Our Road Trip to the Mission Inn

Jim and I traveled down South for the weekend to celebrate his sister and brother in-laws 60th Anniversary. We had a wonderful time with all of the family there. Here are some of the photos I took of the Inn. It was so beautiful with the many gardens and walking paths. There were several outdoor parties going on, and I also spotted two wedding receptions on the upper level. What a nice place to get married, the Chapel was booked for another wedding so I could not take any pictures of it. Someone there told me that there was a wedding in the Chapel every 2 hours that day.




You can see the new Bride talking to her Flower Girl on the balcony, she was having photos taken.
Here is the Bride waving her veil over the railing.

Here again is another Bride and Groom. I was having so much fun taking photos of their wonderful day. The weather was cool and everyone seem to be having a good time. I did manage to go across the street for a couple of hours and antique before dinner.

Mission Inn

This is one of the weddings at the Mission Inn that evening, behind those beautiful windows was a large banquet room where they was having the reception.

I walked around the beautiful gardens and took a few photos.

I loved this iron work in front of the window. The ivy and the flowers were gorgeous.



This is the front entrance of the Mission Inn Hotel, all of the greenery is so lush.

Madison's First Post

Preserving the Memories Through Escalon's New Mural

There is much history behind the town of Escalon, one way we know is by the people who lived during those times. Many cherish the memories of that time and maintained them so others are able to enjoy them also. A way we can conserve those remembrances is by the local museums. The Escalon museum has taken much pride in caring for the commemorations of the early times of Escalon. The museum has dedicated their wall for a mural representing Escalon during the early 1900's.



Alexandria who is the artist of the beautiful mural has been professionally painting since 2001. She paints not only in Escalon but also painted several other murals in Riverbank. She also enjoys riding her horses in her spare time. When my Oma and I spotted her painting the mural we decided to stop and introduce ourselves. While talking with her she mentioned that she was homeschooling her three children. You can envision by the picture all the detail of what it was like in the early 1900's. Thank you Alexandria for making Escalon beautiful with your artwork. We are looking forward to seeing more of your murals in the future.







-Madison Rae

Neckties for the Discriminating Canines

Meet Duke.


Duke is 28 years old (in dog years, that is) and is an intellectual. He is largely a self-disciplined, highly-motivated individual who strives for perfection. His manners are impeccable. He loathes uncleanliness. If he were a human, he'd fashion himself to be a fancy trial lawyer who resided uptown in a swanky, high-story loft with fabulous views of the city. And of course he's heard it all before... he's elegant, he's refined, he's handsome... He has got it all. He takes himself so seriously that this is why his owner put him in this loud, obnoxious necktie. She was trying to get him to lighten up a little bit.



Now this---this is more like it. It's conservative. It's serious. It's understated. It complements the man behind the collar. This is Duke.


Meet The Judge.


Judge is a laid-back kinda guy. He is the epitome of cool. There is nothing in this world that is going to rattle his cage. He does things at his own pace and that is just how it is going to be. When he walks the streets, he knows everybody and everybody knows him. He muses to himself that if he were to be a human, he would be a mobster. But not just any mobster---he would have to be a boss, a real capo. He would spend his days in a dark and smokey nightclub, sipping on Cuban cigars and handing out orders to his lower-echelon captains. Everyone answers to The Judge... and therefore The Judge prefers to stand out, to look flashy and draw attention.

The Judge likes his necktie.

So... what kind of human would YOUR dog be?

Hurry to The Green Pea to get the perfect necktie for your discriminating canine. All neckties feature a coordinating fabric on the backside and will velcro securely around the collar.

A Quick Walk in The Green Pea

Can you just imagine all the fun hours some little girls had playing with this doll house? It is now
looking for a new home and someone to play with!!

I was have a conversation with Mr. Pea the other day when I noticed something strange!! I grabbed my camera and got off a quick shot of him from the back. Do you see something strange? Yes, you are right, he was wearing his shirt inside out!! Did I tell him? What do you think? Silly man, you must have been in a hurry to get to work.

I just love these French field glasses from Paris. They are time -worn and have a wonderful brass patina.

Look at this old screened baby crib, it was all in pieces in my friends lumber yard barn. Marvin is collector and he was showing me something else that he had found. I asked, what is that rusty screen thing? and Marvin said, "oh! take it, it's some baby thing". Soooooo I did and put it together, I thought it was going to be a playpen at first. Has anyone ever seen one like this? I think it was to keep the bugs off the baby, maybe while working outside in the garden?? Who knows?