Glowing Logs Cabin

At a banquet last spring I bought the last few raffle tickets they were walking around selling. I won. It doesn't happen often. When it comes to luck with these things I'm out of it. When they got done giving all the luck to Dad and my big brother I got what little was left. Not much. What I won was a free night stay in the Glowing Logs Cabin right here on the outskirts of town. Never heard of it. When we drove up I realized that we had done a drive-by on it when it went up for sale. I walked by this place many times as a kid growing up. The guy who bought it took the main house (shown here) and gutted the 2 story - 4 room original log house and turned it into one large room. It was cool to spend the night. No TV, no phone, no traffic, no neighbors. We actually brought the kids out and took what would become our Christmas pictures here. (The walls are actually relatively straight. In the close quarters I used my fish eye lens)

NYC, August 2000

Today I thought I would be topical. I thought I would mirror the headlines. I thought I could scan a few moe old pictures I had laying around gathering dust. These are from August of 2000. The first is from the observation deck of the Empire State Building . The second is from the boat to/from Liberty Island.

Cherry Blooms

My cherry tree is in full bloom. Spring must be here. And if you can overlook the beautiful day we had Saturday you would realize that April showers bring May showers.

Prom

These are the Date's flowers on Junior's vest. I took these outside on the deck table to take advantage of the sunshine. I don't know what was more exciting; the Prom or the sunshine and no rain.

Sapeurs - Pompiers de Paris - Aubervilliers

Not only has this been Theme Week: Scans, it is also turning into a foreign language lesson. A quick post today, I'm running late. I found this picture among those from Paris. From what I wrote on the back this is the Paris Fire Brigade located in Aubervilliers. Aubervilliers is a northeast suburb of Paris. This must have been where my hotel was when I visited back in 1986.

Bienvunue a` Peripherie de la Banlieue

Year Five, Day One and the 4th Annual Cyber-Rollcall

That's right. One more year down. That's four now. This past year has been a busy one for me. Here at home, more so than here in the Blog-O-Sphere. This past year I posted 348 new posts, bringing my total to 1451 in four years. The past few months have seen a drop off in weekend posts, which will probably continue. I will post on the weekend if there is something you need to see. Otherwise unless you're coming to help mow the grass and shovel snow I'll see you during the week. The past year has also seen a drop in postings from a lot of my once daily reads. Is the blog dead? Has the evil MyFace generation taken over? Do you need to hear every detail of my existence? Don't look for me there, I don't see that happening.

This past year has brought me to new and exciting places and old and familiar places. Doing some things more and doing some things less. I bought a new lens to play with and a flash that I haven't fully explored. I spend some summer time in my favorite of places; Chincoteague Island, Virginia. Breathed the crisp Rocky Mountain air from a tent 10,000 feet in the Colorado Rockies. Spent Father's Day, solo, in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Junior and I met some friends at the Lunar New Years in Chinatown, NYC, again. Visited Balloonfest near Greencastle, Pa. for the first time. Our first attempt at the Great Philly Cheesesteak Road Trip. And back to old familiar Gettysburg, Pa. where a thought of recreating old postcards was born (stay tuned this summer). And a day trip to the Conowingo Dam, this time with an old friend, Brad Myers. This year? Who knows. Summer vacation isn't set yet. Father's Day daytrip isn't confirmed yet. Another Cheesesteak Roadtrip is in the works along with some much missed baseball. More Barn Charm on Monday's that I will link up to (there was 31 last week). More Painted Gentleman on Wednesday's as I find them. More SkyWatch on Thursday's even if I don't link up to it (there was 242 last week). More Fire Day Friday's and more Name That Station (soon). I can't wait.

The pictures I have posted here have all been posted before. Some are your favorites, some are my favorites. Most just tell my story since last year. Not all are 'frame-worthy', that has never been the intention here. All tell a story and are a glimpse into my head. Please excuse the spinning, it happens to me all the time. Top to bottom in no particular order... 1. Postcards from Gettysburg. May 20th, 9 comments. 2. Maryland Heights Overlook. Harpers Ferry, WV. June 22nd. 3. Green Grove Gardens Balloonfest 2010. August 2nd. 4. Sunrise, Friday the 13th. Assateague Island, Virginia. August 19th, 14 comments. 5. Pre-dawn. Assateague Island, Virginia. September 2nd, 5 comments. 6. The View from Eutaw Street. Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland. October 7th, 9 comments. 7. Carolina Dreaming. North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. October 14th, 10 comments. 8. The View from There. Flat Tops Wilderness Area, Colorado. November 4th, 13 comments. 9. 2nd Alarm Assignment. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. November 15th. 10. The City in the Mirror. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. November 18th, 11 comments. 11. PFD Engine 20 Ladder 23. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. January 4th. 12. Crabman. Chinatown, NYC. March 15th, 4 comments. 13. Sunset. Cleversburg, Pennsylvania. April 14th. 14. The Barns of Meeker Past. Meeker Colorado. April 25th, 14 comments.

And now the Cyber-Rollcall part. Leave a message and let me know you're still out there. Unless I really am all alone here. Last year I had 6 people admit to stopping by.

Herr Gemalt vom Stadtrand von Vororte - Deutschland

Scans today come, again, by way of Europe. These are some of the many painted houses and buildings I saw while I was in Germany. The top two came from a volksmarch we participated in in Eichelberg. The last two were from my final trip to Munich. Munich is by far my favorite city. Anywhere. This was just three weeks before heading stateside to start a whole 'nother life. This is also, I think, within a week or so of getting my new Canon AE-1. So there was a lot of trial and a lot of error. These buildings, like many others, were more than paintings they were advertising. The first one translates to 'Old Rider'. I'm not sure of the meaning, maybe it means a stop for someone who has traveled a long time. The picture shows a cider or wine press. The second one, 'Zuchterheim' translates to 'Breeding House'. Notice the farm animals? The chicken, rabbits and pigeons? But the Moninger Beer sign tells me this is no longer a farm building. The third one reads 'Zerwick Vault, The Oldest Bavarian Wild Business - 1264'. This is a restaurant serving wild game. And the last has no words but I'd bet you could buy a liter of beer there.