Return To Florida A1A

So in love were we with the Florida Keys after our 2000 honeymoon there, [Maris] and I had to go back again in 2001 and 2002. We hope to visit again soon, before Key West turns into a Disney-esque all-inclusive resort. On our 2002 drive, we made a quick stop in the land of cotton (above) for [Maris], who just loves the stuff.

Next, an excursion to Jupiter Island, FL to re-shoot the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse - in sunshine, this time. It was very nice of them to repaint it for us, too.

Even the pelicans cooperated! Actually, this guy glided through my shot so quickly, I was not aware of him until I got the film developed.

Clearly, we're going to have to find our way into the air or water to get a good picture of the reclusive Hillsboro Inlet Light in Pompano Beach. Still, it's a better shot than I got in 1999.

Look! Islamorada's Chamber of Commerce is in a caboose! [Maris]'s shot. You gotta love a caboose nestled among tropical foliage, a few steps from the water. You don't? Well, we do!

She finally made it! On the honeymoon trip in 2000, when my car was six months old, we were rear-ended by a truck, into a minivan in front of us. Guess which of the three vehicles suffered 90% of the damage. Baby car spent our honeymoon at a body shop in Florida City, just outside the Keys. She made it all the way to Key West for the 2001 and 2002 trips.

Still water and, um, tree. Islamorada, 2002.

Heron gone fishin' - Islamorada - 2002. That's Alligator Reef Lighthouse on the horizon toward the left of the frame.

Most channel markers and signs come with a cormorant, and this one is no exception. Still in Islamorada. At this rate, we may not get to Key West before dark...

Getting closer. This is the Back Country side of A1A in the late afternoon - somewhere in the Lower Keys.

Seeya!

More Trains At The Turn Of The Millennium

Back for another quick ride on the high iron. Above - Union Pacific power idling on CSX right of way in Baldwin, FL in 1999.

Westbound coal empties snaking through the S curves at Shenandoah Junction, WV in 1998.

CSX Q400 and one of the MARC westbound commuter trains at Point of Rocks, MD in 2000.

Westbound MARC train #871, with old F-7 #7100 sporting brand-new paint, passing the signal at Barnesville, MD in 2001.

Eastbound Rock-Runner at Gaithersburg, MD in 2001.

Baby Car watching eastbound coal drag at Boyds, MD in 2000.

A special guest appearance by the Tropicana "juice express" - shown here splitting the signals at the Pepco switch near Dickerson, MD. New signals have been installed, but are not yet operational (to the right of the train).

Newly-painted MARC F-7 #7100, sitting pretty at Gaithersburg, MD's "old town" commuter station in 2001.

WB Q400 passing Gaithersburg station in 2001.

Heading toward the digital age - Three different models roll east "elephant style" through Washington Grove, MD in 2005.

That's all for now. Soon - back to the Florida Keys!

Get Me To The Church On Time, Even Though I'll Burst Into Flames Upon Crossing The Threshhold

Churches. Our wanderings seem to have resulted in a couple hundred of these. Go figure. The one in the bright June sun above is somewhere in New England (possibly Connecticut) in 1998.

Bethel Presbyterian Church - somewhere in Virginia - 1998.

Kutztown, PA - 1998.

Lewes, DE - 1998

Odd Little Church in Lexington, KY - 1998.

St. John's Episcopal Church - Warsaw, VA - 1999.

Forest Grove Church - Sellman, MD - 1999. Photo by [Maris].

Another Northern Neck (of Virginia) Church - 1999.

Bethesda Church, near Harper's Ferry, WV - 1998. Yes, I included one with a tree right smack-dab in front of it. So what? Big whoop - wanna fight about it?

This church - on the shores of the Atlantic in New England - is alive. It has eyes in its roof. Felt like it was (and maybe still is) watching us...

More on the way. Peace!
-Joe and [Maris]

Still Chasing Trains

It's been a while since I've posted any railfan stuff, so here's a taste of train-chasing from the late 1990s and early 2000s. Above, northbound Florida East Coast "Pigs" racing past St. Augustine, FL in 1999.

