Ordino, Laulasmaa, Harrisburg and Amish Country, along with a little Elvis

Here I am again , back with a few cards to have a look at. Let's start with Ordino. A town of just over 3,300 people, Ordino is the main town of the most northerly parish in the Principality of Andorra. The town is ideally located in the footslopes of Casamanya ( 2740 m ) . The mountain offers spectacular panorama views from its summit, as it is located almost exactly in the centre of Andorra.

I received this card through a private swap with Robert. He used a 2015 souvenir sheet showing Traditional Dance in Ordino. A very nice souvenir sheet.

This next card arrived from Rakvere, in northern Estonia, 20 km south of the Gulf of Finland. On the card though, we see the beach at Laulasmaa, a village of just over 300 , in northwestern Estonia, about 29 km west of the capital Tallinn. Sitting on the sandy beach of Lahepere Bay, Laulasmaa has been a well known holiday place since the 1930s.

Meelis used a stamp from November 2014 showing the work of Herbert Lukk. It is a 1918 painting called "The Yard ". Lukk fell at the age of 27 in the second year of the Estonian War of Liberation.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Harrisburg is the capital city of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and has a population of around 50,000. It lies on the east bank of the Susquehanna River 169 km from Philadelphia and 328 km from Pittsburgh. Mike and Ashley's card shows the State Capital Complex.

Here's more current U.S. stamps compliments of Mike and Ashley. On the left is the June 2015 Emperor Penguins stamp. The center stamp is one of the Martin Ramiirez 49 cent Forever stamps  from March of this year.There are five in the set. The stamp on the right celebrates the United States Coast Guard. It was issued in April of this year.

Amish kids playing ball is the focus of this last card. The Amish are a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships, closely related to but distinct from Mennonites. Interestingly , once an Amish child has received eight years of education, he or she is deemed to be educated.

This is another card from Mike and Ashley with more recent U.S. stamps. On the left is another of the Coastal Birds 35 cent Poststcard Rate. Shown on this one is the Spoonbill. In the center is 1 of 8 Batman stamps issued in October 2014. On the right is The King of Rock and Roll himself., Elvis Aaron Presley.  Another stamp from the Music Icons set , this one issued  August 12, 2015 at Memphis.

I did mention that this was the last card for today, but it's not the end of this update. I thought with the Elvis stamp , I would elaborate a little about Elvis stamps. Many obscure countries and postal agencies have issued Elvis stamp over the years. Most you never see on mail, as they were issued only to sell to collectors. I have received one though , from Guyana on a card shown on this blog back on April 7, 2015.
This Elvis stamp on Mike and Ashley's card is not the first U.S. Elvis stamp. It is fact the third one. Back in 1992 , the U.S. Postal Service decided to issue an Elvis stamp. They had 2 designs in mind and asked the public which they most liked. They sent out postcards with both designs on it and asked to public to vote for the one they liked, A or B. Here is a front and rear view of that postcard.

We now know that the public liked the " A''  stamp and the U.S.P.S. issued it in 1993. Here it is on the left along with another Elvis stamp issued a little later. It is basically the same stamp but the second one was issued with Elvis's full name, as if there was anyone out there who didn't know who Elvis was.

Well, that's all the fun for today. Thanks go out today to Robert, Meelis and Mike & Ashley. Do drop by again, however , this is the long Labour Day weekend here in Canada. Our next mail won't be delivered until Tuesday. I probably won't be back here till at least Wednesday, unless I can find a really nice card or two lying around. I always have a bunch on hand for these types of emergencies , so to speak. Maybe , maybe not - we'll see. Take care.