Grand Canyon

Photo by B. Jones. Grand Canyon, Arizona. 25 Sept 2019.

These photos are from my Frequent Traveling Mom, taken this week while on vacation with her sisters in Arizona. The Grand Canyon is on my list of places to see, so these photos are inspiring some travel ideas.

Photo by B. Jones. 25 Sept 2019.

Santa Monica Pier Sign

Photo by Patrick Jones. Santa Monica Pier Sign, 16 Sept 2019.

Greetings from Santa Monica

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural at 4th St, Santa Monica. 16 Sept 2019.

Surfrider Beach

Photo by Patrick Jones. Surfers in Malibu. 19 Sept 2019.

Santa Monica Sunset

Photo by Patrick Jones. Santa Monica Pier, 16 Sep 2019.

Historic Latino Mural in DC

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural in Adams Morgan, 15 Sep 2019

Photo by Patrick Jones. DC, 15 Sep 2019

The mural above was spotted in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of DC after brunch on Sunday. Only after seeing the small sign next to the mural did I recognize the significance for Hispanic Heritage Month. The mural was originally painted in 1977, and is supposedly the oldest and only mural remaining in Adams Morgan from a group of Latino artists. The mural was restored in 2005 by Sol & Soul and artist Juan Pineda.

Hispanic Heritage Month 2019

Riverside Public Library Citrus Label Collection. 1930s.

Once again, Hispanic Heritage Month runs from 15 September to 15 October. Last year's post featured murals at the Mexican Cultural Institute in DC. For this year, I have California fruit box art from the Riverside Public Library Citrus Label Collection and a photo from Plaza de España in Sevilla during our August vacation.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Tiles in Plaza de España, Sevilla. 27 Aug 2019.

Enjoying Southern California

Arizona Sentinel, 30 Aug 1890

Here's another clipping from Yuma, Arizona newspapers on the well-traveled family of Maria Esther Suastegui. At this time in 1890 she was widowed, by December 1890 she would remarry to Peter Munson. Maria Esther & family regularly traveled back & forth between Yuma and California, often in the summer when the heat in Arizona would be at its peak.  

Friday Photo - Street art tiles in Lisbon

Photo by Patrick Jones. Lisbon, 22 Aug 2019.

The tiles above were created by Projekt Dandelion in Lisbon, and were placed in the Alfama neighborhood. I have a whole set of street art photos to share from this part of our August trip.

Surfers in Santa Monica, 1964

LA Times Photo Archive at UCLA. Surfers at Santa Monica, July 1964.

I'll be back in LA soon enough for meetings, and as always I'm looking forward to a return visit to Santa Monica. Given some recent surf experiences in Portugal & Morocco, I'm hoping to find time for one in LA too.

For some previous postings, see:
- Santa Monica, 1884
- Santa Monica in 1877
- Friday Photo - Santa Monica in 1908 (with links to eight earlier Santa Monica-related posts)
- Travel Tuesday - Historic Santa Monica

Esther's Homestead

Source: BLM GLO Records. Homestead for Maria Esther Suastegui.

In my initial post on Maria Esther Suastegui in July 2017, I included a public notice of her Homestead claim filed with the District Court at Yuma, Arizona on 14 October 1890. Above is a copy of the certificate for that homestead claim, for 160 acres not far from the Gila-Salt River. Her first husband's father, Asa H. Post, and his daughter, Mary Elizabeth Post, had nearby homesteads, as did her second husband, Peter Munson, and third husband, James H. Graham. 

Photos from Yuma County

Source: Yuma County Library Archives.

Back in 2017, I wrote about the family of Maria Esther Suastegui, a daughter of my 5th-great-grandfather Francisco Suastegui, half-sister of my 4th-great-grandfather Pedro Suastegui. I made a query to the Arizona Historical Society for photos, and they directed me to the Yuma County Library Archives. Yuma County came back last week with some photos, showing the family of Maria Esther. The one above, which looks like it was taken from inside a house looking out onto a patio, shows from left to right, Jose Venegas (husband of Virginia Suastegui), Asa Frank Post, Maria Giron Post, Maria Esther (listed as Mrs. Graham in the photo), Anita Post and Pete Munson.

Source: Yuma County Library Archives. Family of Maria Esther Suastegui.

Another photo shows Asa Post, Maria Giron Post, Maria Esther, and Asa & Maria's son Albert Post.

Source: Yuma County Library Archives.

The last photo in the set shows Maria Giron Post and her daughter Maria standing next to a car. The passengers in the car are not labeled, but I think Maria Esther is in the back seat and Asa Post is at the wheel. The photos are not dated. As Maria Esther died in 1929, and given young Maria's apparent age in the photo (she was born in 1915), I think these were taken in the mid-1920s.

Source: Yuma County Library Archives.

Tile art in Madrid

Photo by Patrick Jones. Madrid, 29 Aug 2019.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Madrid, 29 Aug 2019.

Madrid in August

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by FinDac in Madrid. 28 Aug 2019.

