Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

I was promised a recession.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

The lights are all blinking red.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Fani Willis claps back at Trump chihuahua, Jim Jordan.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Second rate reporter says what?

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

The current Supreme Court is a rogue court. Very dangerous.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

I also would like a pony to improve my balloon juice experience.

You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road / On The Road

On The Road

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On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.

From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.

Submit Your Photos

Folks,

We’re trying a new feature here, so let’s see how it goes for the next week or so before it’s fully automated.

This post is for Balloon Juicers who are on the road, travelling, etc. and wish to share notes, links, pictures, stories, etc. from their escapades. As the US mainland begins the end of the Earth day as we measure it, many of us rise to read about our friends and their transient locales.

So, please, speak up and share some of your adventures, observations, and sights as you explore, no matter where you are.

Have at ’em, and have a safe day of travels!

Reader Interactions

54Comments

  3. 3.

    Sarah, Proud and Tall

    Love it! What a great idea for a regular post, Alain.

    I’m not really a tourist down here in Australia, but I’ll chip in anyway, because overseas.

    My top tips for based on what I’ve done in the last few weeks:

    * We went to our first twilight concert at Taronga Zoo. They run all summer. All different kinds of shows – we saw Ballpark Music – in one of the most amazing locations anywhere: sitting on a lawn, swilling Sav Blanc, looking across Sydney Harbour towards the city as the sun sets and the kiddies dance in the mosh pit. Plus giraffes, and tree kangaroos.

    * Sydney food of the month – a stunning cherry, custard and honeycomb dessert at Hartsyard in Enmore, and the best red curry duck I have ever had at Long Chim in the city.

    * Melbourne food of the month – Everything at Supernormal but especially the prawn and chicken dumplings with chilli and vinegar sauce, and the third best meal of my life at Lumé.

  4. 4.

    satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: @?BillinGlendaleCA: LOL, if those aren’t the perfect kickoff comments to a new thread tag.
    Iceland is on the bucket list for 2018, a friend and I want to take a Northern Lights tour. And next spring I hope to road trip like Quinerly is doing, though maybe not in the same locations.

  5. 5.

    Hillary Rettig

    Thanks Alain! We’re in Atlanta for a couple of days while my partner attends the American Association of Physics Teachers meeting. (And picks up an award for excellence in physics education – yeah I’m braggin!)

    We went to the Center for Civil & Human Rights, a relatively new museum. Found it a bit of a mixed bag TBH – good basic coverage of civil rights movement, but almost entirely elided the role of the Black Panthers and other radicals. Also disappointed that the gift shop was selling tee shirts and other swag that were almost certainly sweatshop-produced when they had exhibits on that very topic upstairs. Not walking the walk…

    But one really standout exhibit was a “lunch counter protest” simulator where you actually sat at a lunch counter, put on headphones, and closed your eyes. You listened to–and felt, there was some vibrations and other stuff–the abuse the lunch counter protesters experienced. It was incredibly vivid and scary and really gave me more insight into how brave they were.

    We also heard presentations on reconciliation by 2 mothers who lost sons to violence – Robi Danelin, an Israeli woman whose Army reserve son was killed by a Palestinian sniper and Lucia McBath, Jordan Davis’s mom. So that will stay with me for a while.

    Today we’re going to the puppetry museum! Yeah puppets!

  9. 9.

    Phylllis

    @Hillary Rettig: Still hotel rooms to be had in Columbia SC that weekend. I’m a bit bummed because we had been planning a big district to-do over it, but the neighboring district whose calendar we have to follow for instructional reasons has decided not to be in school that day because of liability concerns.

  12. 12.

    Hillary Rettig

    @raven: i see some good vegan options there – thanks!

    we splurged at Herban Fix last night and have been lunching at Aviva’s Mediterranean Grill in the Peachtree Mall. Do you know the latter? Great food and the owner is the most wonderful guy.

  18. 18.

    satby

    @Hillary Rettig: that if kids look at the eclipse without eye protection the school could be held liable.
    There are times I wonder how all of us boomers survived our youth without the heavy swaddling now customary for kids.

  20. 20.

    jayboat

    Spent a couple days at the Miami Boat Show over the weekend.
    They moved it from the convention center to the Miami Marine Stadium last year and I love the new venue. Things are not so spread out and the Miami skyline makes a wonderful backdrop for photos.