I'm sure our parents would have strongly objected to our sitting out in deliverance country shooting trains from this spot near Foley, PA. There were a couple of old chairs sitting in a clearing on this forsaken mountainside, with a view of only the CSX tracks and Wills Creek below - so I figure [Maris] and I were just two of many visitors to "railfan" there. The two frames above are the eastbound Q216 auto racks train.

I'm not sure what train this is, but I know it was not one of our regulars. There was a derailment and fire in the Howard Street Tunnel under Baltimore in July of 2001, so for about a week we had many trains detouring around the trouble spot, using the DC-to-Cumberland right of way. This shot is at Peach Tree Road near Dickerson, MD.

Eastbound coal drag clearing the old signal bridge at Hancock, MD on my birthday in 2001.

Idle power at Corbin, KY in 1998. One of my last Kodachrome slides. :(

Eastbound Rock-Runner on the trestle passing Harpers Ferry, WV in 1999.

Another Rock-Runner at Harpers Ferry in 1999, emerging from the woods just a few hundred yards further along than the one in the previous photo.

No train! This is the Rock-Runner's power, heading east over the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry, where the Shenandoah Branch joins the CSX mainline.

Westbound grain train coming off the bridge at Harpers Ferry, WV in 1999.

Thanks for visiting. See ya!

Future And Past Reflections

Good news! I finished scanning my negatives today. (I started scanning in April, 2009) So - I have oodles of material ready to go. However, I'm also exhausted and this stuff isn't organized yet, so let's pause to reflect. Some of these shots, like the 1997 West Virginia Cave pictured above, are old. I've added a couple of new ones as a little preview of upcoming posts.

This one may have more of a glare than a reflection, but whatever. The cat is reflecting. 1992 photo.

Back to West Virginia for a glassy stream - 1997.

Things to do with cameras when it's cold outside and the trains won't come. Gaithersburg, MD - 1992.

Sauks Covered Bridge and its upside-down twin in the water - Gettysburg, PA - 2002.

[Maris] and I drove the Florida Keys again in 2001 and 2002 (wait til you see the pelicans!), and took our time looking for photo opportunities. This 2002 shot is on the Gulf/Back Country side of the Lower Keys.

Pond and dead-fall on US Rt. 17 in Virginia's Northern Neck - 1999.

Okay - this is the last time I'll post these dead trees and their reflection - I promise! This is from the next major photo excursion on the list - Maine - in 2004.

Here, the waters of Maine's Frenchman Bay are too busy reflecting sunlight to be bothered with reflecting the image of Egg Rock Lighthouse in 2004. It's just as well - with the 500mm mirror lens, I wasn't going to much of a shot of the lighthouse itself, anyway.

Lots more to come. Thanks for visiting!

Lighthouses: NJ & GA Revisited

Back to the lights for today - filling in some of the blanks left after previous trips, due to weather, darkness, parade, strike, construction or other interference. These first two frames are the Tinicum Rear Range Light in Paulsboro, NJ - just across the river from Philadelphia International Airport. 2002 photos.

Two shots of East Point Lighthouse - near Heislerville, NJ. We were very nearly carried off into the marsh by the industrial-strength flies surrounding this spot. 2002 photos.

A double shot of Cape May Lighthouse at the mouth of the Delaware Bay, NJ side. Hard to take a bad shot of this one - although its height makes wide-angle lenses a no-no, as the cupola ends up bending away from the film in ways most unattractive. Luckily, this one is on a large, open piece of land, allowing for the use of longer focal length lenses.

Tybee Island, GA. This light had ladders and scaffolding on it in 2000 (and it was cloudy). In October 2001, the newly-refurbished tower was draped with a large American flag. [Maris]'s shot.

And my shot, from the opposite side.

Cockspur Island Light, GA. This poor little thing had no cupola at all in 2000 and was just covered with a tarp. In 2001, it's sporting a nicely restored top section, although obviously the encroaching tide is eventually going to win, here.

Bye for now!