Our end-of-summer trip in Spain continued from Sevilla to Madrid, a city Allison and I visited in May 2017. Madrid is becoming one of my favorite cities in the world. On this trip we had an awesome Airbnb very close to the Reina Sofia Museum, with a rooftop view of the city.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Sunset from the Airbnb rooftop.

Most of our time was spent around the Retiro park, the Lavapiés neighborhood of our Airbnb, or at the awesome Mercado de San Miguel (which we also visited in May 2017). The kids enjoyed the market. We're going to have to go back to Madrid again sometime.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Interesting tiles on this shop.

Photo by Patrick Jones. From a sunrise run.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Rose Garden in Retiro. 29 Aug 2019.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Chasing cats & peacocks in Retiro.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Lovely day in Retiro.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Yummy empanadas in the Mercado.

Wonders of the Real Alcazar

Photo by Patrick Jones. Domed ceiling at the Real Alcazar, Sevilla.

Our visit to the Real Alcazar in Sevilla deserves its own post. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage site, built on the site of an earlier basilica and a Moorish palace from the 12-13th centuries. The lush gardens and intricate architecture at the Alcazar are really beautiful. The palace was featured in Game of Thrones as the Gardens of Dorne.

Photo by Patrick Jones. 27 August 2019.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Cool door & tiles.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Gardens at Real Alcazar.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Carvings & arches.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Serious math in these cool tiles.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Gardens from a balcony.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Palm & fruit trees in the garden.

Exploring Sevilla

Photo by Patrick Jones. Sevilla, ES. 27 Aug 2019.

Sevilla was the next stop on our end of summer vacation, after a week in Portugal. We stayed near the historic center, about an eight minute walk to the Real Alcazar and Cathedral. Sevilla is part of the Andalucia region, an area where I may have ancestral family connections. My 7th-great-grandfather Francisco Ruiz Canete y Monterde was supposedly born in nearby Malaga, Spain in 1735. In any case, I felt very comfortable in Sevilla.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Tiles in Sevilla.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Setas de Sevilla. 27 Aug 2019.

We loved Plaza de España and the Real Alcazar, these were the highlights of our brief stay in the city. I really wanted to see the Roman ruins at Italica, but we ran out of time. We're going to have to go back.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Plaza de España, Sevilla.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Plaza de España, Sevilla.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Performers in Plaza de España.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Allison & the kids on a boat.

Happy Birthday Los Angeles

Source: LAAlmanac.com. Postcard from 1939.

Happy Birthday to my adopted West Coast home. I've previously done HBD LA posts, in 2017 and 2014. I'm looking forward to a return visit to LA later this month.

Trip to the Algarve

Photo by Patrick Jones. Armaçao de Pera, 25 Aug 2019.

After leaving behind Lisbon, we continued our vacation to the Algarve region on Portugal's southern coast. We stayed four days at Armaçao de Pera, in another Airbnb with a lovely view of the beach. This was relaxing, with most of our time spent at the beach, in a pool, or trying local seafood at the beach restaurants around town. On one of the days, I booked a two-hour surfing lesson with Surf Albufeira for Sophia and I. The instructor was great and we had a perfect day at Galé Beach for the surfing session.

Photo by A. Jones. Me surfing at Galé Beach.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Galé Beach, 24 Aug 2019.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Street art in Armaçao de Pera, 23 Aug 2019.

At the end of our four days, we took an ALSA bus from nearby Faro Airport for a two-hour ride to Sevilla, Spain. More photos to follow.

Lisbon 2019

Photo by Patrick Jones. Santa Justa Elevator, Lisbon. 19 Aug 2019.

We began on our vacation in Lisbon, where we stayed in a lovely Airbnb overlooking the Santa Justa Elevator. Our place was conveniently above a wine shop and we managed to find some great deals on Portuguese wine. This made for a perfect base to explore the city for three days. Central Lisbon has unique cobblestone streets and interesting tile patterns. Amazing tiles are everywhere in this city.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Lisbon, 19 Aug 2019.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Lisbon, 20 Aug 2019.

One of our favorite spots in Lisbon was the National Tile Museum (Museu Nacional do Azulejo). I took a ton of photos there, so this is a small sampling from this beautiful place.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Lisbon, 20 Aug 2019.

Photo by Patrick Jones. National Tile Museum.

Photo by Patrick Jones. National Tile Museum.

We were able to see two pieces by artist Bordalo_ii, a fox and lynx. Both are made from repurposed materials.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Trash fox by Bordalo_ii. 20 Aug 2019.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Lince Ibérico by Bordalo_ii. 22 Aug 2019.

We took a day trip from Lisbon out to Sintra, where we hiked around Peña Palace and the Moorish Castle. We did about 30,000 steps that day, exploring the castles and gardens.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Peña Palace. 21 Aug 2019.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Ramparts at the Moorish Castle.

Photo by A. Jones. Moorish Castle. 21 Aug 2019.

On our last morning in Lisbon I had a chance to explore the nearby Alfama neighborhood and capture some cool street art. I'll have more photos from the trip in a future post.

Photo by Patrick Jones. One of Lisbon's iconic trams. 22 Aug 2019.