  21. 21.

    rl

    Hello fellow juicers from China. Been here since Aug as a teacher; retired after 30 years inner city teaching in the South. Other than 3 hours in Juarez this is my first time outside the USA… those who talk politics love Obama and hate trump…

  22. 22.

    Quinerly

    Good morning all! The two bedroom (Ford) Escape with Poco is pretty much loaded for launch to Holbrook, AZ. Hope to make Earl’s Restaurant for breakfast in Gallop. Dexwood had suggested a couple of places that look great, and they are in my notebook for future reference. However, I met someone yesterday who grew up in Gallop and said Earl’s was a must at least once. On the main drag, been there 60 years….and huge Navajo breakfast tacos. Gotta try it out. Great last day yesterday in Albuquerque…walking, chatting with strangers in Old Town. Early lunch of blue corn enchiladas, rice, and beans (Ozark, you may be right..I do blow?…the beans were a bit undercooked) and local microbrew (Bosque) at the bar at High Noon. Three year tradition holds..picked up sweet rolls from Frontier Restaurant (across from the university)..these things are as big a baby’s head and surprised two older shopkeeper gals that I have visited with on the last four visits. They are in their 80’s and work two days a week at a trading post across from the Plaza. Wonderful ladies who one year told me how they love these sweet rolls but never get down to that end of Central Avenue anymore. A small steak at the fun Monte Carlo Steak House and Liquors for an early dinner. A great day indeed. Thanks to all…especially Alain. I think this could be a fun feature for all. Poco gives it 4 paws up, plus a giant coffee table clearing sweep of his fluffy tail.?

  26. 26.

    Phylllis

    @satby: How did we do it? My brother and I were practically feral as kids. We used to ride our bikes to Coquina Beach near Bradenton, a good ten miles from our house. And that was likely the most sensible thing we did.

  27. 27.

    frosty

    On the way to Key West this morning for a day trip. This will be the first time I’ve been there since I was five. Went with my grandparents and we flew into Miami on a Lockheed Electra, it was that long ago.

  28. 28.

    BellyCat

    @Phylllis: LOL. I grew up semi-feral as well, roaming at large on bicycles from dawn to (well past) dusk. Mid 70’s then. Now I’m tasked with raising my own hellion in this era of tight parental/societal control.

    Prediction: Jail time soon after the cops bring him home and papa says, “Oh, he’s not lost. We let him play in the park all the time without us. It builds character, independence, creativity, and critical thinking skills.”

    Should we at least RFID chip him so we can find him if the need arises? (and only half-kidding with this query!).

    Actually, serious question: at what age are we able to relax the reins?

  29. 29.

    Quinerly

    @frosty:
    Yesterday’s AM thread was dead when I got back to it. Thanks for all the info and kind words. Love Key West. My best friends..retired couple…spend the month of February in a rental at Truman Annex. Last time I was there was 20 years ago. Had a blast. Enjoy!

  30. 30.

    Hurling Dervish

    I’m in the Newark Airport Hilton. But went out for great Portuguese last night and I’m traveling with a massive doggy bag.

  32. 32.

    frosty

    @Quinerly: You’re welcome. This should be a great feature, I’m looking forward to lurking on it after we get back. And then asking for suggestions for the next Road Trip in August.

  34. 34.

    Doc H

    Took a trip to Mass MoCA (North Adams MA) to see Nick Cave’s* Until. Anal bum** here. STRONGLY recommended – I have a friend who is thinking about coming up from Austin to see it & I am egging her on.

    *no not him. The other Nick Cave

    **Celeb Jep 4evah

  35. 35.

    Elizabelle

    @Quinerly: Good morning Quinerly. Hope you and Poco have another amazing day. I love that he has miles under his collar.

    Will you be heading to La Posada soon, or saving that for the return swing?

  36. 36.

    satby

    @Phylllis: my friends and I would save our money until we could afford train fare downtown. At age 10, we’d take the Rock Island line to the end in the (at the time seedy) south Loop and wander around for hours, usually without telling our parents. We officially had permission to take the train by ourselves when we turned 12.

