can safely accommodate 49 passengers.  I think on this particular cruise we had 37 passengers enjoying what was perfect weather for an evening sail.

Under Sail

Fishers Island Sound

Sunset

Fishers Island Sound

I'm not sure if I was in New York of Connecticut when this photo was taken.  Fishers Island itself is part of the state of New York.  The border between the states runs down the middle of the sound.