The Eye of the Beholder

Not much to say tonight. But I was wondering, people fuss and work to make a garden full of beautiful flowers and I walk up a gated mountain road and see this? Where is the irony?

Honest Scrap on Broadway (PG LXVIII)

Painted Gentleman number 68 come to us from Cleveland Ohio again this week. This building is six blocks closer to downtown than the Mail Pouch Gentleman from two weeks ago. This one also sits along Broadway at 49th Street. The top line reads "Joseph D. Panek, Machinery" Now, I've been Googling for the past hour and I can not find any information about Honest Scrap. I don't know if it is the cheap version of Mail Pouch or not. Scrap sounds like it may be second quality. If you know let me in on the scoop on Scrap.

Colorado Post

Just because it's been a while here are some pictures, scanned from film, of my 2003 vacation with the family to my beloved Colorado. The first is Glenwood Springs from the Iron Mountain Tram. It shows the city and the Roaring Fork river and the Roaring Fork Valley, looking south. Interstate 70 and the Hot Springs are straight down and hidden by the rise. The second is the Denver cityscape. Offhand I'm not sure where this was taken from. Three more months and I'll be content.

The Ballgame That Never Happened

Classic Park, home of the Lake County Captains, the single A baseball team of the Cleveland Indians. They play in the Sally League, the South Atlantic League. Here at home they would being playing the Hagerstown Suns and the Orioles team, the Delmarva Shorebirds. It was raining earlier in the day and we were debating on whether or not to go but the sun looked like it would show so off we went. The park was only a couple miles from the hotel so we arrived with plenty of time. Once inside we head the game would start at 7:30 not 7, no problem. Then more rain and then it quit, game delayed 'till 8... OK. finally we get into out seats thanks to the usher who dried them for up. Then it was up and down, up and down. Great we got seats beside the hyper fat kid. Five minutes 'till 8 the rain started again. Lots of rain By 8:30 it was still raining and the sun was shining through under the clouds. At 8:50 the announcer said, "No game, doubleheader tomorrow. Fireworks start in 10 minutes" (see 1st picture). The fireworks were going as I tried to get a refund... no go. We thought about trading them for Sunday tickets and going long enough for the promotional giveaway but steady rain Sunday morning put us on our way home. I paid for my ticket, I sat in my seat it's official my ballpark score card now reads... Major League parks - 10, AAA - 1, AA - 3, A - 4, Indy - 1. My sons picture with the mascot... check (and the Chick-Fil-A cow).

Funny Money

Friday night at the fair my son and I went to see the band Funny Money. Funny Money is the singer and drummer from Kix, the old local eighties band. This was my sons first live concert and I think he really enjoyed it. With my love of eighties rock (the good stuff, not the wanna-be's) he knew some of the songs. It was a small crowd at the fair no more than 300 I'd guess. I saw Kix back in '82 opening for Ted Nugent on City Island in Harrisburg and once in '83 headlining at the field house at Shippensburg University (Shippensburg State College, back then). My son got a kick out of some of the old eighties stage prancing and dancing Steve Whiteman did. For some reason or another it didn't seem as corny back then. They did have a few new songs that I have heard on the radio recently and all in all it was a good show. It didn't transport me back to high school or anything, but maybe if they would have sung Yeah, Yeah, Yeah that might have got me up dancing with the drunk guy who ran onto the stage. You never know.

Another Dam Blog Post

No, that joke doesn't get old, it's still Dam funny. Saturday Post Live, take 7. This morning I took a walk to Letterkenny Dam north of Shippensburg and actually north of Roxbury, Pa. and off of Route 641 just as you are going up over the mountain. I parked at the gated access road across from the Shippensburg water plant. It was a short 15 to 20 minute walk back to the dam, I kicked up a group of turkeys along the way. The dam is just how you would expect considering I hadn't been there since I was a kid, just over grown and dirtier. I remember the pool being larger and deeper and the falls flowing heavier. Oh well. I took my pictures of the dam and the dragonflies (lots of dragonflies), hung out then started back. Once back to the truck I took my ziplock bag up the road and picked some red raspberries. Oh yeah, I like red raspberries.

Big Head

While in Cleveland two weeks ago We visited the Botanical Gardens located on University Circle. The gardens consist of 11 different themed gardens, this big head, I believe, was between the Theme Garden and the Japanese Garden, along East Boulevard. We made it through just two gardens before the first of the weekend's rain hit. We then spent some time in the glass house before being able to get back outside.

Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light

This is the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater light on Lake Erie in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. Some of the pictures were taken from Headlands Beach. I walked out to this light along the breaker rocks. Some of the rocks had name and initials carved into them, some as old as 1959. This light has been out here since 1925 replacing the old lighthouse that sat inland (more on this one next week) at the mouth of the Grand River. Local volunteers are trying to take over ownership of and restore this active light, letting the U.S. Coast Guard continue to operate it.

Read more at these websites... Here, Here and Here. I'll post some pictures of the old Fairport Harbor lighthouse next week.

Mail Pouch & Melo Crowns (PG LXVII)

Found this one in Lancaster city, along the 400 block of North Prince Street. The Melo Crown ad faces North Prince Street and the Mail Pouch faces North Market Street, to the rear of the building. In 1939 the Bloch Brothers, owners of Mail Pouch and WOW chewing tobacco, purchased the August Pollack Company of Wheeling WV, adding cigars to their product line. This explains why they show on the same building. There is still a lot of tobacco grown in Lancaster County. If you drive around some of the more rural farms, some Amish, in the fall you can see barns filled with tobacco leaves hanging to dry.