  37. 37.

    satby

    @BellyCat: When you feel your child has developed some “street smarts” and can think ahead well enough to get help or get home if he needs to.
    And realize that if you’ve raised them to think a bit for themselves and to be independent, they’ll probably liberate themselves quietly at least a year before they have your permission, and that’s ok, because it’s normal and helps them learn.

  38. 38.

    evap

    @Hillary Rettig:
    Herban Fix is great and they have an amazing (pricey) brunch. If you can get out of downtown, there are great vegan options in Kirkwood, East Atlanta, etc. Dulce Vegan in Kirkwood is fun and makes good desserts. Most of the doughnuts at Revolution Doughnuts in Decatur are vegan. Both of these are walking distance from a Marta station (assuming you like to walk). You can also walk to the original Flying Biscuit in Candler Park from the Candler Park Marta station (it’s a fairly long walk). That’s my neighborhood, just a few blocks from my house. Flying Biscuit has gotten very touristy/commercial, but they do have some good vegan options.

  39. 39.

    satby

    @satby: And for context, I was 10 in 1965, when the general crime rate was much higher. Yet parents didn’t feel the need to always have eyes on us because they weren’t fed a constant stream of propaganda about how dangerous the world and all the people in it were.

  41. 41.

    thruppence

    Thirty days ago I (and others) received a 30 day notice of eviction as one more Silicon Valley property owner took their house off the rental market. I’ll go out shortly to pick up a U-Haul rental to load up to take self and stuff to the Denver area where the rest of my family live. Any route/destination suggestions?

  44. 44.

    thruppence

    @satby: Thanks. I’ll probably route through Las Vegas. I grew up there in what was then the outskirts of town in the sixties. I still remember riding our Stingray bikes over the not yet opened freeways to go downtown and gawk at the tourists.

  46. 46.

    amygdala

    @satby: Yes, this. I was a latchkey kid and an only child, but even my highly protective parents encouraged me to shoot hoops at the local park (which I got to on my bike), go rollerskating around the neighborhood, etc., as a teenager. When I moved cross-country on my own to start med school, they sort of felt guilty, because neither of them could get time away from work. I told them they’d raised me to be able to manage it and that I’d do my best to do them proud, which I think made them happy.

    Alain, I love this. Thank you for making it happen. When it becomes a regular feature, maybe it could be titled “On the Road, Again,” after the Willie Nelson tune.

  47. 47.

    Ruckus

    @thruppence:
    You could go 80 but this time of year Donner Pass is a bit tough and so are the Rockies.
    I’ve driven west to the Bay area in Dec over 80 in a 26 ft truck towing a trailer and it wasn’t as much fun as one might imagine.
    I’d go to LV and then take 40 to ABQ, catch 25 right into Denver. Longer of course but not a bad drive, even in winter.

  48. 48.

    J R in WV

    @frosty: @frosty:

    I wouldn’t take that kind of route in a U-Haul rental, they usually can barely handle the load on the level Interstate, much less one of the highest roads in North America…

    @thruppence:

    Sorry you’re experiencing such an upset at the whim of some landlord. Mrs J says “Neither Landlord Nor Tenant Be!” – wise advice if you can swing it. WE got thrown out of our first home town rental, landlady expected us to play bridge with her and be social support. We were more backpacker, kayaker and caver types, culture clash. It was a garage apartment for crying out loud!

  49. 49.

    Quinerly

    @Just One More Canuck:
    Eating the most fabulous biscuits and gravy at Earl’s Family Restaurant (since 1946 in Gallop). The gravy is perfect and has huge hunks of fried pork tenderloin in it. Served with a side of red chile. Navajo owned and operated. All Native Americans here. The vendors come up to you while you are waiting for your food. You can ask for a sign when they seat you if you don’t want to be bothered.

  50. 50.

    Quinerly

    @Elizabelle:
    La Posada tomorrow night. My birthday treat! Reservations made. We have the doggie friendly FDR room. I’m dining in The Turquoise Room tomorrow night. Hope to hit Winslow fairly early. There’s a corner people have been talking about for years.?

  51. 51.

    Quinerly

    @dexwood:
    I miss Albuquerque! It really got to me. Already chatted with my lady landlord about a month in the same casita. I may be on to a sweet off season deal same time next year. Hugs to Mrs. dexwood. I spent about 45 minutes on Laguna Pueblo this AM. Took the back road into Grants. Sweet drive.? So great meeting you both. Take care!

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