Click any image to see it larger in Photobucket.
See 4 more images below the jump.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Pictures 16: Greene County Miners' Memorial - Pennsylvania
This actually happened before Pittsburgh, but, as is my fashion, I have forgotten to post it earlier. Alas. It's okay, though, because this will probably only be interesting to other weirdos like me who find coal mining fascinating. This is the Greene County Coal Miners Memorial in Kirby, Pennsylvania.
Click any image to see it larger in Photobucket.
See 4 more images below the jump.
Click any image to see it larger in Photobucket.
See 4 more images below the jump.
Pictures 15: Pittsburgh familiarity and fraternization
Seeing my brother Dan in Pittsburgh was a real treat. We are very, very different people, but when it comes down to it we find the same things funny and regularly text each other seeming non-sequiturs simply because we know the other would appreciate it.
So, hanging out with him, his roommate Matt and his girlfriend Mandy at his place in Lawrenceville was nice. We spent a lot of time just vegging out at his apartment, so that made for a lot of images of the four of us, as well as some cool shots from the roof outside his kitchen window.
If you don't know me, nor do you stalk me online (here or via Facebook), you may not find all of these images too fascinating, but here they are nonetheless.
I am, after all, still enamored of my new-to-me camera, so I really like the way a lot of these images came out.
Click any image to see a larger version in Photobucket.
This is Dan on the first morning I was in town. We were tired and I was showing him how my camera worked. He took a picture of me, too, but it is extremely unflattering and there is no way it is going online.
Looking out his living room window - all those trees got clobbered by the snow this winter.
23 more below the jump...
So, hanging out with him, his roommate Matt and his girlfriend Mandy at his place in Lawrenceville was nice. We spent a lot of time just vegging out at his apartment, so that made for a lot of images of the four of us, as well as some cool shots from the roof outside his kitchen window.
If you don't know me, nor do you stalk me online (here or via Facebook), you may not find all of these images too fascinating, but here they are nonetheless.
I am, after all, still enamored of my new-to-me camera, so I really like the way a lot of these images came out.
Click any image to see a larger version in Photobucket.
This is Dan on the first morning I was in town. We were tired and I was showing him how my camera worked. He took a picture of me, too, but it is extremely unflattering and there is no way it is going online.
Looking out his living room window - all those trees got clobbered by the snow this winter.
23 more below the jump...
Pittsburgh, and Pictures 14
It's been nearly a week since I came home from Pittsburgh, and I've yet to write anything about it. I suppose I'll keep it short, then - besides, I didn't do much besides hang out with my brother and sleep on his couch and do nothing - so there aren't a ton of stories to tell.
And, come to think of it, I don't feel like telling stories at all, so I will just show Pittsburgh to you.
A view of the city from Grandview Park in the Mount Washington neighborhood
I think a lot of people have a very mistaken and outdated idea of Pittsburgh. It was established as a steel city in the Allegheny Mountains, a particularly beautiful stretch of the Appalachian Mountains that runs through Pennsylvania and West Virginia. For a long time it existed in a decidedly stereotypical Appalachian realm of being relatively poor, dirty, and decidedly Slavic.
Over the years, what with the decline of the American steel industry, Pittsburgh has seen a waning population and waxing culture. While the town does have two notable colleges - Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh (the latter of which being my brother's alma mater) - students tend to come to Pittsburgh, learn valuable things, then leave Pittsburgh.
For those who stay in town, however, there is an entire city full of blossoming music, theater, art and social circles, all coupled with an incredibly low cost of living and what I think is one of the most picturesque cityscapes in the country.
More images and musings below the jump. Remember to click any image to see it larger on Photobucket.
And, come to think of it, I don't feel like telling stories at all, so I will just show Pittsburgh to you.
A view of the city from Grandview Park in the Mount Washington neighborhood
I think a lot of people have a very mistaken and outdated idea of Pittsburgh. It was established as a steel city in the Allegheny Mountains, a particularly beautiful stretch of the Appalachian Mountains that runs through Pennsylvania and West Virginia. For a long time it existed in a decidedly stereotypical Appalachian realm of being relatively poor, dirty, and decidedly Slavic.
Over the years, what with the decline of the American steel industry, Pittsburgh has seen a waning population and waxing culture. While the town does have two notable colleges - Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh (the latter of which being my brother's alma mater) - students tend to come to Pittsburgh, learn valuable things, then leave Pittsburgh.
For those who stay in town, however, there is an entire city full of blossoming music, theater, art and social circles, all coupled with an incredibly low cost of living and what I think is one of the most picturesque cityscapes in the country.
