Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza is in the state of Yucatan, in Mexico. It is listed as one of the new seven wonders of the world.  1500 years old, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the most famous of all the Mayan ruins.

The postcard above shows El Castillo ("The Castle"), the iconic image of Chichen Itza. However, the ruins are also known for the famous ball court (if you lost the game, you lost your life) and the Cenote Sagrado, where archaelogists have discovered bones that bear the tell tale signs of human sacrifice.  (Remember the movie "Apocalypto"?)

I visited Chichen Itza in the late 70s. We stayed in the one hotel nearby, which not only wasn't that near but also promised a pool which turned out to be filled with slimy green water.  However, there weren't tons of visitors if you got there before any tour busses arrived and we were able to climb up and down El Castillo.  I remember that those stairs were pretty steep,  and in 2006 a tourist feel down them and died.  For that reason as well as the impact of being loved to death (too many people), these days visitors are permitted to wander the grounds only.

Saturday was the Vernal Equinox, and on that day in the late afternoon, the shadow of the sun creates the image of a giant serpent moving down the steps of El Castillo (there are serpent heads on either sides of the stairs at the bottom of the structure).  Thousands of people gather to see this phenomenon.  Note the difference in numbers of people in the postcard below:

Elton John is peforming at Chichen Itza on April 3 this year.  It will be the third concert by a global mega star at the ruins, and is somewhat controversial.  The concert is sold out and I imagine the crowds will be as bad, if not worse, than those in the postcard above.

Manzanillo, Mexico

My friend just came back from Mexico and brought me this postcard from Manzanillo.  I haven't been to Manzanillo, but it's just 60 kilometers south of Barra de Navidad, where I  have been.  I took a bus there from Puerto Vallarta, and afterwards, a bus to Guadalajara to see the Orozco murals in the government palace.

I think I'll do a few days of Mexico postcards. I have a lot of them, having traveled there many times and to many parts.  The next couple of weeks will be pretty busy, with both working and getting ready to leave for Spain and Morocco, and I don't want to have to think too hard about what postcards to post!

Mona Lisa Mask

Costume parties can be the funnest parties of all.  However, sometimes it's a challenge to come up with a good idea for what to wear.

Here's a postcard to keep around, just in case.  I particularly like the instructions on the back:  "Insert nose here".

Campobello Island, New Brunswick

Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Cananda, lies just off the coast of Maine.   It is the home of Roosevelt Campobello International Park, which includes the Roosevelt summer home, seen above.  This international park is the only international park (as opposed to national park) in the world, being jointly managed by both Canada and the US.

I am fascinated by the four eastern most provinces of Canada and hope to visit someday (my bucket list is geting pretty long).  I want to see the tide change in the Bay of Fundy, eat scallops in a seaside restaurant in Nova Scotia, ride a bike around Prince Edward Island, and hike in Gros Morne National Park on Newfoundland Island.

This postcard was sent from my uncle to my grandmother, both of whom are long gone now.  When I found this card, I could hear his voice with a very specific intonation, saying "L.L. Bean".

Massachusetts

I hadn't finished the series of seven states before St. Patrick's Day intervened, so here's the last one of the series - Massachusetts.

As I may have mentioned before, I love the postcards that show an entire state.  In the case of this one, it shows not only towns but also the state bird, the Chicadee, and the state nickname, the Bay State.  On the back of this card is written the state motto:  "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty."  Appropriate motto for a state that figured so prominently in the American Revolution.

A visit to Boston, Massachusetts has to include time spent walking the "Freedom Trail", ending (or beginning, depending on your perspective) at the Bunker Hill Monument, seen in the postcard to the left.  American history really comes alive when you walk this trail, especially for somebody from California (me) which is pretty far removed from the original 13 colonies and all their incumbent history.

I used to travel frequently to Chelmsford, Massachusetts, about two hours north of Boston.  Usually, we flew in in the evening, drove to Chelmsford, got up early for meetings and drove back to catch the last flight back to San Francisco.  However, one time,  I drove my rental car to Rockport (home of the shoes), and stayed in the lovely inn to the leftjust for the night.  I was determined to see something of Massachusetts other than Boston and Chelmsford and the Interstate (93) that connected them, so I did.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A card celebrating to excess the "wearing of the green", mailed on March 17, 1911. It has a sufragette feel to it somehow, and I love that the woman has red hair.

