The Pennsylvania Fly-by

Wait a minute -- that's not Pennsylvania! No, it isn't; it's Dallas, Texas very early in the morning way back on the 19th as I was leaving town to begin my journey in earnest. Luckily, it was a Saturday -- thanks to the monster thunderstorm delaying my departure -- so traffic was fairly light, for Dallas. Still, that didn't stop what few drivers there were from being typical morons, but Pepe and I escaped town none the worse for wear.


Two days later found me in Frankfort, Indiana and at the home of Bill, Susan, Jack, and Anna, who we see here -- only without Bill, who was on his way to Wichita at this time. Why or how I ended up without a picture of Bill is a total mystery to me, as he was riding his ride-a-mower when I pulled up. What an idiot I am!


After my stay in Frankfort, I fired up Pepe and off we went to the Wright-Patterson USAF Museum to re-capture some of the planes I took photos of on my 2000/2001 Big Trip -- one of which was this beautiful Lockheed B-58 Hustler all shined up and lit like something out of a sci-fi movie. The Wright-Patterson people got really creative with their lighting, but unfortunately it doesn't help photographers out much. The "Cold War" exhibit seen here is totally dark except for the spot lighting, which is really tricky at best. Lots of long exposures and blurred images.


The same thing -- and more -- went for this Convair B-36 Peacemaker, one of the most important bombers of the Cold War era. As I complained about in my last entry, the cramming of aircraft into such a small space makes for a frustrating photo shoot, but at least they had a balcony I was able to take advantage of to get the entire plane in the shot, even though the foreshortening effect makes the wing HUGE. Hopefully, there'll be an example of this magnificent aircraft outside so I can get a shot to do it justice.


Stepping back a few years -- like all the way back to WWII -- I came across this fine example of a Junkers Ju52, one of Germany's most important transport craft ever. And, no, this isn't an Air Force airplane, but they probably test flew it here after the war, as they did several other Axis aircraft. I failed to read the placard, I'm afraid, so I don't know for sure.


So as not to bore you all with all of the 388 aircraft photos (can you believe that?!), Pepe and I pushed on to Zanesville, Ohio where I reacquainted myself with their Denny's Diner, missed on the Doug's Diner Dash back in the Fall. After four hours of walking through all those hangars, I was more than a little beat, and Denny's country-fried steak, mashed potatoes, and fresh mixed vegetables hit the spot big time. Man, was that good!


Then, morning broke very early, but it wasn't without its benefits. As I popped out of one of the four tunnels in Pennsylvania (I'll save the photos for the gallery), I popped out and saw this phenomenon -- a cloud in the shape of a giant brain floating in the sky. Have any of you ever seen the 1950s sci-fi movie The Brain from Planet Arous? Well, this looks just like the real deal, let me tell you. By the way, I own the movie, if you're ever interested in checking it out.


Now, here's an interesting yet disturbing image. Can you imagine what a person, strung out from miles and miles of road and severe lack of sleep, would think seeing this upon awakening from a momentary nod-off? Holy SHIT! Eerrrhhhh! CRASH!!! Actually, it was the last in a train of semi tractors being towed to their new destination, wherever that may be. I just couldn't resist taking the shot. (Shades of T-Rex from last time, huh?)


And here I am, in my snazzy office-away-from-office in New Paltz, New York. (Okay, technically, I'm not in the picture, but you get the general idea. What a great office, huh?) I was hoping to stay in Newburgh, a little further to the south, which was the longest-serving headquarters of our very own George Washington -- our esteemed country's original George W. It may have been from Newburgh where George and his men bravely traversed the nearby Delaware River in a flimsy little rowboat so historically during the Revolutionary War, probably due to I-84 being inaccessible thanks to it being covered in snow and ice. (This was way before the invention of the snowplow/sander that we rely on so heavily these days, I'm sure.) Anyway . . . here I am for now, and tomorrow I'll head up the New York Thruway and over to the little town of Wells, Vermont and Rancho Descansamos. After that, it's pack it up one last time and head on up to Acadia for the summer. Don't touch that dial!