Bucktails

This is re-enactor Rich Adams of the 42nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the "Bucktails". According to the monument to them in Driftwood, Cameron County, PA. the Bucktail Regiment was formed "April 27, 1861 from the Cameron County Riles, the Elk County Rifles and the McKean County Rifles under the leadership of Thomas L. Kane, afterwards Commanding-Officer of the Regiment, and later Major-General, embarked upon four rafts for Harrisburg where they were mustered into service of the State and formed the nucleus about which the Bucktail Regiment of the Pennsylvania Reserves was organised, which during it's term of service was almost continuously attached to the Army of the Potomac."

They became known as the Bucktails when "Prior to leaving for Harrisburg, the men adopted the tail of a buck as their "regimental badge of honor". The deer tails were placed on each recruits cap and they became known as the Bucktails. En route to Camp Curtin a bucktail also adorned the top of the mast on one of the rafts the men built to travel to Lock Haven where they could pick up the railroad."

Mr. Adams was commanding the Union troops during the street skirmish in Shippensburg during the 2008 March to Destiny re-enactment.

Fair Time

It is that time of year, again. Fair time. As soon as I stepped out of the truck I could smell it calling me. Fair food. Yes I believe I could actually smell the Big Boy hoagies, the onions, the grease, the mmmmmm gotta have one. I could smell the pecans roasting in the cinnamon, the funnel cakes, the hand cut fries. Yes indeed, it's fair time.

Blurry ride pictures and Queen contests and many more guilty pleasures, what else is there?

Up, Up and Away

Some more pictures from Headlands Beach in Ohio. Mentor, Ohio, I think. I took a walk last Friday while the rest of the gang looked for beach glass. I'll show you soon where I walked to. I walked up on this and some other gulls and had to yell at them to get them to fly.

Saturday Post Live, Take 6

Yes, I know I missed last week and I will eventually post pictures from last Saturday but today is today and this is what I did today. I spent most of the morning and part of this afternoon tour a couple of new fire stations. Talking with the "owners" and looking for ideas of our own. First stop was Hampden Township Volunteer Fire Company Station 2, located on Good Hope Road on the outskirts of Mechanicsburg. Second stop was at the Lower Swatara Fire Department near Middletown, PA, just across Route 283 from the Harrisburg International Airport.

Shown in the pictures are Rescue 59, a 1975 Mack CF600, with a reflection of Engine 59, a 1998 Seagrave. The Hampden picture shows Engine 1-30, a 2005 KME Rescue Pumper, and Engine 4-30, a 2003 KME Pumper.

Cleveland Fire Fighter's Memorial

Another Cleveland post. The Fire Fighter's Memorial is located just west of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, past the Great Lakes Science Center and right before you get to the Cleveland Brown's Stadium. This appears to be fiberglass, but, man is it cool. Painted, the fire fighter's look almost real and the flames, almost metaphorically, look like a hand reaching up and fighting back. The names of the fallen are engraved into the granite base. As a side note, check this out on Google Earth, if you zoom in you can see it.

Lake Erie Sunset

Our first evening in Cleveland (actually I think they call it the Ohio's Northeast Coast) we went out to Headlands Beach State Park. I wanted to take some sunset pictures and the clouds were good. I wasn't a really colorful sunset but I think I got some good pictures. Headlands Beach is the the biggest natural sand beach on Lake Erie in Ohio. Unlike the ocean there are no shells (although I found two very small ones) the shoreline is made up of small rocks polished smooth from the waves. We did find a lot of beach glass, something we never find much of in Chincoteague. We found clear, green, brown and even some blue. This became our mission. Who could find the best and biggest. I think I won.

Mail Pouch on Broadway (PG LXVI)

That's right, an awesome Mail Pouch sign on the side of a building on Broadway, between 54th and 55th Street. Of course I'm talking about Cleveland, where'd you think I was talking? This is possibly the best urban Mail Pouch sign I've ever seen. Obviously there was once a building here at this parking lot that preserved the paint. 55th and Broadway was once a largely Slovak area. You can tell by the names on the sign. An anonymous thank you goes to the lady on her smoke break that opened the gate and let me inside to take some pictures. She also told me where I could find another PG.

The Josh Hamilton Show

I know, I know, Justin Morneau won it, but Mornaeu only really won the final round. If you watched, Hamilton stole the show. 28 homers in the first round, a record by the way, for more than 12,000 feet of hit, that's 2 miles plus. And the 71 year old BP pitcher, wow. For all Josh has come through, drug and alcohol addictions, 3 years out of baseball and to have the season he's having. Congratulations to both Justin and Josh.

I took this picture of Josh Hamilton last Sunday at the Orioles game with the Texas Rangers. Josh plays centerfield.

Cleveland Rocks!

I'm back and as live as it gets. Due to time constraints we pulled off a quick vacation to Cleveland and Northeast Ohio this past long weekend. I say quick but 900 miles in just 4 days is a pile of running. Lots of stories, even more pictures and subjects, I can't wait to get to individual subjects. We hit some of the big ones and some you may never have heard of. At times I felt like Clark Griswald showing the family some of the blight of East St. Louis. They only got concerned with the abundance of barred windows in areas I wanted to go for a walk. As for Cleveland rocking don't let anyone tell you south central Pennsylvania has the nations worst roads. I saw, not one, but two vehicles sitting along the roads with busted axles. Terrible. I may need an alignment after all that. So check back frequently, Cleveland won't be the only thing I post but I'll hit the highlights soon enough.

Roadside Beautification, Day 3

More weeds for you today. I finally got a picture I liked of some Queen Anne's Lace. And everybody's favorite roadside fragrance Honeysuckle.

Roadside Beautification, Day 2

Still out and about seeing new things to share with everyone. Today's roadside beautification project is a little buggy.

Roadside Beautification, Day 1

I'm on the road and will be back soon with new pictures from new places. Until then enjoy the weeds.

A Foggy Morning in Middle Spring