IBM Endicott Plant Number One - January 25, 2007

IBM Endicott
Plant Number One
Endicott, NY is a small town. Not much going on here. I was here 4 days before anyone mentioned the IBM plant. Driving along the dark streets among these buildings created a whisper of an echo of something that was once a majestic symbol of technology and dreams. Sad. Forgotten. Breathtakingly historic.

There's a great little history on this plant & it's worth the read. This is where it all began.
Back before there was an International Business Machines (c.1924); back before Thomas J. Watson, Sr., joined IBM's predecessor, the Computing-Tabulating-Machine Company (1914); even back before the formation of CTR itself (1911), IBM's very first manufacturing facility had already begun to take shape in Endicott, N.Y. Read more...http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/endicott/endicott_intro.html

1939 1960

1915 1925

Morrilton, AR - January 15, 2007

A Cold Drive to Morrilton, Arkansas
I drove 385 miles to Morrilton in the aftermath of an ice storm. The roads were mostly free of ice, but it was an eerie landscape.

Ice Forest

I stopped the car on the shoulder of the interstate, and like a crazy woman, braved zooming 18-wheelers for a few photos of the woods.

My Glacier

The sheet of ice on the hood did not melt for 4 days. I had the only car in Morrilton riding around with a glacier on its hood. The windshield was so cold that Judy (my GPS) fell off the glass.

Eunice, Louisiana - January 11, 2007

The Heart of Cajun Country
The ACADIANS were French subjects in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and when Great Britain acquired their country in 1713 they wanted to remain loyal to their French homeland. The British ordered them to pay the homage to the English Queen and to give up their Catholic religion. The Acadians (later shortened to "Cajuns") refused and ... in September, 1755 the entire Acadian population, in all over 10,000 people, was loaded into prison boats. As they escaped, they made their way to the heart of Louisiana. http://eunice-la.com/whatis.html




Cajun Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Let the Good Times Roll!


Acadiana
In 1971, the Louisiana legislature adopted House Concurrent Resolution 496, which officially dubbed as Acadiana a twenty-two parish region of southern Louisiana. The region is home to the nation's largest concentration of Cajuns.

Acadiana, however, is also home to the country's largest rural Creole population. Acadiana is the cradle of Cajun music, Zydeco, and Cajun cuisine. The region maintains perhaps America's highest culinary standards and boasts an exceptionally high concentration of excellent restaurants.

For a great map and information on each of the parishes, take a look at the Acadiana link.


From: http://ccet.louisiana.edu/03a_Cultural_Tourism_Files/02.0_Acadiana.html

Baton Rouge Hotel - January, 2007

For Nancy

Here are the photos of the room!

Double-click the photo to see it larger.

Indianapolis - New Year's Eve 2006

Downtown Indianapolis
Early morning on New Year's Eve. We spent a few hours walking around, exploring, and taking pictures before heading home.
The Capital - Night and Day

Downtown

Crosswalks

The crosswalks had the coolest walk-don't walk signs. These lighted men and women "walked" to indicate it was ok to cross the street.

Nightlife

Chautauqua Institution, NY - December 30, 2006

Chautaquua Lake
Just a few miles from Fredonia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chautauqua_Lake

Some nice photos of the lake http://www.chautauqualake.org/

There is a large Amish community in this area. Many of the Amish sell their goods from their homes. If you want to shop with them, these maps are important because there aren't necessarily signs to let you know where to shop. Amish country maps. http://www.tourchautauqua.com/index.php?option=com_mtree&task=listcats&cat_id=82&Itemid=150

The St. Elmo Hotel on the grounds of Chautauqua Instituition

The Lewis Miller Memorial Bell Tower - 1911

Enjoy performances in this open air arena.

The Chautauqua Institution is a not-for-profit, 750-acre educational center beside Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York State, where approximately 7,500 persons are in residence on any day during a nine-week season, and a total of over 142,000 attend scheduled public events. Over 8,000 students enroll annually in the Chautauqua Summer Schools which offer courses in art, music, dance, theater, writing skills and a wide variety of special interests.
http://www.ciweb.org/history.html

Rooms for Rent

Streets and streets of quaint buildings where you can rent rooms or entire apartments.

The Atheneum Hotel

Also on the grounds. Serving guests since 1881 and one of the first hotels to have electric lights. Thomas Edison was the son-in-law of the institute's co-founder.
http://www.athenaeum-hotel.com/index2.html

Fredonia, New York - Christmas, 2006

Telecommuting from Fredonia
Not a bad gig. Fireplace roaring, windows with a view to the pond and the woods, quiet and away from the family hustle & bustle of Christmas.

Boogie Woogie John
Christmas Boogie at the keyboard.

Christmas Eve Excitement

What happened?!

A big power line fell to the forest floor across the road. No one had power anywhere along the road & the wet leaves in the woods smoldered at the point of contact with the line. Eventually, small fires broke out where the leaves had dried. You could see exactly where the power line had fallen by following the line of smoke and fire through the woods. Total time with no power - 8 hours. No major fire & no problem. By Christmas morning, all was well.

Buffalo Airport - December 23, 2006

Buffalo Airport - On the Run!

We delivered the Avis PT Cruiser back to the Buffalo airport & I pulled over, jumped into a grassy median, and took a quick photo. Hard to tell it's an airport, isn't it?!

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport

Stranded in Wilkes-Barre!

Blizzards in Denver.

Cancelled flights everywhere.

No flight home for another two days.

What the heck!

Refunded my return fare.

Rented a PT Cruiser & headed for Fredonia, NY for the family Christmas holiday.

283 miles - pulled into the driveway at 1:15am.

John cancelled his flight from KC to Buffalo, slept a few hours, and headed to Fredonia.

Kingston, PA - December, 2006

View from the Hotel













Christmas week was full of long days and early sundowns, so I couldn't get photos of the town. However, the hotel had a great view!