There's a famous ballad, that appeals to the rebellious Irish in all of us:

"Oh Paddy dear, and did ye hear the news that's going round?

The shamrock is forbid by law to grow on Irish ground!

No more St. Patrick's Day we'll keep; his color can't be seen,

For there's a cruel law agin' the wearing o' the Green!"


Don't forget to wear green today, or you'll be sure to get pinched.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day Eve

No respectable St. Patrick's Day greeting is complete without some use of the shamrock. It's a registered trademark by the Government of Ireland, and is used in the names and logos of Irish pubs all over the world.  Legend has it that the shamrock was used by St. Patrick to illustrate the Holy Trinity, but as no mention of this has ever been found in any of his writings, many question its authenticity. 

Note:  While neither of these cards is dated, I have to assume they're from the same years as all the other cards in this collection - around 1910 or 1911.

St. Patrick's Day II

Two more St. Patrick's Day cards, the one on the right from 1911, the one on the left undated.

Both show the Old Weir Bridge in Killarney, Ireland. Killarney, County Kerry, is one of the most well-loved tourist destinations in Ireland and there are boat rides available that pass under the Old Weir Bridge, except when the waters are low when you have to get out of the boat and walk around the bridge to the other side. 

Check out the multiplicity of Irish icons on the card on the right:  the pipe, the harp, and shamrock.  A good site for information on these Irish symbols and more can be found here (you have to scroll down a bit to find the "Irish Symbols" listing).  More information than you ever knew existed about the legend of the shamrock can be found here.

Maryland

I was surprised I didn't have more postcards from Maryland, as I've spent a fair amount of time there, both with a friend in Baltimore and and friends in Silver Spring, just over the district line from Washington, DC.

From the back of this card: "The 'Star Spangled Banner' is an account of the emotions experienced by Francis Scott Key as he witnessed the attack on Ft. McHenry during the War of 1812. Key was inspired when he saw the flag, sewn at the Flag House in Baltimore by Mary Pickersgill, still flying over the fort at dawn after a long bombardment by the British fleet."

What I didn't know was that the "Star Spangled Banner" was originally a poem whose words were applied to the tune of a well-established and well-known English drinking song, the "Anacreontic Song". I also didn't know that the song actually has four verses, but it is only the first that is used as the US national anthem.

What I didn't know about Maryland is that its state motto is the only state motto in Italian (not Latin) and reads: "Fatti maschii, parole femine" which translates literally as "Manly deeds, womanly words", or perhaps, "Strong deeds, gentle words". Who knew?

Maine

Lobsters ands lighthouses.  Oh, and the author Stephen King, one of my faves.  These are the things that spring to mind at the mention of the state of Maine.

A couple interesting facts about Maine:

     1.  It is the only state to have a name which is one syllable long.

     2.  The population of Maine is over 98% white.

     3.  The state drink is Moxie, one of the first mass produced soft drinks in the US.

Having never visited Maine, I have to go on the description of Edna St. Vincent Millay for how it must look, from her poem "Renascence":

     "All I could see from where I stood
      was three long mountains and a wood
      I turned and looked the other way
      and saw three islands in a bay"

Another postcard from Maine can be found here.

St. Patrick's Day

It's Postcard Friendship Friday, and the posting of postcards for St. Patrick's Day has begun, with the theme suggested by the event's new hostess.

Both of these cards were sent in 1911, and are part of my friend Debra's holiday postcard collection she got from her grandmother.

I had to look up the origins of St. Patrick's Day, and it turns out the Irish have been commemorating the day for over 1000 years.

This from History.com:  "St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years. On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage."

And so it could be said that St. Patrick's Day started as a way to get out of the restrictions of Lent, at least for a day! 

Also had to look up the significance of the harp, seen in both postcards.

