Monday, May 29, 2017

Observations on Home

Photo from D. Havens. Alfred Freyling, Sr in undated photo.

After spending the weekend in Southern Indiana, we're back in Northern Virginia. The long weekend gave us the opportunity to spend time with Allison's side of the family and drive through my old stomping grounds south of Indianapolis to Bloomington. We had a great visit with family, and I have brought back quite a few old photos and records from Allison's side of the tree.

In a fortuitous bit of timing, I am about to hit three of my states of residence since 1985 within a 24 hour period. This morning we flew back from Indianapolis to Northern VA, and tomorrow I will be flying to Los Angeles for a couple of days of meetings. This gives me some perspective on the concept of home.

For my middle school years through law school, I lived in Central Indiana. I attended Wabash College and Indiana University School of Law. While living there I frequently traveled the roads between Indianapolis and Bloomington. Over the weekend I drove some of those same roads, State Road 67 and 37, I-69, and passed through my old high school town of Martinsville, Indiana. While some of the sights were familiar - seeing Gray Brothers Cafeteria in Mooresville and the roads around Indiana University in Bloomington - a lot had faded from memory or was unrecognizable. Parts of Evansville seemed more current in my mind than the old neighborhood around Martinsville. The drives brought back some memories, but the area no longer feels like my home.

On this visit we did not have time to visit friends and family in Indianapolis. Other than driving to the airport, we didn't see the city, so perhaps some of these feelings would have been different around Downtown or in Indy itself.

Northern Virginia is where we live now, seven years removed from our residence in Santa Monica. But in the years since we returned to Alexandria, I have consistently gone back to LA several times a year for meetings at headquarters. We still own our condo in LA County, and continue to pay California taxes. I definitely feel at home in LA. Over the years my feeling of home in LA has grown, partly due to my historical connections to the city and family links to California. The feeling is also due to the years of living there and returning. LA is one of my favorite places in the world.

While this week's trip is short, I am looking forward to seeing family, colleagues and familiar places. I'll cap this post with a link to Best Coast's 2012 song The Only Place, a perfect ode to Los Angeles. See you tomorrow, LA.
Image taken from I Love You, California cover sheet.

Family Reunions 1921 & 1928

Freyling Family Reunion, 1928.
Reverse of reunion photo.
The photos above and below show family reunions on the Freyling Farm from 1928 and 1921.
Freyling Family Reunion, 1921.

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Eight!

Photo by Patrick Jones. S on the farm in Indiana. 27 May 2017.

Happy Birthday weekend to our little guy. He shares a birthday with his great-grandmother, and we celebrated on the farm in Elberfeld, Indiana.
Photo by A. Jones. Birthday cake with family.
A bit of rain couldn't keep us down, and we managed to get in a hayride for all the cousins.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Hayride. Elberfeld, Indiana.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Hayride with cousins.

Last year's birthday post is available here.

Friday, May 26, 2017

Family on the Farm

Freyling family, Warrick County, Indiana.

Continuing with yesterday's post, this photo shows Allison's 2nd-great-great-grandparents John Andrew Freyling and Carrie Rech Freyling, her great-grandfather (center) and siblings.
Reverse of the above photo.
Top row: John Andrew Freyling and Karolina Wilhelmina "Carrie" Rech Freyling. Middle row: Kathryn Susan Freyling (1901-1985), Ruth Ann Freyling (1894-1947), Alfred S. Freyling (1892-1975), Minnie Louise Freyling (1896-1972), Marie Elizabeth Freyling (1899-1985). Front: Emma Carolyn Freyling (1904-1975).

Today I was able to pull copies of Freyling family land records in Warrick County, as well as John and Carrie's marriage record in Vanderburgh County. I will have a separate post on these records.


Thursday, May 25, 2017

On the old farm

Freyling Farm, Warrick County, Indiana.

We're back in Southern Indiana this weekend for a family reunion on the Freyling side of the family. Above is a photo of the old Freyling farm in Warrick County. I'm planning to visit the Warrick County Recorder's Office in the morning to look at early land records and try to learn more about Stephen Freyling's arrival in America.

