Tag Archives: travel

Collector’s Pins

Collectibles.

Items we collect for all sorts of reasons from sentimental to financial investment.

I collect enamel pins for their sentimental value. I love their size…such an easy souvenir to commemorate an event. I can pin it to my hat, my collar, or my bag and it doesn’t take up any space in my luggage when I am traveling.

Collector's Pins

These pins are stored on felt covered canvas and hang on one of my sewing room walls.

Collector's Pins

They remind me of my quilt guild and show days…fun times!

The following blocks are four of the blocks that I made for various raffle quilts back in the days.

Two of these blocks are on my freebies page.

A few pins are from the working days. The initial A pin is a memento from selling Avon. Did you sell Avon?

The initial M pin is for the Missionettes…a girls church group I used to be very involved with. The Daisies pin is a pin from teaching one of the girls’ clubs at church. I eventually taught all of the young girls age groups.

A beloved dog’s tag.

Collector's Pins

A couple of pins were gifted from my daughter.

Collector's Pins

Most of my collection is made up of pins from travels.

The red drop pin is a favorite. It is from the Tacoma Museum of Glass. The pin is a replica of a child’s glass blowing creation that was on display at the time that I visited. So fun!

Collector's Pins

At some point, I started putting my pins on baseball caps.

This one shows who my favorite baseball team is. I cheer on the Seattle Mariners. Do you have a favorite baseball team?

Collector's Pins

One summer, Mom, me, and my sisters spent some time together on a wonderful trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

We had so much fun together!

Collector's Pins

Dorothy Joan Jewell 2006

Collector's Pins

This hat is special because my Dad gave it to me when we were on a trip together.

Collector's Pins

Collector's Pins

The U.S. Coast Guard stationed our daughter and fam in Alaska for a time. We took a fantastic trip to Alaska while they were there.

Collector's Pins

The U.S. Coast Guard moved our kids to the east coast (North Carolina) and that gave the Hubster and me the incentive (as if we needed any) to make two cross-country trips by car.

I have lots of pins that represent many places that I have been so blessed to visit as a result!

Collector's Pins

Collector's Pins

Collector's Pins

Collector's Pins

My pin collection tells you that I enjoy family, quilting, baseball, nature, travel, and American history (as evidenced by the places that I have visited). A couple of pins even share where I have worked and what my beloved dog’s name is.

Pretty revealing.

Do you collect anything? If so, what do you collect and what does your collection reveal about you?

Have fun and see the world around you!

Cross Country Vacation Sept./Oct. 2025-Post 5

Illinois

Sightseeing and scenic drives were not all that was planned for this cross country drive.

I had in mind to do a bit of genealogy and visit some ancestor gravesites in Illinois.

I won’t bore you with photos of ancestor’s headstones (even though this would be the month to do it). My children get enough of that as it is, but they are kind to indulge me.

Although this was a ‘graveyard day’, one could still find plenty to see if one looked around. Upon passing through Jacksonville, Illinois, the first thing that caught our eyes was this lovely chapel.

MacMurray College, Jacksonville, Illinois

*Clicking on a photo will give you a closer look!

MacMurray College, Jacksonville, Illinois

The chapel belonged with a complex of buildings that made up MacMurray College.

MacMurray College was originally founded by the Illinois Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church as the Illinois Conference Female Academy in 1846. It stayed all female until 1955 when the MacMurray College for Men was started, however, the two sexes were kept separate, even eating separately, until 1967 when the dining hall went coed. In 1969 the two colleges merged.

MacMurray College, Jacksonville, Illinois

Over the years, the college suffered budget struggles, falling enrollment, lack of updates (such as air conditioners and computers), disrepair, staffing issues, majors being eliminated, Covid and more.

MacMurray College, Jacksonville, Illinois

After seventy-two years of MacMurray history, the college closed in 2020 and the buildings were auctioned off to various buyers for $600,000.

