Daycation

It's not uncommon for new words to be created using parts of old words. Take the word vacation. During the 2007 - 2010 financial crisis in the US many individuals couldn't afford the luxury of a vacation. Thus, their vacation became a staycation; a period where the family stayed at home, made day trips, and returned to sleep in their own beds at night. A new word was born. Mr. H and I rarely go on a vacation or a staycation. We only take a day now and then. We take daycations!

Vacations, staycations, daycations

Don't you just love words!

Desha County Courthouse

Arkansas City, AR

So anyway, Mr. H and I went on a daycation. I have a project that I began in July of 2011. I am attempting to take a picture of every county courthouse in Arkansas. Our first stop was in Arkansas City a small town of only 0.5 square miles and a population of 366. You can imagine my surprise when we drove into town and found this beautiful courthouse surrounded by large magnolia trees. Not only was the courthouse beautiful, but there was an old high school built in 1910, a small building that looked like it might have been a jail at one time, and an old church. Three things I love a lot very close together. I don't mean I love jails a lot, I just love old buildings a lot!

St. Clements Episcopal Church

Arkansas City, Arkansas

One of the reasons I love old buildings is their doors and windows. It doesn't matter to me if the doors are on an outhouse, a church, a historical building, or a rundown shack. They're all fascinating.

Windows can be beautiful and ornate or they can be worn and rusty. It doesn't matter, I love them all.

Sometimes I find windows or doors that I can peek into. I'm not a "Peeping Tom." I only peek in windows on public property and when the place is closed; like the old high school below which is now part of the court system.

Arkansas High School, 1910

Here's the view through looking through the front door. I love the tin ceiling tiles and all the gorgeous wood.

I was also able to peek into the window of this beautiful home which is now The Ashley County Museum.

Ashley County Museum - 1918

And when I peeked in, I fell in love with those interior doors between the parlor and the dining room. I'd love to go back and tour this gorgeous home.

It seems there's always something the intrigues me and makes me ask questions, such as this old church which is now the meeting place of the Hamburg Garden Club. I wonder why the windows of this church and the above church have been painted over. Wouldn't you want to have light flowing in, especially in this church where the club meets? It's a mystery. One that I will probably never know the answer to.

Hamburg Presbyterian Church, 1871

We had such a nice day, even if we did travel 301.7 miles and were gone nine hours. I'm making progress on my project. I have taken pictures of 56 courthouses. There are 85 county seats in Arkansas and before someone corrects me, I know there are only 75 counties. Ten of those counties have two county seats and two courthouses. That leaves me with only 29 more courthouses to go. It looks like we'll be going on a few more daycations to get this project done!

Where ya wanna go?

Where ya wanna go?

I don't know, where ya wanna go?

North, east, south, west?

It doesn't really matter, just get in the car and let's go.

That's what my sister and I did one chilly morning. All we needed to be sure about was that we had our cameras and food. We never go without food! As we wandered west and then north and then east and then south we stopped when we wanted and took lots of pictures. We stopped at four churches. At least I think it was four, may have only been three. My sister has started a project photographing church steeples, so when we spotted a church we stopped.

We photographed an old barn which looked like it might not be standing too much longer.

We wandered through five old cemeteries

including one where some of Jerry's ancestors are buried. It's a small family cemetery, the Rose Garden Cemetery or better know as the Wilheim Cemetery. Jerry's ancestors that are buried here are the first generation of Hubmanns in the US. They immigrated from Switzerland, in the late 1800's. 

They originated from the German speaking section of Switzerland, near the border of Germany. Several of the gravemarkers are engraved in German.

As we made our way home we decided to stop at a garden center. I've never stopped at a garden center just to take pictures. I've been afraid they'd tell me to take my camera and leave, but not here, they welcomed us. We met the nicest lady who also loves photography. She gave us some pointers on where to look for good pictures, which was a big help since the center covers 30 acres.

She also let us use a golf cart to run around in. We hesitated about driving the golf cart. Neither one of us had driven one before and we knew it was pretty simple, but when we're together we can get ourselves in some unusual fixes. Did we dare?  Sure, we'd just be very careful and not drive off into the creek that cut through the property. There was a lot of laughing, but we made it safely around the center. It was beautiful with an amazing array of colors.