From Wikipedia: "Until the end of the Middle Ages the Gaelic harp (the historical clarsach or Irish harp) was the highest status musical instrument of both Scotland and Ireland, and harpers were amongst the most prestigious cultural figures amongst Irish and Scottish kings and chiefs. In both countries, the harper enjoyed special rights and played a crucial part in ceremonial occasions such as coronation and poetic recital.  The main function of the Gaelic harp in medieval Scotland and Ireland seems to have been playing to accompany the recitation of bardic poetry in Gaelic or Irish.

And from Symbols of Ireland:   "The harp has long been a symbol of Ireland. Perhaps the legends of it's magical powers comes from the time when the bards would sing and tell stories of famous events to the Irish kings and chiefs.  During the early 1500s, under the rule of Henry VIII, the harp was first depicted on Irish coins. That tradition is carried on today and the harp is also used for other official duties such as the Irish state seal, official documents and uniforms."

Finally, it's too bad metalic silver doesn't show well on-line, as both cards are actually metallic silver where they look grey.

Erin go bragh!

Louisiana

I know there is more to Louisiana than New Orleans - think bayous, and voodoo, and Cajuns, and a rich and colorful history, and the detective Dave Robicheaux in James Lee Burke's detective novels - but I only have postcards from New Orleans. 

This one, from my brother Lar, cracks me up.  The picture is great, but I particularly like the message:  "....been  here since Sunday night.  we got enough stamina for one last night...." That seems to pretty well sum up the Mardi Gras experience.

Kentucky II

I've been to Kentucky three or four times.  The first time, I visited Shelbyville, Kentucky, where my grandfather grew up, about an hour outside of Louisville.  I was eighteen years old, and all my grandfather's sisters - my great aunts - were still alive. I remember having a really wonderful trip, spending time with a whole cast of relatives only a few of whom I'd met before, experiencing my first big summer thunderstorm, and feeling a sense of heralding from a place, a feeling that I'd never had before .  I still think of Kentucky as being a place that I am "from", in a blood line sense.   I was taken to lunch at Wakefield- Scearce Gallery, seen in the postcard to the left, which  houses one of the largest collections of English furniture, silver, limited edition porcelains and decorative accessories in the country.  It also sells traditional mint julep cups for about $500 each.  My 18-year old self didn't really get what all the fuss was about.   

 My next visit was with my grandmother, at the time in her 80s, while I was in my mid 20s. We visited Maysville, Kentucky, where she grew up.  We stopped to see the house she grew up in which had a huge flood wall in front of it; however, during her childhood there, the house looked directly out over the Ohio River.  We knocked on the front door, and the lady who lived there seemed to remember my grandmother and let us look inside, my grandmother pointing out where a rowboat had been tied to the banister during a huge flood.  After a few days, we drove from Maysville through Lexington (stopping in to visit a few horse farms), and on to Shelbyville.  While there, some cousins took me to Mammoth Caves.  

The last time I visited, our entire family went for one of our cousin's weddings.  This particular cousin, Jill, had visited all of the California cousins in California, and even stayed with us for a time in San Francisco.  The wedding was beautiful and fun and we loved being there as part of the family.

Kentucky I

I'm going to have to take a couple of days to talk about Kentucky.  My grandparents on my mom's side were from Kentucky and I still have several second cousins there.  In fact, one of them reconnected with my first cousin and me via Facebook just a couple of days ago.  (Hey, LaMar!)

The only time I ever remember my grandfather drinking any alcohol was the Mint Julep he had every Kentucky Derby Day.  The silver tumbler was chilled, the mint growing around the tennis court picked, the sugar and water boiled into syrup - everything ready so that as "My Old Kentucky Home" played before first post, he could sip his perfect Mint Julep through red and white straws and sugar dipped mint.  Our family's Mint Julep recipe is slightly different than that in the postcard above - we crush the mint in the bottom of the cup and leave it there, we use sugar syrup instead of powdered sugar, and the mint leaves for garnish are dipped in sugar before being put in the silver cup next to the straws. 

I've been to two Super Bowls, the World Series, the 84 Olympics, the Final Four basketball tournament, and the Rose Bowl.  I've been to a variety of horse racing tracks.  I've sipped a few Mint Juleps.  But I've never sat in a box at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day, wearing a fancy hat and sipping a mint julep.  Bucket list!

