Why Men Who Go Pullman Rate With…
A look ahead, as later this month sees me off on another private railroad car adventure. A round-trip from Emeryville to Denver, crossing the Sierra and the Rockies, hopefully with plenty of snow. It’s...
View ArticleWhere ever the Car Takes Us.
When I was growing up, one of the greatest adventures we could have was to go out for the day for a ride in the car with my mother’s dad. Always some place different, always some thing we hadn’t done...
View ArticleEast of Sparks
In a little more than a week, I will be riding with a small group of folks on a private railroad car heading from Emeryville to Denver and back again.. As things go, this isn’t a new experience. I have...
View ArticleThrough The Rockies
The Denver and Rio Grande Western has a wonderful history. Crossing Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, it managed to overcome adversity and be the lifeline to many communities in the days when roads were...
View ArticleIt’s Colorado Calling
Once upon time, Union Pacific travelers used the Overland route to reach Denver from either the east or west. Their partners in doing so included the Southern Pacific from San Francisco as well as the...
View ArticleMardi Gras 1899
Anniversaries manage to find their way. This year sees an interesting one for an ancestor of mine. One that marks a moment that changed his life and set in motion a career of 51 years, a family in...
View ArticleWhy Train Travel?
Today, the traveler often takes the easy way out. That can be flying across the country at altitude, comfy in your coach seat, served peanuts along with that complimentary soft drink. Or if driving, by...
View ArticleContent is king…
Don’t get me wrong. I love a good story. Some of the best have made the leap from tales told by a camp fire and making their way from generation to generation; then onto the printed paged to be read...
View ArticleMain Street Cinema – both sides of the coin
It seems like anything that happens at Disneyland manages to generate some strong feelings that manage to find their way onto social media. Perhaps the most notable recent example was the decision by...
View ArticleWhen Fandom Becomes Obsession
This column first appeared here on the Blue Parrot on 4/25/2014. Let me start by saying that Disney is only one thing amongst many that draw my attention. Sometimes, and I am not ashamed to admit this,...
View ArticleA Galaxy Far, Far Away
It is undeniable that the universe of all things Star Wars has found its place on this planet. The creation of George Lucas marks the latest last chapter in the nine episode saga as “Star Wars: The...
View ArticleIn and Around New Orleans
The Original Royal Street Bachelors, doing what they do best, out in front of the One of a Kind Shoppe, on Royal Street.From a Disneyland Panavue Slide To many people, New Orleans Square is their...
View ArticleMeet Me Down on Main Street
Main Street USA at Disneyland, looking from Town Square towards the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Continuing on our look at the Park, we head today to the first place any Disneyland guest visits. If there is...
View ArticleBEEBE ON BEEBE
Lucius Beebe, Life Magazine, January 16, 1939 I have been a fan of Lucius Beebe ever since the day in Reno, many years ago when my grandmother gave me a copy of 1949’s “Virginia and Truckee: A Story of...
View ArticleTools Of The Trade
From 1906, at Crows Landing, CA on the Southern Pacific between Tracy and Fresno. One of the joys of being home during the shelter in place for the quarantine for this virus has been the chance to go...
View ArticleFlying the skies
One of the guilty pleasures of sheltering in place here in the San Francisco Bay Area has been the opportunity to check out various YouTube channels. In particular, one subset of these has been a group...
View ArticleThe nattering nabobs of Negativism
Thank Spiro Agnew for the title of today’s opus. Mr. Agnew, much like Mr. Trump, had an acrimonious relationship with members of the media. His quote may have been misdirected, but it does manage to...
View ArticleMeanwhile…
Long time, no write. Or to put it on grammatically correct terms, yes time has passed since I last sat down and blogged in this space. I can’t plead at being busy. Still searching for meaningful...
View Article2021 Calendars Coming Soon!
We are in the final stages of production of a selection of 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch, 12-month calendars from The Blue Parrot and Private Car Service. Each month features an image and descriptive text....
View ArticleDisneyland: Going forward
So, it finally came. The end of the Disneyland Annual Passport program. It took a pandemic and the closure of theme parks in California for almost 10 months to accomplish what some folks have been...
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