Bun’s in Delaware

A restaurant in Delaware, Ohio that is.  In business for over 150 years; minus the two years rebuilding it after an arsonist destroyed it in 2002.  It’s name comes from the nickname locals gave the original business, a bakery, from one of it’s staples.  Wonder what that staple was 😉

I decided to shoot this iconic sign from the middle of the street instead of from the often seen photo of the sign from across the street leading to the restaurant; happy traffic was very very light that day.  Almost everything was closed in preparation for the 4th of July parade a block away.

 

The Strand Theatre

The Strand Theater is a movie theater located on  East Winter Street in downtown Delaware, Ohio.  Opened in 1916, it is the tenth longest operating movie theater in the United States.  Notice anything interesting about the marquee? I thought that was great…

 

Good times call for a good…

Wine!  There was a celebratory dinner out last night and then there was some wine later.  I hate spending what I can get an entire bottle for on one glass in a restaurant sometimes so I opted for the decadent dessert there and wine at home.  I discovered this wine at a Greek restaurant here when we first moved to Ohio.  It’s a very nice California red blend and became a staple in our home but in recent years it has become harder and harder to find.  The original (well, original for me) label had a scene reminiscent of the one from The Creature from the Black Lagoon; monster holding screaming woman.  What’s not to love about a wine with a label like that?

When I noticed the wine becoming harder to find I stocked up on a couple of bottles.  No wine today – coffee!

 

Windmill

A remnant from it’s mining past at the Superstition Mountain Museum.

Museum, Mountains, Mining and Elvis

The Superstition Mountain Museum has several old mining buildings, mining equipment, signs that say watch out for snakes and the chapel here known as the Elvis Chapel because he once filmed a movie here.

 

Pere Noel

Père Noël (French pronunciation: [pɛʁ nɔ.ɛl]), “Father Christmas”, sometimes called Papa Noël (“Daddy Christmas”), is a legendary gift-bringer at Christmas in France and other French-speaking areas, identified with the Father Christmas and/or Santa Claus of English-speaking territories. Though they were traditionally different, all of them are now the same character, with different names, and the shared characteristics of a red outfit, workshop at the North Pole, and team of reindeer.

According to tradition, on Christmas Eve children leave their shoes by the fireplace filled with carrots and treats for Père Noël’s donkey, Gui (French for “Mistletoe”) before they go to bed. Père Noël takes the offerings and, if the child has been good, leaves presents in their place. Presents are traditionally small enough to fit in the shoes; candy, money or small toys.^[1]

Père Noël is sometimes confused with another character. In Eastern France (Alsace and Lorraine regions), in Belgium, in Switzerland, and in Eastern Europe there is a parallel tradition to celebrate Saint Nicolas on December 6. He is followed by Le Père Fouettard, who exists also in different parts of Germany (Knecht Ruprecht or Belsnickel), Austria (Krampus), the Netherlands Nicolaas van Myra, and Belgium (Zwarte Piet in Dutch, Le Père Fouettard in French). Le Père Fouettard is a sinister figure dressed in black who accompanies Saint Nicolas and spanks children who have behaved badly.

In Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, due to the influence of French culture in the 19th century, the name of Papá Noel/Papai Noel was adopted, opposing for example the name of Pai Natal in Portugal.

In Louisiana Cajun culture, a version of Papa Noël is modeled after Santa Claus, in which he arrives at homes in a pirogue towed by eight alligators.^[2]

wikipedia

Alligators??????? Mon dieu!

Marshall Point Lighthouse

“Marshall Point Light Station was established in 1832 to assist boats entering and leaving Port Clyde Harbor. The original lighthouse was a 20-foot (6.1 m) tower lit by seven lard oil lamps with 14-inch reflectors.^[1]

The original tower was replaced with the present lighthouse in 1857. The lighthouse is a 31-foot (9.4 m) tall white brick tower on a granite foundation. The tower was originally lit with a 5th order Fresnel lens. A raised wooden walkway connects the tower to land.^[1]

In 1895, the original keeper’s house was destroyed by lightning. A Colonial Revival style house was built to replace it. An oil house and a bell tower with a 1,000-pound (450 kg) bell were added in 1898. The bell was replaced with a fog horn in 1969.^[1]

The lighthouse was automated in 1980 and the original Fresnel lens was replaced with a modern 12 inches (300 mm) optic.^[4] The original lens is at the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland. In 1986, the St. George Historical Society restored the keeper’s house and established the Marshall Point Lighthouse Museum there, presenting the histories of Marshall Point Light and other nearby lighthouses.^[4] The light station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.^{[3]   ” wikipedia}

 

Like the Portland head lighthouse this was another one that you could walk right up to and touch.  There is a warning sign from the Coast Guard though at the beginning of the walkway that says the horn still sounds and does so without warning. be advised to stay back 100 feet when it does.  While I did walk out to it (and then quickly back) I never did hear it sound; I was hoping it would.

A bit of interesting trivia about this lighthouse is that it appeared in the 1994 movie Forrest Gump when he was doing his famous long run.  And that’s all I’ve got to say about that 😉