Kansas (City, Missouri)

It is Kansas' turn, and the only postcard I have is Kansas City, Missouri.  Bummer!

I have been to Kansas City, Missouri before but can't remember whether I crossed the river into Kansas City, Kansas.  Interesting when you look at both Kansas City's on Wikipedia - Kansas City, Kansas gets short shrift.  Kansas City, Missouri gets credit for Kansas City bbq, Kansas City jazz, and Kansas City blues.  Kansas City, Kansas doesn't get credit for much of anything.  In fact, its entry is about half the size of its more prominent partner's.

The one time I visited Kansas City was for test commercials for the launch of KC (yep, Kansas City) Masterpiece Barbeque Sauce.  My hands appeared in one commercial, I did voice over for another, and in the third, I was in charge of props. KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce is now the number one selling premium bbq sauce in the country.   Dr. Dave, as he was called, was the pediatrician who came up with the original KC Masterpiece recipe, and subsequently sold it to Clorox in 1986.  In case that seems like a strange company to purchase a food product, Clorox also owns Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing. 

Iowa

Time to start in on the next seven states in alphabetical order, beginning with Iowa.

Des Moines is the only place in Iowa I've visited, and that was, surprise surprise, on business several years back.  We were there to meet with Meredith Corporation about their first corporate ad campaign for all their media properties, which at the time were primarily magazines. Previously, all the individual media properties did their own advertsing campaigns.  I still have a coffee mug with the slogan and icon from that campaign: "If it has to do with home and family, it has to be in Meredith." Their positioning hasn't changed since then.

I remember being as impressed with the company and the people who worked for them as any company I've ever been exposed to.   They were very smart and very nice without being easy.  They also sent their corporate jet to San Francisco to pick up and fly seven of us to their Des Moines headquarters for a full briefing.  That was awesome, to say the least.

My other impressions of Iowa come from Radar in the television show Mash, whatever my dad told us from having spent a semester at Iowa State on a tennis scholarship, and my friends David and Adam, brothers who are from Iowa.  I hope if I ever make that road trip across the US, I drive through and spend some time in Iowa.  I just have this feeling it might be more interesting than it's made out to be.  And then again, maybe not.

St. Petersburg, Russia

The thing that surprised me the most when I visited St. Petersburg was the colors of the buildings - all painted pastel with white trim.  Like the pale blue in the church above, but also pale greens, pinks and yellows, and on all types of buildings, not just churches.  It is quite beautiful, actually.

I was lucky enough to be in St. Petersburg during the White Nights, around the time of the summer soltice when the sun does set, but the sky never really gets dark.  St. Petersburg is the most northern city in the world with a population over one million, at about the same latitude as Oslo and Anchorage.

The references to the White Nights I've found on-line talk about six weeks of the White Nights Festival.  I don't remember any sort of festival, but I do remember that we were there on the day of the actual summer solstice.  It seemed the entire city stayed up all night, mostly hanging out by the river, watching the bridges raise to let ships pass through, enjoying fireworks and drinking vodka.  It was pretty wild and wonderful all at the same time.

This postcard comes to me through Postcrossing, but unfortunately the sender neglected to put the reference number on the card so I can't let him know it arrived.  So Ishtvan in St. Petersburg, if you happen to read this, "Thanks for the beautiful card!"

Seed Packets as Postcards

With just about two weeks left until the start of spring, and the wildflowers have started to appear.  Along the MUNI tracks on 19th Avenue in San Francisco near San Francisco State are a "plethora" of bright orange California poppies, one of my very favorite flowers.   I took a picture with my cell phone of some while I was stopped in traffic the other day and sent it to my mom.

As Spring draws nearer, it's not a bad idea to encourage the growth of flowers, actually or metaphorically, wherever you go.  Here's a way to do it actually.  Send flower seeds via postcards to your friends, or better yet, your enemies!

P.S.  Speaking of friends, it's Postcard Friendship Friday.  Check it out!

More Photos by Roberto Lopez Diaz

Two more photographs by Roberto Lopez Diaz, one of the "Ferrocarril Chihuahua Al Pacifico" and one of Basaseachic Falls.

