The Really Big Sombrero

Again this week we are going to South of the Border in Dillon, South Carolina for another larger than life. Last week it was the big cheeseburgers and I had one comment. She mentioned that she also saw a large sombrero. That sombrero sits atop the water tower. But the Really Big Sombrero is The Peddler Steakhouse itself. Now THAT is a BIG Sombrero.

Shorebirds vs. Suns

As promised here are some random shots from the inside of Perdue Stadium.  Just some information that you will never need to know, the Shorebirds lost 6-2. Winning pitcher for Hagerstown was Paul Applebee, losing pitcher for Delmarva was Matt Bywater. (Some day someone will Google those names and they'll end up here) The mascot is Sherman the Shorebird. The girl on  the truck shooting t-shirts and softee balls with Sherman is one of the Chicken Flock. Also included is a double play by the Suns and a Delmarva reliever catching a pop-up. And there is a huge Dr Pepper ad on the roof of the visitors dugout.

Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, Salisbury,Maryland

Baseball game number two for me this summer happened while on vacation this summer. We took an afternoon trip up to Ocean City, Maryland then headed a half hour west to Salisbury to see the Delmarva Shorebirds take on the Hagerstown Suns. This was our second game here we visited in 2002. (actually it was the third, the last time was a doubleheader). Our seats were two rows above the visitors dugout along the first base line. Boring game, I'm sorry to say. The first three innings took over an hour. Things eventually picked up but still ended with a home team loss. Perdue Stadium was opened in 1996 and is named for the Perdues of chicken fame. The pressbox is named for Frank Perdue, the TV spokesman for their chicken empire. Delmarva Shorebirds are the Low A farm team of the Baltimore Orioles, Hagerstown Suns are in the Washington Nationals organization. They play in the South Atlantic League, aka SAL, aka Sally League. More on the game itself later.

Citizen's Fire Company, Tamaqua, Pa.

The Citizen's Fire Company, located 99 West Rowe Street in Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania was organized in 1852 as the Perseverance Fire Company #1. They reorganized as the Citizen's Fire Company #1 in 1889. This station was built in 1914. I was in town during a street fair, (Not the one displayed above the door) and I stood in line for a bleenie. What is a bleenie? I asked myself the same thing. It is a potato pancake thing. About 3 inches round and half an inch think. A little salt, a little ketchup, not too bad.

Captain Bob's

On our recent trip to Chincoteague we didn't realize until it was too late that our favorite crabbing pier at Barnacle Bill's was closed. I guess Bill decided to retire and put the old bait abd tackle shop up for sale. So we cruised a little further south on Main Street and stopped by Captain Bob's. After securing permission to crab from the docks we were set for business. This view is looking north toward the main part of town.

A Really Big Cheeseburger

If there is one thing you gotta love, it would be a great big cheeseburger. This one is big enough to keep the rain off your head before entering the restaurant at South of the Border in Dillon, South Carolina.

Can You Guess What This Flower is?

Sunday morning had me driving around just enjoying the day. I headed to a place that can be rich with inspiration. That would be the nearby State Game Lands. And this morning that inspiration would be an assortment of wildflowers, aka, weeds. Shooting with natural lighting sometimes means shooting with natural wind. And, you know, you can't hold a flower from swaying in the wind and take a picture of it at the same time. I read that somewhere, I wouldn't try that myself. So these are not as razor sharp as I would have liked. But have you guessed it yet? These are Goldenrod. Each of those little yellow flowers are probably less than a quarter of an inch. Something you wouldn't notice driving by. Sometimes you need to stop and smell the flowers (I think someone else once said that).

Red and Green. barn charm no. 9

This is the barn I mentioned several weeks ago on a previous Barn Charm post. This barn sits on the same side of the road right beside the "Old Barn on the Hill." I'm not sure what goes on in the barn either. It looks well kept. Are the solar panels for the house or whatever it is that happens in the barn? Hmmmm.

Free Boat... Not

Worth every penny.

Ocean City Firefighter's Memorial

The Ocean City, Maryland Firefighter's Memorial was dedicated on September 11, 2006, the 5th anniversary of the terror attacks. It sits on the Boardwalk at North Division Street. Dedicated not only to the fallen firefighters of Ocean City but to the firefighters of the world.

Dedicated to the firefighters of the world.

Your devotion to duty and dedication to service are appreciated beyond the capacity that mere words can describe.

Great personal danger comes with each fire fought and lifesaving attempt made, yet you continue to answer the calling.

Every community on earth is enhanced by your existence and richer for your contribution.