More images and musings below the jump. Remember to click any image to see it larger on Photobucket.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Pictures 13: Tennessee abandoned house
Okay, let's throw this in reverse a little bit; this actually happened before West Virginia did. When I was still in Knoxville, Patrick showed me this abandoned building by a train track, almost totally hidden by ivy.
Click any image to see the larger version on Photobucket.
From the outside
Aaaand from the inside
5 more images after the jump
Click any image to see the larger version on Photobucket.
From the outside
Aaaand from the inside
5 more images after the jump
Pictures 12: Fayetteville, West Virginia
On my drive from Knoxville to Pittsburgh, I took US-19 through Fayetteville, West Virginia. And here are some pics to prove it. Also included here are some images of the New River Gorge Bridge.
Click on any picture to see the larger version on Photobucket.
Downtown Fayetteville
I liked this theater. Clearly.
11 images below the jump.
Click on any picture to see the larger version on Photobucket.
Downtown Fayetteville
I liked this theater. Clearly.
11 images below the jump.
older than the trees, younger than the mountains
So now that I have significantly bored you all with my a-little-too-enthusiastic babblings about US Highways and Interstates, I'll tell you about what it's like to drive them.
Last any of us cared, I was on US-19 in West Virginia. I stopped occasionally along the road to stretch my legs, but none was as enjoyable as the town of Fayetteville. In 2006, the town was named one of the Coolest Small Towns in America by Budget Travel. (Then again, one of BT's coolest "small" towns of 2010 had 110,000 people, so we kinda wonder how they define "small." Fayetteville has fewer than 3,000 people, so it is indeed small.)
Edit: See photos related to this part of this entry here (Pictures 12: Fayetteville, West Virginia).
I took a detour into Fayetteville and found a teeny little main road strip with a theater, many shops, restaurants, antique stores, historic old facades and a stately courthouse (Fayetteville is the Fayette County seat). I wandered around and took some pictures, and chatted with a few fellow travelers who were lounging in the shade outside the Fayette Theater. I drove up into the hills a bit and came across the Wild, Wonderful 24-Hour Adventure Race, where mountain bikers were emerging out of the woods to the cheers and whoops of a group of folks holding stopwatches. I wandered around the parking lot of the trailhead and it was as if I wasn't there; they were all so intent on the race that nothing else mattered. Adrenaline blinders.
Last any of us cared, I was on US-19 in West Virginia. I stopped occasionally along the road to stretch my legs, but none was as enjoyable as the town of Fayetteville. In 2006, the town was named one of the Coolest Small Towns in America by Budget Travel. (Then again, one of BT's coolest "small" towns of 2010 had 110,000 people, so we kinda wonder how they define "small." Fayetteville has fewer than 3,000 people, so it is indeed small.)
Edit: See photos related to this part of this entry here (Pictures 12: Fayetteville, West Virginia).
I took a detour into Fayetteville and found a teeny little main road strip with a theater, many shops, restaurants, antique stores, historic old facades and a stately courthouse (Fayetteville is the Fayette County seat). I wandered around and took some pictures, and chatted with a few fellow travelers who were lounging in the shade outside the Fayette Theater. I drove up into the hills a bit and came across the Wild, Wonderful 24-Hour Adventure Race, where mountain bikers were emerging out of the woods to the cheers and whoops of a group of folks holding stopwatches. I wandered around the parking lot of the trailhead and it was as if I wasn't there; they were all so intent on the race that nothing else mattered. Adrenaline blinders.
US Highways versus Interstates
From Knoxville to Pittsburgh is a relatively easy drive, straight up north through West Virginia. After leaving Knoxville you head East a little bit on I-81, then get on I-77. You could take I-77 a little West to Charleston, West Virginia, and get on I-79 and head back East, or you can go from I-77 to US-19 to I-79 and save yourself 2 sides of a triangle. I also had a feeling that US-19 was going to be prettier than the other options, so I decided to go for it.
Now it's time for a little educational blahditty-blah from me. I didn't know the difference until this weekend between US highways and Interstate highways. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm pretty good with maps. When I was 11, my family took a road trip from New Jersey to California and back, and in the process I learned how to read a road atlas pretty well. From there, I've driven from New Mexico to New Jersey (or vice versa) 13 times, and I've made the New Mexico-to-California trip six times, so I've done my fair share of back-and-forths.
So, that being said, I had no idea what the difference was between US-22 and I-22. Naturally, my dad, who knows everything, knew.
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