Hi Y'all,
I recently began scanning some old Slides taken in my younger years.
Note to Family: There is a picture of My sister Joanne about 10 Years old and Mary about 8 in the first movie.
The First Movie are a series of Pictures from TJ's first Birthday Party. Click HERE--> TJ
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People are usually surprised and laugh when I tell them that they own a part of a fully restored carousel, But it's True.
The Carousel at GlenEcho Park in GlenEcho Maryland has been fully restored with private funds at a cost of over $600,000.00
and over 20 years of labor. It was then placed on the list of historic places and donated to the national park service, ie: The US Government.
The Park Service operates it during the summer months. Maintenance costs are paid for through the receipts of it's riders.
To see a movie of the restored horses click Here---> Glen Echo
Make sure you're speakers are turned on. The movies are much better with the music, and the music is even better with a good quality headset if you have one.
The Music for the Glen Echo movie is actually being played on a "Wurlitzer 165 Bank Organ" Identical to the Glen Echo Organ and pictured in slide #3
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TJ, Caralinn and Rebecca have rescued a Horse from neglect and are having a ball caring for and riding him. His name is "BART" and he stands 17 hands tall.
For those who don't know, that's BIG.
During a trip up this past fall Helen and I watched as TJ and Caralinn took him for some exercise.
Bart loves to run and show off. He had a blast and I got some great pictures and put them to music.
Click here to watch it ---> Bart
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On Sunday February 1, 2009 Rebecca bought her first horse, a 10 year old Pinto Paint named "Cookies." He is a bit more Rebecca's size at 14 1/2 hands.
Click here to see a picture of Becca and Cookies
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The pictures for the next movie were taken in February 2008 at the "Ybor City Illuminated Night Parade."
There are several events that go on during the month of February but the most noted of all of the events are two parades. First is the Day Parade sponsored by the "YE MYSTIC KREW OF GASPARILLA." The Second is the Ybor City Illuminated Night parade Sponsored by The "Krew of the Knights of Sant' Yago." Each one has a full parade and a lighter version for the children usually the week before.
February is Tampa's "MADRI GRAS" Month. It is a mythical celebration of a pirate invasion of The City of Tampa by the infamous "Jose Gaspar." The Invasion is usually held the first or second weekend of February. About 9 AM Jose sails his ship, a 2 masted tall ship, up Seddon Channel from Tampa Bay. to the rear of the Tampa Convention Center. He has a crew of about 200 pirates and when they dock at the convention center they invade the City and capture the Mayor and put him/her in jail and take over the city for the day. They start with brunch which is accompanied by large quantities of Beer and Rum. They then follow that with a parade that starts about 1pm and lasts for about 4 to 5 hours. The second parade is a night parade. Most of the floats are the same as the day parade except they are all decorated and Illuminated with lights. TJ and his family were down for a visit in 2008 on he weekend of the parade and had a great time.
If you are anywhere near Tampa on the parade weekend it is a must see. We have seen it 3 times in the 11 years we have lived here and each one is better than the last. The Parade starts shortly after dusk and lasts till about midnight. I think there are about 180 slides in this show and it runs for just under 9 minutes through 4 complete songs. So as not to bore you to much I move the pictures fairly quickly, but if you want to look at any picture a bit longer just hit the pause button. As you watch remember the only light for the pictures is from the floats and the camera's flash. Some of the pictures are a bit blurry and a few are a bit dark. I have thrown out those that were to blurry or dark but have left the rest. I hope you like it and if you ever want to take a February vacation go on the internet and you can get the dates or call and I will get them for you.
Click here --> Night Parade
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When Becca got up the next Morning she counted out the beads she caught at the parade. I don't remember how many but here is a picture of her wearing them.
Click Here --> Becca
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The first and third links below will get you to the web sights for both events while the center link is a video of the event.
http://www.gasparillapiratefest.com/
http://gasparillapiratefest.com/video.shtml
Enjoy
Love Tom and Helen