One of My Favorite Photos

Not to ring my own bell, but I really like this picture I took this afternoon at the Ft Roberdeau historic site in Blair County, Pennsylvania. I haven't touched it at all. This is just as it came from the camera. Click it to see a larger image.

From FortRob

Out to Pasture

I snapped these photos of grazing horses in Scotch Valley yesterday just before I got to Canoe Creek State Park



Some I think turned out quite nicely. More pictures from the park will be coming.

July 4th Photos

This huge dog mural is located in the historic district of Hollidaysburg, PA.


This flag flies over the James E. Van Zandt VA Hospital in Altoona, PA.

This little buddy is hanging out in my backyard.

Flag Day 2009

Flags being displayed in the neighborhood on this Flag Day, June 14.



Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the United States flag on this day in 1777. Pres. Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation in 1916, that officially established June 14 as Flag Day. In August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress, though Flag Day is not an official federal holiday. However, on June 14, 1937, Pennsylvania became the first (and only) U.S. state to celebrate Flag Day as a state holiday.

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More from WW2 Weekend

This short clip shows some World War II era planes on the taxiway at Reading Regional Airport during the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum's World War II weekend.

Mid-Atlantic Air Museum World War II Weekend

On June 6, the 65th anniversary of D-Day, a friend and I visited the annual World War II weekend at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA. It was quite an interesting day. There were displays of all sorts of military personnel, equipment, and other paraphernalia. The stars of the show were the numerous military aircraft from the era which were on display, many of which were flying.

Nearly all the nationalities involved in the war were represented, American, Britons, Canadians, Germans, Japanese, and more. There were displays representing life on the home front as well as a mini French village. A highlight was the appearance of five of the actual men whose war experiences have been portrayed in the television series Band of Brothers.

I was surprised by the number and broad variety of people attending the event, small children, teens, young adults, all the way up to those who lived during the war years. There were so many visitors that traffic was backed up for miles. It took nearly an hour to travel the last two miles.

Unfortunately, heavy rains Friday caused some areas to turn into quagmires as you can see in one of my photos, so people had to tread through some very muddy conditions.

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A Tragedy in the Neighborhood

I shot these pictures at the 58th Street Subway, the seen of a deadly shooting Monday afternoon. The store is only 6 or 8 blocks from my home and I was an occasional customer. As you can see, the shop is closed temporarily and there have been makeshift memorials placed in front of the store.

Spring Fever Stimulus

The USS Requin

The USS Requin, named for a sand shark, was commissioned in April 1945 and remained in service until December 1968. In August 1990, she was loaded onto barges in Baton Rouge, LA, for her trip up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to Pittsburgh. She arrived at the Carnegie Science Center on the 4th of September and was dedicated and opened for tours on October 20, 1990.

The Requin had a crew of 10 officers and 71 crewmen squeezed into a boat just over 311 feet in length with a width of a bit more than 27 feet. With a range of 11,000 nautical miles, she could be at sea on patrol for up to 75 days.

Pictures from Requin

Great Hotel Deal

I'm staying the night at the Best Western Inn in Dubois, Pennsylvania. I have one of the best hotel deals I have ever lucked into. This room is actually a mini-suite with a small kitchenette. It's remarkably spacious, very clean, well-kept.

There's high-speed wireless internet, about 60 cable TV channels plus HBO, free continental hot breakfast, refrigerator, microwave, coffeemaker.

The bathroom is huge!

With the over-55 discount the rate is less than $63!

Baker Mansion, Altoona, PA

Baker Mansion, a Greek Revival mansion of thirty-two rooms, was built in Altoona, Pennsylvania, between 1844 and 1847, for ironmaster Elias Baker who lived there with his family until 1914.

Home of the Blair County Historical Society since 1922, guided tours are offered through period furnished rooms and historic exhibits on such topics as transportation, leisure activities and the Civil War. Native American and railroad artifacts are on display as well as several carved oak pieces that were imported from Belgium.

The Haunted Wedding Dress at Baker Mansion is said to be the wedding dress of a daughter of a prominent local man, Mr. Bell who founded and gave his name to the nearby town of Bellwood. It's said his daughter was to be married in this dress. Visitors claim to have seen the wedding dress move within its glass case, thus the wedding dress has gained a reputation as being haunted.
Slideshow added Oct 11, 2007.

More on PA Bridges

Following up an earlier post about Pennsylvania's bridges -

Pennsylvania has the third largest number of bridges, but the largest number of structurally deficient bridges in the US, according to PennDOT. The average age of a bridge in Pennsylvania is 50 years old.

A structurally deficient bridge is safe, but in need of costly repairs or replacement to bring it to current standards.

For more on the states bridges, click here.