Among the pots and birdbaths was the biggest lantana bush I have ever seen. It is taller than I am. We had to check it out and yes, there's just one plant there. I love lantana, since it's so hardy it does well in my unattended yard.

The pansies, what can I say about the pansies? They are the happiest little flowers and they were certainly wearing their best colors!

It doesn't matter which direction we head, we always find interesting and amazing things and places. At the end of the day we're tired, but we feel so relaxed and so grateful for the time we can spent together.

Where ya wanna go next time?

I don't know, where ya wanna go?

Out And About...FINALLY!

What do you do on a Sunday afternoon when you've been stuck in the house for six days, feel a little weak and shaky, and have a bad cough?  Sweet Mr. H had the perfect solution, a short road trip. I was able to just sit back and enjoy the scenery and the warm sunshine. Oh, by the way, it was 70 degrees again today.  Where, oh where is February?  Where is the cold I so love? Where is the snow? Okay, back to our road trip. Recently he had spotted an old church that he thought I'd be interested in taking some pictures of.  Did I mention that he was sweet?

We hit the road after lunch armed with camera, water, tissues, and cough drops!  I wasn't worried that I'd give this awful viral mess to Mr. H, he's the one that gave it to me!!  So sweet to share?? When Mr H said an old church I really expected a rundown church with cracked windows and peeling paint. Not so,  this church was beautiful and so well kept which is amazing. The nearest town only has a population of 314. I know parishioners come from around the county, but we're talking about a very sparsely populated area.

In the small town of New Dixie, Arkansas tucked away among tall trees is the Saint Boniface Catholic Church. It was worth the drive just to see this lovely building in the woods. But, it got even better. As we drove up the road we noticed a few cars in front of the church. The cars began to leave, all except one. She stopped beside us and told us we were welcome to enter the church. The don't lock the doors since they enjoy having visitors see the inside of their historic church.  They also have a greeter who welcomes you. See he/she sitting on the lower part of the handicap ramp?

Immigrants from Germany, Switzerland, and Ireland formed the St. Boniface Parish in 1879. They attended mass in individual homes until a church could be built on 40 acres donated by The Choctaw Railroad which is today known as the Rock Island Railroad. The first church they built was destroyed by fire in 1906. All was lost but the high alter which had been brought from Germany by one of the church members. The people were able to construct a new building the same year. I know 1906 doesn't sound very old to some of you, but in poor rural areas churches were not build with brick, they were build with lumber cut from the nearby woods and that lumber would not last forever. In fact the oldest church building still standing in Arkansas was built in 1856.

The bells placed in the steeple in 1906, are still tolled by hand and ring out across the community every Sunday morning.

As with most old churches there was a cemetery beside it. The older markers were written in German, but we could make out a few words. I was fascinated by the beautiful crosses, from the very simple to the amazingly intricate. 

We continued on our drive to see another old church and then we headed toward home passing by St. Boniface Church from a different direction and in the late afternoon. As I spotted the church through the trees I knew we had to stop again. 

The afternoon sun was shining on the church bring out rich golden tones. The stained glass windows were glowing. The colors didn't show up quite as beautiful as what I was seeing. Just trust me, it was breathtaking!

I can't tell you how good it felt to just get out of this house on such a beautiful day with good company. To top it off, we were blessed with the most gorgeous sunset!

Sunday Sundries - Edition 41

"For where two or three are gathered together

in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

Matthew 18:20

Taking The Long Road Home

 

I am never, ever disappointed when I travel the back roads of Arkansas.  Of course, I'm partial, but it is a beautiful state filled with mountains, valleys, quaint old towns, and delightful surprises. Recently I went on a photo excursion on the way home from my daughter's house. Instead of the fastest way, I took the LONG scenic route home.

 

My first stop was in Norfork. My husband had told me about this historic home standing high on a bluff overlooking the White River. He said he knew I'd want to photograph it.

 

 

This restored log cabin belonged to Major Jacob Wolf. Wolf built the cabin in the early 1800's to serve as post office and county seat. After the county seat was moved it became  his family dwelling. Wolf House is a dogtrot house which historically consisted of two log cabins connected by a breezeway or "dogtrot" all under a common roof. The breezeway provided a cooler covered area for sitting.