Ferrocarril means "railroad" for you non-Spanish speakers, and this train route is considered by some to be the most beautiful ride on the North American Continent.  "The tracks pass over 37 bridges and through 86 tunnels" and cross the continental divide, traversing Copper Canyon along the way. 

Cascada de Basaseachic ("Basaseachic Falls") is in Copper Canyon and the second highest waterfall in Mexico, after Cascada de Piedra Volada ("Flying Rock Falls").  Interestingly, Flying Rock Falls are known to flow only during the rainy season, which may explain why Basaseachic Falls was considered the highest falls in Mexico until 1994.

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Clockwise, from the upper left:  the post office and downtown view, the train station and the Hotel Rio Bravo, the Cruz Blanca "cerveceria" (I know you all know what that means even if you don't speak Spanish), and the race track, from a series of photographs by Roberto Lopez Diaz of Ciudad Juarez in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico probably from late 1950s/early 1960s. 

If you search Ciudad Juarez now, it is defined as both one of the fastest growing cities in the world and "the most violent zone in the world outside of declared war zones."  These postcards reflect a more innocent time.

The Grand Canyon

One daily challenge for me is deciding which postcard to post that day.  Sometimes, I post late in the day because I can't face sorting through and choosing.  Other times, I get on a theme and it makes my choosing a lot easier.

Conversely, it fascinates me to think about why postcard senders choose one card over another to send.  Some go for the best representation of where they are, choosing a card that not only shows, for example, a famous landmark in London, but also says "London" over the visual.  Others seek out the obscure, or choose photographs of a piece of art in a museum they've visited.  Still others find funny postcards, picking pictures of outhouses, or donkeys, or whatever image tickles their funny bones.  Finally, others are correspondents using poscards as a vehicle and this function can take a variety of forms.

This thought came to mind as I was sorting through another HUGE stack of postcards I received from my friend, Steve.  (Thanks again, Steve!) Among other particularly interesting cards was a group of cards from the dioramas inside the Visitor Center at Grand Canyon National Park. [Note:  It is very possible these dioramas no longer exist.]

My first reaction was, "why would anyone choose to send pictures of dioramas inside a visitor's center when there are so many pictures of the grandeur of the Grand Canyon?"   Then I started reading the backs, which offered interesting, athough brief, natural history information. 

These postcards are probably from the 1950s, produced in "Plastichrome" by Natural Color Company.  I couldn't find a current Natural Color Company, except ones that are sellling "natural" color additives for food manufacturers.  Yuck! 

So here's your Grand Canyon geography and history lesson for today:

Fom the back of the card:  "The dark rocks in the bottom of Grand Canyon, nearly two billion years old, are the roots of ancient mountains which were eroded away.  Earliest known life developed as primitive one celled plants in pools of water on the resulting lowlands."

 

"A sea covered northern Arizona during the Cambrian period (about 500 million years ago).  Trilobites were the dominant sea creatures.  Fossils of these extinct relatives of crabs and lobsters are found in Grand Canyon rocks."

I have to confess I have always been fascinated by trilobites and whenever I go tidepooling, am convinced they still exist.

"Evidence found in the Supai and Hermit formations in Grand Canyon indicates that about 200 million years ago this region was a low floodplain.  Ferns and cone-bearing plants grew in swamps inhabited by primitive salamander-like creatures and large insects."






Kind of a big leap from 200 million years ago to 1540....."Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenos, one of Coronado's officers, led a small group of Spanish soldiers to the Grand Canyon in 1540.  These first white men to see the Canyon were guided to the south rim by Hopi Indians."

"In 1869 Major John Wesley Powell (Lake Powell?) a geologist and one armed veteran of the Civil War, led the first boat expedition through Grand Canyon.  In August, he camped near the mouth of a beautiful clear stream which he named Bright Angel Creek."

The College Series

Haven't posted anything to the college series for a while.  This one comes from our friend, Tara, who is spending the semester in Copenhagen.

You hear most often of students abroad in Italy or Spain or England or Australia.  I don't blame them - I'd love to spend a semester in any (or all!) of those places.

But I think Tara's experience will be more different than most.  And I think she is brave for going for that difference.