On the Freyling Farm, about 1926-1927
Reverse of the photo above.
Allison's grandfather is the child on the rolling chair with his older sister Irma holding the hat on his head.

Monday, May 22, 2017

Mercado de San Miguel

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mercado de San Miguel, Madrid. 17 May 2017.

On our last afternoon in Madrid, we stopped into the famous Mercado de San Miguel for a snack of tapas and cava. In some ways this place had aspects in common with other markets I have photographed (see also Grand Central Market in LA), but the quality and liveliness of the place puts it in a class of its own.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Fruit vendor at Mercado de San Miguel.
We loved the empanadillas (unfortunately no pictures, these were gobbled up quickly), and cheese samples, which paired well with the cava. We will definitely return to the Mercado de San Miguel on a future visit to Madrid. Highly recommended!
Photo by Patrick Jones. A. Jones at the wine & cava vendor.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Mercado de San Miguel.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Historic signs.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Plaza Mayor, Madrid. 17 May 2017.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Historic signs in Mercado de San Miguel.
Allison snapped a few of her own photos on a visit to the Mercado earlier in the week, which I add here.
Photo by A. Jones. Mercado de San Miguel. 13 May 2017.

Photo by A. Jones. Churro & Chocolate. Mercado de San Miguel.

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Murals in LavapiƩs

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Alice Pasquini, LavapiƩs, Madrid.
While in Madrid we had the chance to venture over to the LavapiĆ©s neighborhood looking for street art. We were able to catch recent murals by Alice Pasquini, AddFuel (Diogo Machado), Nuriatoll, and others across the street from the Swinton & Grant gallery. These were painted in June 2016 as part of Muros Tabacalera.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by AddFuel, photo turned upside down.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Animalitoland. 13 May 2017.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural in LavapiƩs, Madrid.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Nuriatoll.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural in LavapiƩs.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural in LavapiƩs, Madrid.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by okudart.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural in a Matisse-influenced style.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Koctel. LavapiƩs, Madrid. 13 May 2017.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Julieta XLF.

Saturday, May 20, 2017

Segovia, Part 2

Photo by Patrick Jones. AlcƔzar of Segovia. 15 May 2017.

Here is the second set of photos from our day trip to Segovia on Monday. The AlcƔzar of Segovia looks like a fairy tale castle, and was an inspiration for the castle in Disney's Sleeping Beauty. The fortress is surrounded by a moat and sits in a prominent location over the valley guarding the entrance to Segovia. The site has been a fortress since Roman times. Isabella of Castile later ruled from the fortress in Segovia.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Tiles at the AlcƔzar of Segovia.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural of Isabella I of Castile.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Ornate ceiling at the AlcƔzar of Segovia.
Photo by A. Jones. Tiles at the AlcƔzar.
Photo by A. Jones. Guard turret.
Photo by A. Jones. Suits of armor.

Segovia, Part 1

Photo by Patrick Jones. Segovia Aqueduct, 15 May 2017.

During our trip to Spain we drove from Madrid to Ribera del Duero, stopping roughly halfway in the historic city of Segovia to see its famous sites - the Roman Aqueduct, Cathedral and AlcƔzar. The aqueduct dates to 98-112 CE and provided water to the city as recently as the 19th Century. It is quite stunning to see in person.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Segovia and the Aqueduct.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Segovia and the Aqueduct.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Segovia Aqueduct. 15 May 2017.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Segovia Aqueduct. 15 May 2017.
After walking along the aqueduct, we entered the old city to continue on to the cathedral. The massive Gothic cathedral was built starting in 1525 and completed in 1768.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Plaza Mayor & the Cathedral in Segovia.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Segovia Cathedral.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Segovia Cathedral.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Inside the Cathedral.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Inside the Cathedral.
Photo by Patrick Jones. View of Segovia from the AlcƔzar.
My next post will continue with photos from the AlcƔzar, the fortress castle and palace in use from Roman times to Spanish kings.