Tuesday Treasures

Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
Image-in-ing
My Corner of the World

John was reading the news and mentioned this to me this morning.

Borden, whose mascot, Elsie the Cow, has smiled out at consumers from milk, cheese and butter cartons for more than 80 years, has filed for bankruptcy protection, becoming the second major U.S. dairy company to seek help as milk prices soar and more Americans turn to milk alternatives.

Growing up in Montreal, I remember Elise the Cow!

Elsie the Cow is a cartoon cow developed as a mascot for the Borden Dairy Company in 1936 to symbolize the "perfect dairy product" Since the demise of Borden in the mid-1990s the character has continued to be used in the same capacity for the company's partial successor, Eagle Brand, owned by The J.M. Smucker Company.

Named one of the Top 10 Advertising Icons of the [20th] Century by Ad Age in 2000, Elsie the Cow has been among the most recognizable product logos in the United States and Canada.

I knew I had a photo of Borden's from Lafayette LA but I found three more in my archives.

2017 Lafayette LA

2013 New Orleans LA

2014 Lafayette LA

2013 Oklahoma City OK

Saturday Snapshot

 

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books.

Yesterday, the 19th, was the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing and in light of the devastating bombings in Boston this week, this post is meant as a tribute to the strength of our neighbours to the south.
I was especially moved by this clip of the Boston fans at this week's hockey game after the bombing.

I posted some images of the Historic Memorial in Oklahoma City when we were here in March 2013 but I wanted to show some more as well as explain more about it. I took most of the information from a ranger I spoke to there and more facts from Wikipedia.

On April 19,1995 Timothy McVeigh parked a Ryder truck outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The Oklahoma City bombing will be remembered as a senseless act of domestic terrorism that took 168 lives and left many changed forever.

 It would remain the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19 children under the age of 6, and injured more than 680 people. The blast destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a sixteen-block radius, destroyed or burned 86 cars, and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings. The bomb was estimated to have caused at least $652 million worth of damage.

For two years after the bombing the only memorials to the victims were plush toys, crucifixes, letters, and other personal items left by thousands of people at a security fence surrounding the site of the building.

The memorial includes a reflecting pool flanked by two large gates, one inscribed with the time 9:01, the other with 9:03, the pool representing the moment of the blast.

One, marked 9:01, represents the peace that prevailed seconds before the bomb exploded. The second, marked 9:03, symbolizes the bomb’s aftermath, when, as the Memorial mission statement notes, those affected by the bomb were “changed forever.”

 On the south end of the memorial is The Field of Empty Chairs; a field of symbolic bronze and stone chairs—one for each person lost, arranged according to what floor of the building they were on. The chairs represent the empty chairs at the dinner tables of the victims' families. The seats of the children killed are smaller than those of the adults lost. 

 Of the 168 chairs there are two groups. One group of 163 for those who were inside the federal building at the time of the blast, and a group of five chairs at the far west end, next to the 9:03 Gate, of the Field of Empty Chairs that represent those individuals who were outside of the federal building, but lost their lives as a direct result of the attack. Four of the individuals that died outside of the federal building were on the north side of the street and the fifth individual, Rebecca Anderson, was a rescue worker who was hit with debris and died of head injuries a few days later.

At night the chairs are lit from below. They are decorated for the holidays.

These chairs moved me the most.

Nineteen children were killed in the building that day. Of those, fifteen were in the America's Kids Daycare which was located on the second floor represented by the second row of chairs. Three children were in the Social Security Administration on the first floor and one young girl was on the fourth floor visiting her father in his office.The chairs have been designed to look as if they are floating like a memory floats in and out of our conscience. At night the base lights up emphasizing the name etched into the glass base. The light is a soft light something like a nightlight that we would have used as children to take away the fear of the darkness .The lights in the chairs also take away the fear of the darkness; the darkness/evil that occurred at this site.

North of the memorial is the Journal Record Building, which now houses the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum, an affiliate of the National Park Service. The building also contains the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, a law enforcement training center.

This photo is from the National Park Service site.