 

On his property, Major Wolf also had his own cabin,  a tavern (inn), blacksmith shop, woodworking shop, and a store. He took full advantage of the river traffic.

 

 

 

When I'm looking for places to visit, it's the big picture that draws me to a location, but often times it's the details that catch my eye; the peeling paint, the rust, the grunge, and the varied textures.

 

 

 

As I traveling on toward home, I spotted the Old Historic Galatia Church. The sign says it was built in 1886, but as you can tell there's siding on it now.

 

 

 

And, behind the church I found the "out house."  Yes, we do have a few of these around that are still being used. This one is for the "sisters". The "brothers" use one at the far end!

 

 

 

Next, stop was in the town of Calico Rock. East Calico Rock was a primarily the industrial section of town, first as a  landing for steamboats and later the railroad. The area that was once the center of all the hustle and bustle of trade has been abandoned. The buildings are vacant, some are only shells. The foundations are overgrown with weeds and wild vines. Even the railroad spur has been abandoned. It's kind of sad to walk down these once busy streets and see nature taking over.

 

 

My last stop of the day was in Batesville. When I wander around the older downtown areas there are always a few things I look for like shaped windows and reflections.

 

 

 

I also look for old signs.

 

My favorite signs are the "ghost signs" which are old hand-painted advertising signage found on the sides of usually brick buildings. This one is pretty odd. It looks like it's been painted over, but the underneath paint has seeped back through.

 

From there I headed home.  It normally takes me a little over three hours to get home, but this day it took nine! Once I get going I just can't seem to stop.

Serendipity

I had one of those days yesterday that didn't start out like I planned, but ended so unexpectedly well! I went looking for butterflies, since I've seen very few in my yard and needed a picture of one for a scavenger hunt. I thought about a couple of places where summer flowers were plentiful. One was a Little Rock visitor's center where the gardens are kept by a Master Gardener. First off, I couldn't find it!  I had been there once before with my sister and thought I knew where it was. Not so!  I checked the city map...didn't find it. (I was totally looking in the wrong area!) I stopped at the post office, don't you think they would know where it was?  No, never heard of it!  One kind, YOUNG lady in line behind me suggested I used my GPS on my car or Google it on my phone.  I smiled and said, I didn't have GPS on my car and my phone doesn't even take pictures, let alone get on the internet.  She looked at me like I was from the dark ages!!  Another kind, OLDER lady did gave me directions and I finally found it.  It has always been beautiful, only this time the parking lot was full of workers. They were painting the fence and doing some upkeep. I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures around them, so I went with Plan B, the Old Mill in North Little Rock.

There were flowers, but I didn't see a butterfly anywhere.

Where are they this summer?

I did find dragonflies!

 

 

 

As I left the Old Mill and headed for the Interstate to come home, I pulled into an abandoned landscape nursery to capture this scene. Loved the white fence and the crepe myrtles. It's a shame it's in front of an abandoned building!

Still on my way to the Interstate I saw the road that led to a very beautiful church. I have been wanting to get a picture of their steeple for my steeple collection. Beautiful isn't it!

 

 

A very sweet lady came from inside the church. She had seen me through a window taking pictures and.......she asked if I would like to go inside and take some pictures.  Oh, yes!!  I certainly did!

 

It was filled with beautiful stained glass, like this dome in the foyer.

I was glad I had my point and shoot camera with me, too. I was able to get more of the dome with it. I really, really wanted to lie down on the floor and shoot straight up, but I didn't quite thing that would be appropriate.

Below you can see the rest of the four panels.

           

    Moses and the Ten Commandments                            Jesus and the lady at the well

          

   Daniel in the lion's den                                             The good Samaritan

 

We then stepped into the semi-dark auditorium where soft music played. I was pleased with my 50mm lens and how well it did in low light. Yes, this was lit with purple lights.

The image below was taken in the entryway to their school. It is actually a waterfall, but they don't keep it running unless its a special occasion.

Who knew what beauty was behind those walls.

Serendipity...that's what I call it! My mother thinks it's odd that I talk to strangers when I have a camera in my hands. She knows exactly how shy I am.  I don't know what it is, but I am more at ease and more confident when I'm carrying my camera.  I guess that's just another benefit of photography.  It has certainly gotten me into some very interesting places.

 

I'm still looking for butterflies!!