Gaultheria Procumbens

It's hard to walk through the mountains in the late fall and not stop and pick a Teaberry to chew on. Unless you know just where you can get a teaberry milkshake. Or a pack of Clark's Teaberry Chewing Gum.

The Sunset in Black and White

Yesterday was my best opening day of deer season in a while. I saw two deer. Yes, two. I lost count of opening days when I saw two less deer than the two I saw yesterday. I have three days of hunting in Virginia already this season and this is two more deer than I saw down there. I stopped on the way out to the truck and snapped this shot of the sunset since the sun wasn't visible. 

The Barn with a View

Barn Charm 15. The last of the Virginia barns from last month. This one, like the others, sits west of Star Tannery and north of Gravel Springs along South Pifer Road. Mostly hidden there in the fence row it was a rather small weathered board structure with a view farther west along the edge of the George Washington National Forest. I believe that the highest mountain top you see is called Johnnies Knob. I was just back down in this area last weekend and the color is gone. It's still just as beautiful, though.

If you like this and would like to see more barns from across the blog-o-sphere click on the Barn Charm logo here and it will take you to magical places. I promise.

Baltimore Baseball

A detail of the seats at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Charm City, Baltimore, Maryland. This seat is directly behind home plate and about 5 rows from the top.

Fire Engines in Coaldale

Today we have a few of the fire engines I saw while in Coaldale last summer. The first Tower 4024, is a 1982 Mack/Baker Aerialscope they acquired in 1996. The tower was once FDNY Ladder 84. The second is a 1970 Kaiser/Jeep Wildlands Services Brush Truck. Acquired in 1998 from the Department of Forestry it holds 1200 gallons of water. The last is Engine 1411 of the Diligence Fire Company of Summit Hill, Pa. this unit was privately purchased and was parked at Coaldale's firehouse the day I was there. It looks to be an early 1980's Mack MC pumper.

Thank You

Thank You. Thank you for stopping by, it lets me know I'm not here by myself. Enjoy your day.

A Car More a Day (PG 172)

Hey, the Painted Gentleman is not dead, I just ran low on entries. I haven't post a PG since mid-July and it too was from coal country. I've tried to keep the spirit going by posting signs on Wednesday. This bus stop sits in Coaldale on Water Street at First Street. Water Street in Route 209. This is a memorial, dedicated in 2000, to the miners who in 1937 organized a sit down strike at the No. 8 colliery. You can read about the dedication here. 

W.O. Hickok Manufacturing Water Tower

This old water tower is in Harrisburg, Pa. near the intersection of Ninth Street and Cumberland Street behind the W.O. Hickok Manufacturing building. The building itself deserves a post. Some day I'll wander back for some more pictures.

The Air Marker Barn

Barn Charm 14. Starting in the mid 1930's the government started painting rooftops to help pilots know where they were and where they were going. By 1941 some 13,000 of these air markers were out there. Some were airport or town names with directional arrows and some where, like this one in Path Valley, longitude and latitude coordinates. After Pearl Harbor they reconsidered this plan and started to remove those near the coasts. This one  can be seen on the south side of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, near mile marker 189 (or so). As you can see from Google Earth the back side of the barn was repaired and the longitudinal coordinate is no longer visible. Also, according to Google Earth, the more precise reading on the  barn would be  40-06-50 North, 77-47-01 West. Just in case you happen to be flying by and your GPS is broken.

That's right it is Barn Charm time again. Hop on over to Tricia's Barn Charm site and check out all the barns that are there this week. Just click the barn below.

Rising out of the Dust

This is the Shippensburg Emergency Services Building. These pictures take you from Labor Day weekend until now. Progress seems to be moving quickly now, I think they want to get it under roof before any more snow falls. They have begun to frame up the first floor rooms and I hear that some of the roof trusses were set on the second floor since I last took any pictures. TYo folow along more slowly check out the site... http://ship-esb.blogspot.com/

Sunset over the New Drawbridge

Here is a picture I took on our first night in Chincoteague last August. As the sun sank lower and lower I took a walk down Taylor Street to Main Street. Here I sat on the rocks at the edge of the bay and waited. Take a few pictures. Change some settings. Move over a little. Snap a few more pictures. It ain't like the old days of film where you had to make the first picture count. Flash drive space is cheap. Pictures like this are worth it.

Hosak Pontiac GMC

These signs sit on Route 309 on the outskirts of Tamaqua, Pa. Hosak's isn't here anymore. They moved down Route 309 to the other side of town by the Little Schuylkill River. But they aren't there anymore either. I think, like this old sign, they just faded away.

The Farm at the Edge of the Forest

Barn Charm 13. This weeks barn is another I found down in Virginia. Sitting on the outskirts of Star Tannery this one is nestled up against the George Washington National Forest. Yes, a telephoto lens was needed to get up close and personal but with a backdrop such as this who wants to zoom?

Like this? There's plenty more where this one is headed. Check out Tricia's Barn Charm site for more of what America's barn-bloggers have to offer. (just click the barn below)

The Criterion, Bar Harbor, Maine

The Criterion Theatre can be found on Cottage Street in Bar Harbor, Maine. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this colorful theatre while we wandered about downtown. This classic art-deco structure has been serving the island since 1932. And, yes, I did see Tim and Susan while we were downtown for the July 4th fireworks. He was dropping her and her dog off at a restaurant while he went to find a parking space for the minivan.

If I keep posting old movie theaters I'll have to start another label category. See (The Angela in Coaldale), (The Capitol Theater in Chambersburg and The County Theater in Doylestown), (The Cumberland Drive-In in Newville) and I have another I need to post sometime.

Great Egret

Taken along the beach road on Assateague Island, Virginia on Tom's Cove.

USAF Academy and the WW1 Overseas Flyers' Memorial

Greetings on Veterans' Day 2011. 11-11-11. I am a veteran of the USAF. I entered through Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. The Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado is the entry point for most officers. My family and I visited in the summer of 2005 and at the time there were squadrons of cadets going through Basic Training prior to starting their studies at the Academy. The top picture is the World War One Overseas Flyer's memorial. This memorial was designed and donated by Ira and Stella Jones on 11-11-1985. Ira was a pilot with the 25th Squadron and the 148th Squadron Pursuit Group in Toul, France during the war. World War One or as it was known, the Great War, ended with the Treaty of Versailles on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, at the time known as Armistice Day. Today we call it Veterans' Day.

Blue Eutaw Skies

The view from Eutaw Street at Camden Yards in Charm City, Baltimore. Just love that Bromoseltzer Tower. You can only see it from out here beyond the fences and the flag court since they built the stupid Hilton.

Subway Cafe

I'm always on the look out for cool signs. Unfortunately Shippensburg doesn't have a very good supply of them. I was working in Harrisburg last week and sat one day checking this place out. Next time back I came equipped with the camera. Snapped a few and then waited for the sun to make it's way around to the west so that I could get a better lit subject. I haven't yet eaten here but I plan to. Their website lists a 32 oz fish bowl of beer for $4.50. And  the sign in the parking lot claims the "best pizza in town since 1948." I know at lunch time the lot fills quickly. The Subway Cafe sits on Herr Street just west of Cameron Street in Harrisburg, Pa.