Across the street there was this moving statue. St. Joseph’s Old Cathedral was extensively damaged when the bomb exploded across the street. Most of the stained glass windows on the east side of the church were shattered, and the pipe organ was extensively damaged. The explosion raised the roof several inches off its steel pillars and several of the rafters were broken. Plaster fell from the walls and ceiling and the painted, symbolic plaster medallions were destroyed. The church was closed for nearly two years. A statue carved from Italian marble entitled And Jesus Wept was created to commemorate the event.

Monday Mural

Posting at Monday Mural


I took these from the car in Oklahoma City a week or so ago. It is painted on a very long wall so I had to take several shots while hoping the traffic lights wouldn't change too quickly.

Joe Carter played for Toronto Blue Jays!

Day 4 - Homeward Bound

Click here for Day 1.

Click here for Day 2

Click here for Day 3

Oklahoma City - After the complimentary breakfast at the hotel we were on the road once again. We were heading to Shreveport LA for the evening before continuing the next day to New Orleans for the long weekend and DH’s birthday.

Not an exciting day in photos as most of it was spent in the car.

After leaving OKC we drove into Texas again heading towards Dallas. There were signs along the way for Robertson’s ham sandwiches so we picked up three sandwiches along with some jerky and complimentary pickles. There was a lot of construction as we went through Dallas so we had two of our sandwiches and pickles as were drove.

Texas is green and when you come into Louisiana it is even greener and lots of trees.

We didn't have a reservation so we stopped by the Wyndham but it didn't have a restaurant and the location didn't have anywhere around it to eat without taking the car.

We opted for the Hilton Homewood instead. What a gorgeous location in Bossier just outside Shreveport. Our room had a mini kitchen with full dishwasher and fridge. The room was luxurious with a seating area.

We went to dinner in the dining room, only complaint it was too brightly lit. Most people were sitting at the bar for dinner. The food was delicious!! DH had a Tuscan stew of pork and beef served on fettuccine and I had a grilled salmon on a bed of bok choy and other vegetables. It had to be good when DH went to the kitchen to compliment the chef!

Day 3 - Homeward Bound

Click here for Day 1.

Click here for Day 2

Oklahoma City

It was really cold and overcast when we went out to the car so we hurried back inside and ut some layers of clothes on. We decided we would head to the Cowboy Museum for the morning.

The museum opens at 10AM however the restaurant doesn't open until 11 if you were planning on having coffee.

The Museum is wonderful. There are sections on the history of the rodeo, old cowboy westerns, the Cavalry, and the life of cowboys and ranchers.

I will add a few photos here and then do a separate post with more photos.

We stopped for coffee before we left and were served by a delightful elderly gentleman in his western finery. All the volunteers were attired in their cowboy boots and denim.

When we stepped outside it had warmed up and the sun was out. We drove to the Historical Memorial

They suggest you visit the museum first and then go to the memorial. However, the memorial takes your breath away and we forgot that advice. I was lucky that a guide asks if I had any questions and I asked him about the display of chairs. He said there is are nine rows of chairs representing the nine floors of the building, with each row having a chair for each of the 168 people killed in the explosion. The children are represented with smaller chairs. There are five chairs sitting against the fence and represent the five people killed that were not in the building.

Again I’ll do a more detailed post at another time.

From here we went to Bricktown. Bricktown, a once abandoned old warehouse district, received a much needed facelift with the passing of MAPS (Metropolitan Area Projects) in 1993 when Oklahoma City took on a massive public facility enhancement project.

We parked and went into Tapwerks for lunch. Bad decision but great beer selection. I ordered the Guinness stew which must have come from a can it was a gluttonous stew of thick gravy, mushy vegetables and stringy meat. DH ordered the buffalo chicken wrap and asked the server when it came whether it was supposed to be hot. She took it back and after a very long wait it came back and was no warmer.

We wandered around Bricktown which is much like the Riverwalk in San Antonio but smaller. It was very quiet as it was a workday afternoon. I imagine it would be a lot of fun in the evening and on the weekends.

On our way to a friend’s house we made a stop at the State Capital.

We had a great time catching up with o friends and enjoyed an Indian buffet.

