Gribblenation

The weekend after I was in Waldorf, Maryland.  The following weekend, I returned to Maryland.  This time to the Eastern Shore and for a Curling Bonspiel at the Chesapeake Curling Club in Easton.  During some downtime between matches, I took a ride out on MD 33 and also MD 579 to check out some of the islands and peninsulas that reach into the Chesapeake. For the entire Flickr Set - head here . It was an amazingly blustery day - and with the passage of a cold front the night before - it made for some chilly conditions especially when you are trying to take photos from an exposed position on the Chesapeake Bay! The wind was strong enough that the sea gulls had trouble flying into the headwind! If there was one thing I will remember about Maryland 33 - and Maryland 579 as well - were all of the small rural Methodist chapels.  A lot of the chapels only have service a few times a year - with many of them still advertising their Christmas service - three weeks...

A few weeks ago, I traveled to Southern Maryland for work.  On the way home, I took a quick trip down MD 257 and 254 to Cobb Island.  It's a quick little ride off of US 301 just north of the Nice Bridge. The entire Flickr Set is here . I drove MD 257 all the way to where MD 254 branches off towards Cobb Island. Cobb Island has an important place in the history of radio. I was actually surprised that there wasn't more in Cobb Island.  The entire island is home to numerous residential homes (it appears the people actually live here vs. vacation here) with no room for an easy pull of to take photos of the Potomac.  Oh well, the surprises were soon to begin. Back at MD 257, I took a right to head towards Rock Point.  The views also were not available.  But there's a neat narrow concrete road once MD 257 ends. When you head away from Rock Point on MD 257 to head back towards MD 254, you come across this old sign gem. Heading back to US 301, the...

This week's installment of Thursday Jersday takes us to North Jersey, to the Palisades Interstate Parkway. The Palisades Interstate Parkway is one of the major thoroughfares in Bergen County, New Jersey, and runs from the George Washington Bridge up to Rockland County, New York, alongside the Palisades of the Hudson River. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougtone/sets/72157622941819060/ - Doug Kerr's photos

Here's a feature that I plan on doing every Thursday for the next few months. I'll be posting a link to a New Jersey collection of photos I've taken and posted onto Flickr, for your enjoyment. The first week's installment will take us to the controversial Beesleys Point Bridge, which crosses over the Great Egg Harbor in South Jersey. Enjoy! Beesleys Point Bridge (December 2011 photos) Beesleys Point Bridge (February 2005 photos, as a bonus)

On Christmas Eve, I traditionally take a brief four or five hour loop trip to an area of Southwestern PA I haven't been to before.  This Christmas Eve was no different as I headed east into the Laurel Highlands. Route: PA 48, PA 51, I-70, PA 31, US 119, PA 982, US 22, PA 217, US 30, PA 711, PA 31, PA Tpk, I-70, PA 51, and PA 48. The entire photo set on flickr is here . When I got on PA 982 North, I immediately came upon this sign. Obviously, I was curious about the Iron Furnace (more on that later); however, the sign style intrigued me.  The sign's font, besides being the same font from Law & Order, is what is used for the destination signs throughout the Laurel Highlands.  These signs come from the Laurel Highlands Visitor Bureau.  The style is slightly similar to the Keystone Town Markers we all know and love, but aren't exact. So I did travel the four or so miles up PA 982 and then took a quick right turn onto Oremine Hill Road and came to the Moun...

  Over the Christmas holiday, I was able to explore parts of Southwestern Pennsylvania.  On December 23rd, we took a drive up to and walked around the town of Butler. To visit the entire photo set on flickr, head here . Butler is a unique town of 15,000 located about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh.  It is the county seat of Butler County.  The County Courthouse (shown below) was built in 1885 and is still in use today. One of more unique buildings in Bulter is the Butler County Motor Company Ford Dealership. This is the first time I had seen an automotive dealer be housed in a multi-story building like this.  The Butler County Motor Company (aka Butler County Ford) has been around since 1918 and was one of the first Ford automotive dealerships authorized by Henry Ford. Walking down Main Street in Butler - there are a number of great older building, storefronts, and ghost signs. One of the buildings that caught my eye at the end was the ho...

While in the Raleigh/Durham area in October, I had a few hours to check out progress on building the Western Wake Freeway (NC 540) portion of the Triangle Expressway (TriEx). Work had largely been completed along the Triangle Parkway (NC 147) portion, but I was about 6 weeks too early to be able to drive on it. I did get to drive over and around it though on my way to NC 540. Here's the approach to the Hopson Road interchange area: They were still working closer to the intersection at Davis Drive on a Saturday: Turning right on Davis I proceeded to the Davis Drive interchange, a C/D ramp and signalized intersections connect the two interchanges together: Note the fancy brick face on the bridge approaches. Here's the approach on Davis from the other direction: Since I could not use the Parkway, I had to approach NC 540 using I-40. Approaching the former Davis Drive exit on West 540 I got to see the future Triangle Expressway/Parkway interchange signs covered up: The content of ...