MacMurray College, Jacksonville, Illinois

Apparently, the Hubster and I should’ve spent more time in Jacksonville. From the Wikipedia link above:

The attorney Abraham Lincoln occasionally had legal business in Jacksonville, frequently acting either as co-counsel or opposing counsel with David A. Smith, a Jacksonville resident. In what is now Central Park, Lincoln delivered a strong antislavery speech on September 6, 1856, in support of the presidential campaign of John C. Frémont, lasting over two hours.

Built in 1840, the Woodlawn Farm became an important stop on the Underground Railroad for runaway slaves escaping the terrors of slavery in the South.

One of Lincoln’s early political rivals, Stephen A. Douglas, settled in Jacksonville in 1833, where he first got involved in local politics. He quickly rose up the ranks of Illinois politics and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1842.

In the summer of 1965, in order to keep up with customer demand for records by the Beatles, the wildly popular English band, Capitol Records opened a vinyl record pressing plant on the western outskirts of Jacksonville.

We also drove through Bath, Illinois.

Bath, Illinois

This is where I was beginning to get a sense of the time and place of my ancestors. They lived in this area when Abraham Lincoln was here.

Did they know him (It is possible as one of them is named Abraham Lincoln)? Did they turn out for his speeches? Did they agree with Lincoln?

Bath, Illinois

They could have been standing in the crowd right here in 1858!

Gives me chills.

Bath, Illinois

One more small town that I will share was Lewistown, Illinois.

Lewistown, Illinois

The courthouse is beautiful, and the bell still rings. I heard it while taking photos; very cool!

Lewistown, Illinois

Lewistown, Illinois

So much history…so little time!

Lewistown, Illinois

A very old section of town indeed.

Lewistown, Illinois

See the world around you!

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Cross Country Vacation Sept./Oct. 2025

The Hubster and I set out on a cross country trip to visit with our daughter and her fam. They live on the east coast and we live on the west coast. We choose to drive so that we can take our time and visit places that we have never been.

In other words, we set out on a very long scenic drive.

The last time that we did this was in 2023, and we had so much fun!

September 14 was a long travel day. We left home in Washington state, traveled through Idaho and most of Montana.

A stop for gas in Montana was needed, and we stopped at Muralt’s Travel Plaza. Who would’ve thought that a truck stop would be so nice!

This mural is painted on an outside wall. It features places to visit.

Muralt's Truck Stop, Montana

*Clicking on a photo will give you a closer look!

Muralt's Truck Stop, Montana

This guy was right inside the front door. I had to snap a photo for the grandkids!

Muralt's Truck Stop, Montana

One can not only get fuel, but also visit restaurants, a deli, buy baked goods, snacks and gifts, play in the casino, do laundry, stay the night and more.

Sunflower, Montana

When the Hubster and I travel, sometimes we car camp and sometimes we stay in a hotel.

Our first night was spent at the Huntley Rest Area.

We had a brief storm followed by a fabulous sunset!

Huntley Rest Area, Montana

The next morning, we drove into Wyoming.

Wyoming

We stopped at Fort Phil Kearny and I will share that in another post. Afterwards, we drove into Buffalo, Wyoming. Unfortunately, the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum was closed.

However, I was fascinated with this sculpture that I spotted while driving through town.

It is called “After the Dust Settles” and was created by D. Michael Thomas.

D. Michael Thomas_Buffalo, Wyoming

D. Michael Thomas_Buffalo, Wyoming

Be sure to click on those links above to see more about this impressive sculpture!

D. Michael Thomas_Buffalo, Wyoming

From the website:

“Two war ponies, ravaged by the wreckage of war, have reached the end of their run. Their speed and their courage, sacrificed for the folly of man, have betrayed them and now only push at their hearts and their spirits. With their riders no longer driving them against one another they have found an escape, each becoming the refuge that the other seeks. Above them, an Indian arrow flies like a flag from a white man’s saddle, proclaiming a battle won and a battle lost. Behind them lies only dust and the terror that continues to pursue them. The frantic call of the bugle, the volleys of gunfire, and the screams of the wounded have thinned into a long, drawn out silence. All that remains are fear, comfort, and the sound of the wind in the sage.”

D. Michael Thomas_Buffalo, Wyoming

See the world around you!

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