Menu Plan Update - Week 13

Sunday - pool and then into Cottonwood to check out the Rendezvous
Lunch - we skipped as we had the breakfast buffet Pcoc Diablo
Dinner - 10th Hole at resort - club sandwich and reuben


Monday - our last day in Sedona. Lost an hour in NM
Lunch - Subs at Subway Navajo AZ
Dinner - ordered pizza into our room at the Hampton Inn in Santa Rosa NM

Tuesday - breakfast at hotel in Santa Rosa NM. Lost an hour to Central time.
Lunch - great burgers and fries at Blue Sky in Amarillo TX
Dinner - Shorty Small's ribs next to Wyndham in Oklahoma City OK

   Wednesday - Cowboy Museum with coffee and carrot cake
Lunch -  Tapwerks in Bricktown OKC great beer awful food
Dinner - Indian with friends Gopuram


Thursday - on the road again Oklahoma City to Shreveport LA
Lunch - ham sandwiches based on great highway ads from Robertson's in Texas to eat in the car. - 
Dinner - in Homewoods Hilton restaurant salmon and Tuscan Ragout - delicious

Friday - drive from Shreveport LA to New Orleans LA about 6 hours
Lunch - charcuterie plate at Hotel Astor New Orleans
Dinner - cheese and crackers

Saturday - breakfast buffet at Market Cafe 
Lunch - jambalaya at city Park
Dinner - lamb and veal Moran's on Bourbon St.

Day 2 - Ultimate Road Trip Homebound

Click here for Day 1.

We awoke in Santa Rosa NM, had breakfast at the hotel and headed out to take photos of Route 66 in Santa Rosa.

Much of the following information was provided by the Santa Rosa NM Route 66 site.

Click here and here for more photos of Santa Rosa.

Santa Rosa is an old Spanish town on the Pecos River, it began as a large Spanish rancho. It got its name in 1890 from a chapel built by Don Cleso Baca to honor his mother. In the early days of Route 66, 1926 through 1937, the old alignment of Route 66 left Santa Rosa to continue on towards Santa Fe, the capitol of New Mexico then drop back down to Albuquerque and Los Lunas. In late 1937 Route 66 was straightened out to go directly to Albuquerque and by pass Santa Fe completely.

Roadside dining was an important Route 66 experience. Santa Rosa’s. home-owned and home-operated roadside cafes were famous up and down the highway. 

The “Fat Man” symbol of the Club Café was a familiar icon and appeared on the highway as early as 1937. The Route 66 landmark is now closed but was operational from 1935 to 1992. Joseph’s Bar & Grill, family operated since 1956 is now the home of the grinning “Fat Man.” 

Gloriously neon-lit roadside cafes include the Comet II (circa 1952) and the Sun n’ Sand Restaurant (1966) 

Bozo and his wife Anna have taken is hobby and created a museum which welcomes all Route 66 travelers. We didn't go in but I have only read good things about it.

It was time to get on the road as we were booked in Oklahoma City for two nights with a visit to some friends. The drive is approximately six hours but we would be making several stops along the way.

We needed a pit stop and were trying to find the town of Endee in New Mexico so we pulled into Russell's Truck Stop which appeared to be your average highway travel centre. We ended up going back to the car for the camera and spent some time visiting the fascinating car museum that also contains some great memorabilia. 

There is also a Subway and a diner that is supposed to be excellent, it was too early for lunch.

I'll be featuring more of the photos from the museum in upcoming posts.

Even the washroom signs were a delight.

We were going to find the town of Endee but when we saw it was a sixteen mile dirt road we decided not to invest the time.

We crossed into Texas and had lunch in Amarillo at a great diner Blue Sky with fantastic burgers and fries. We realized that we would not get to OKC at a reasonable hour to meet our friends as we had crossed into Central Time and lost an hour so we sent a message that it would be better to meet tomorrow.

I was browsing in our Route 66 an came across a reference to the Slug Bug Ranch in Conway TX which is a play on the Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo which we saw on our southbound trip back in December instead of cadillacs planted into the ground Conway has VWs.

Texas is only 1,700 feet on average above sea level but it is very flat and very dusty.

We cross into Oklahoma which is at 1,300 feet above sea level, more green and definitely more red.

We reached Oklahoma City and got settled into the Wyndham on Meridian near Will Rogers Airport and went to dinner at Shorty Small's next door for ribs. 

The ribs were dry and had too much burnt charcoal flavour.