Happy Mother's Day!

 

Happy Easter!

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The pot at the end of the rainbow...

 Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Merry Christmas!

 

Happy Sinko de Mayo!

Abe's Day

Above, Abraham Lincoln depicted in a display at the Abraham Lincoln
 Presidential Museum in Springfield, Illinois. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today is Lincoln's Birthday.

This is the day that the birth of the 16th president, President Abraham Lincoln, is commemorated. Some states still recognize it as a holiday, while others just observe Presidents' Day.

According to Wikipedia:

Lincoln's Birthday is a public holiday in some U.S. states, observed on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth on February 12, 1809, in Hodgenville, Kentucky. Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, California, Missouri, and New York observe the holiday.

In many other states, Lincoln's birthday is not celebrated separately, as a stand-alone holiday. Instead, Lincoln's birthday is combined with a celebration of President George Washington's birthday (also in February) and celebrated either along with the Federal holiday of Washington's Birthday or as Presidents' Day on the third Monday in February.

History

The earliest known observance of Lincoln's birthday occurred in Buffalo, New York, in either 1873 or 1874. Julius Francis (d. 1881), a Buffalo druggist, made it his life's mission to honor the slain president. He repeatedly petitioned Congress to establish Lincoln's birthday as a legal holiday.

Above, the Lincoln Family at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In many areas, the Republican Party commemorates Lincoln's Birthday with Lincoln Day Dinners as Lincoln was the first Republican president. 

Happy New Year

 

Happy New Year!

January 20th can't come soon enough!

Thanksgiving Wine Suggestions

With Thanksgiving only days away, one may wonder what goes best with a turkey dinner. Some, like me, have their favorites. 

JJ Buckley Fine Wines recommends the following:

What kind of wine goes best with turkey?

Wine and turkey pairings

• Pinot Noir. You cannot go wrong with this choice when served alongside a classic, roasted turkey with a side of gravy. ...
• Chardonnay. Another obvious choice for wine pairing with turkey, Chardonnay is ideal for a classic roasted bird. ...
• Champagne. ...
• Riesling. ...
• Beaujolais. ...
• Sangiovese. ...
• Zinfandel. 

Happy Independence Day!

 Have a safe and sane Independence Day!

Memorial Day Weekend Numbers For KOA, Jellystone Skyrocket

Above, Lava Hot Springs/City Center KOA. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If one thought that people were content to spend Memorial Day weekend relaxing at home, guess again.

The weekend saw record numbers at both KOA Kampgrounds and Jellystone Park Campgrounds.

RV Travel reported:

Memorial Day Weekend camping last year was largely a lost cause throughout North America, as the COVID-19 pandemic limited campgrounds’ ability to welcome guests.

The good news (if you’re a campground owner) is that things looked much brighter last weekend at parks throughout the U.S.

Kampgrounds of America Inc. reported that check-ins at its 520 locations were up 80% over last year, and (even more impressive) up 14% over the company’s record Memorial Day weekend pre-pandemic performance in 2019.

Detailed Memorial Day weekend results at the 70+ Jellystone Park Campgrounds in the U.S. haven’t yet been released. It takes a while for their corporate office to receive official reports from individual campgrounds.

But Trent Hershenson, vice president of Marketing for Leisure Systems, Inc. (owners of the Jellystone Park franchise system) said that advanced reservation figures for year-to-date reservations as of May 30 were up 77% compared to Leisure System’s Jellystone Park numbers in 2019.

To read the full article, go here. 

Memorial Day Holiday Travel Expected To Rebound

Above, this'll probably be what I end up doing during Memorial Day weekend. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This year is certainly flying by fast.

It seems like only yesterday (January, to be exact) that I was in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas wandering around the Fort Worth Stockyards, John Wayne: An American Experience, the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza and Southfork Ranch.

Now, Memorial Day is looming just weeks away.

I don't plan on going anywhere on Memorial Day weekend. I will stick around home and avoid the crowds. There's plenty here to do, including roaming around nearby Cibola National Forest in my Jeep.

It looks like Memorial Day weekend will be rebounding from last year's dismal numbers.

According to WKTN Radio:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (May 11, 2021)—AAA Travel expects a significant rebound in travel this Memorial Day holiday weekend. From May 27-31, more than 37 million Americans (nearly 1.7 million Ohioans) are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home. That’s an increase of 60% nationally (nearly 57% in Ohio) from last year when only 23 million Americans (just over 900,000 Ohioans) traveled, the lowest on record since AAA began recording in 2000.

The expected strong increase from last year’s holiday, which fell during the early phase of the pandemic, still represents 13%—or nearly 6 million—fewer travelers than in 2019 nationally. In Ohio, travel is expected to be nearly 14%, or about 229,000 travelers, below 2019 numbers.

 To read more, go here.