Golden Shoreline

Today's ThemeWeek: Beach, is golden. This is sunrise on Wednesday morning last week. No clouds in the sky that morning, when the sun went up it went straight to yellows and oranges. This picture is straight out of the camera. All I did was size it down to fit on here. Along with these colors came the heat. The blue and purpley sunrises are usually cooler.

By the Light

Last Friday morning was the first time in years that I was in Chincoteague but not on Assateague Island walking the beach when the sun came up. It had been a long week of seeing the sunrise every morning but not making up that time in the evening by going to bed early. So Friday morning I still got up by myself and drove around Chincoteague Island for sunrise. This was taken from the East Side boat ramp. I was going to include some other pictures of the Assateague lighthouse, but I think this picture stands alone.

An Anniversary Cruise

That's right, my wedding anniversary passed while we were hanging out at the beach. So I took my wife and kids on a cruise. A pontoon boat ride around Chincoteague Island. 23 miles in 2 hours. Although we never entered the Atlantic Ocean we did pause for a while at the inlet of the Chincoteague Bay. He cut the motor as we were surrounded by dolphins. Kind of "You got fins to the left, fins to the right..." Captain Dan was explaining the type of dolphin these were and how they do this, how they do that, blah, blah, blah. All I could hear was the voice in my head saying, "there. over there. to the right. behind you." and the constant click, click, click of the Canon as I tried to fill up my memory card. This was my best. The better opportunities all took place "behind me." You will see dolphins here again soon.

Got Crabs?

Attention, attention, I have an announcement to make. Today, Monday, is the start of ThemeWeek: Beach. The family and I spent 5 days on sunny Chincoteague Island, Virginia last week and it was not nearly enough to cleanse the soul. But I saw a few interesting things and dis some interesting stuff. As always sunrise found my daughter and I walking the surf. This year's target became these sand crabs or ghost crabs (not sure what they are called). They would see you from 20 yards and scramble back to their holes in the sand. I think in four mornings I caught three on camera. Their camouflage is amazing.

Gettysburg National Museum, Home of the Electric Map, Gettysburg, Pa. 2011

GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MUSEUM

Located near the spot where Abraham Lincoln delivered the immortal Gettysburg Address, contains the NATION'S LARGEST COLLECTION of Civil War Relics and the WORLDS ONLY ELECTRICAL MAP. The Electrical Map reenacts the Battle of Gettysburg.

Marken & Bielfeld, Inc., Frederick, Md.

5B-H1179

This one wasn't too difficult to line up. The old Gettysburg Visitor's Center was torn down in 2008 when the new Gettysburg Museum and Visitor's Center opened. Originally built in 1921 it was acquired by the National Park Service in 1963, around the time of the battle centennial. In 1974 it had become the official Visitor's Center. The Electric map was just that, a map that showed the progression of the three day battle with a series of lights. Built in the 1930's and overhauled in the '60's it was to be demolished along with the structure in 2008 but it was saved, cut into smaller pieces, shrink wrapped and put into storage to maybe, or maybe not, someday be reassembled and put on display again.

Fireside Chat

While on a break, either waiting for water or waiting for the water to do it's thing, some of the white helmets pause to stratagize on how to proceed with the firefighting activities.

Fireworks at the Ironpigs Game

So this is why all these people sat through all that 100 degree sun and a less than spectacular baseball game? It's all about the fireworks. Before the fireworks they did the obligatory tennis ball toss (Launch-A-Ball) to waste time. The fireworks were sponsored by a local jeweler so they awarded a couple the best seats in the house, a blanket between the pitcher's mound and second base (this was after launch-a-ball). I'll be danged if that fool didn't get down on one knee and propose. I tried guys. And I wasn't the only one yelling "Don't do it" from he sidelines. Some people just need to learn the hard way.

Coaldale 18218

Welcome to Coaldale, Pennsylvania. The one in Schuylkill County. Not much to add. The post office sits on Third Street a half block from Phillips Street. Wiki says that the 2000 census had the population at 2295 with just 606 families. Of these families only 22% had kids under 18. This is, and has been as long as I can remember, an old town.

Fun in the Sun

While out driving late one Sunday morning a few weeks ago I was not having much luck finding anything worthy of getting the camera any use. But when I rounded the corner and saw a large patch of yellow, I struck gold. Between these wild sunflowers, the thistle and the Queen Anne's Lace I think I used every lens in the bag. These, I believe, are mostly with my 50mm set at f1.8 so I could get as much bokah as possible.