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.
Good Morning All,
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. By concentrating travel updates here, it’s easier for all to keep up-to-date on the adventures of our fellow Commentariat. And it makes finding some travel tips or ideas from 6 months ago so much easier to find…
Have at ’em, and have a safe day of travels!
Should you have any pictures (tasteful, relevant, etc….) you can email them to [email protected] or just use this nifty link to start an email: Start an Email to send a Picture to Post on Balloon Juice
Please note – I’ve decided to run this just on weekdays, at least for now. So please send pictures and they’ll show up Monday!
And without further ado, pictures (and Poco!) after the fold!
First, from otmar’s trip to Malta:
Where it was taken: La Valetta, Malta
When: 2 weeks ago
Other notes or info about the picture: Here are some pics about the trip he mentioned in a previous thread, where he wrote:
As I type this I am sitting at the gate of Malta airport, waiting for the plane back to Vienna. I spent the last two days at a meeting organised by the presidency of the EU, which is held by Malta.
Fun days. Valletta is definitely worth a visit, the fortifications and the churches are impressive.
Exquisite!
And now, from Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
Where – Great Wall, with Mrs Dantes
When – October 2016
Where- Summer Palace, Beijing
When -10/16
And now, off to Italy (still same commenter)
Where-Monterosso, Cinque Terre, Italy
When-5/16
Where: Our Balcony, Monterosso, Cinque Terre, Italy
When: 5/16
Where – Siena, Italy
When -5/16
Where – Don Ernestos, Puerto Morelos, Quintano Roo, Mexico
When – 9/16
And one more continental shift!
Where: New Orleans
When: 4/1
Finally, some more from quinerly:
Where it was taken: When: Commenter nym: Other notes or info about the picture:
Poco at Lone Rock Beach, Utah (Lake Powell) on Sunday. As I understand it, it’s the only beach you can drive on and camp on on Lake Powell. We drove right down to the water and scoped it out for another trip.
Third picture is of a tree that Poco tried to sneak up on to pee on in Bryce Canyon NP. I snapped the picture just as it tried to run away.?
Sab
Just lost my 14 year old girl last week. She looked just like Walter’s Ellie. She took a nap and never woke up.So glad Poco is getting to see the world with someone who loves him.
raven
@Sab: So sorry you lost your pup. That’s a good long like for sure.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Sab: Condolences on your pup.
Aleta
@Sab: I’m sorry for the loss of your friend.
Aleta
Beautiful pictures.
Anya
I’ve been running away from all things Trump so I am on the road a lot. This transient existance makes me miss a lot of news (mostly delibrate on my part), like Chez Pazienza’s death. OMG! How shockingly sad. Last time I listened to Chez he was railing against Trump. He was so angry and sounded super depressed. The night of the election, I think the show was posted early, he was so angry about the election and was railing against Russia, Assange, the FBI, the media, and the idiot voters. He believed that Clinton would win and was saying that it would be a huge shfudenfrauda if Clinton won after all of their machinations. I think directly or indirectly the election depression lead to his death. I think that Trump becoming president, and the idiots that helped put that vulgar monstrosity in charge triggered his old demons. RIP, Chez!
JPL
What amazing pictures, and amazing travels.
@Sab: Hugs!
ThresherK
@Sab: Condolences from our home.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
Couple of interesting bits – there’s a bit of a scramble, as a Cinque Terre dupe is listed as Siena, and the afternoon Siena shot is labeled as Mexico, which didn’t make it). Anyway, that stretch of Great Wall isn’t supposed to be traversed (it is super treacherous in places), but being China, rules are just suggestions. Took us about two hours by motorcycle sidecars and sidewalk and alley travels to get there. It was misting that morning – very ethereal and VERY slick. Came back in driving rain just in time for our reservation for duck.
Monterossa al Mare was amazing. Had the greatest fish stew ever – about a gallon for the two of us, served from a clay amphora.
The Siena photo was one of my favorites I ever took. We got a sweet upgrade to a room with a large terrace (we had a great snack on it, with a bottle of Chianti). Anyway, that is the Siena Duomo, and the light was perfect.
Alain the site fixer
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: sorry I messed stuff up!
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Alain the site fixer:
No problem! I should have included commentary and not slaughtered you with so many at once. I’ll do better in the future.
I’ve got some short dive clips, too, if that is something you feel like posting.
Anya
These are beautiful pictures. Thanks for posting.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
Other funny story – the New Orleans thing was a lark. I’d won the grand prize in a Bar Foundation raffle. Three nights in NOLA, a thousand dollar Southwest credit and $500. We accomplished a hotel upgrade and leveraged flights and points so that we could have an extra four days diving in a Mexico, and stayed at a cheap posada I really like. Best part, it was my birthday week. I’d made reservations for Emeril’s Delmonico at least two months prior – what I hadn’t counted on was that Jazzfest was the same week, so cabs were tricky. We were resigned to being stuck in the Quarter until we found some women willing to share a cab if I paid for it. On the way back, I nearly had to back up my shitty attitude cab driver in a fight with drunken pedestrians – that was incredible fun, like dinner and a show.
Alain the site fixer
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: sure! My approach toward this is likely archaic. I read an email, copy text, detach picture(s), then paste text, upload pix, reorient them if needed, then onto the next one. It’s not ideal and I was in a rush because I had to jet to see the Justice at the Opera which was awesome fun. RBG is a treasure!
Alain the site fixer
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: vid clips are welcome if that wasn’t clear. I won’t promise to post all of them cuz of size, FYI
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Alain the site fixer:
That looks like it must have been fun!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Alain the site fixer: What dimensions would you prefer for submissions?
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
One other thing – EVERY photo I posted was from an iPhone 7. I gave my 35 mm film stuff to my youngest daughter – there’s no point anymore, given the quality of the images.
Anya
Alain, please feel free to delete my comment re: Chez. I only saw the open thread. After reading your post, I see that it’s misplaced here.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
Ah, no.
SiubhanDuinne
@Alain the site fixer:
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
I saw RBG do that at the Castleton Festival in July 2015, and it was great fun!
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I mean for me – I was only a dabbler. I still use the discipline to compose my shots and not take 1000 photos, but for my purposes I don’t generally do blow ups and frames.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
That’s actually a habit that I’ve had a hard time breaking since I was so used to film and it’s expense. I’ll usually only take one or two exposures of what I’m taking a picture of. I’ve still got something in the back of my brain that keeps saying that it’s expensive to shoot a lot of shots.
BellyCat
The Italy pics take me back to a summer there (studying) in the late ’80’s. Dreamy! The Cinque Terre hike is spectacular and highly recommended for the ambulatory daredevils among us.
The BellyCat entourage is now a smidge west of NOLA right now and the replacement tire on the Airstream is holding firm! Had a fellow traveler show me these fancy schmancy Bluetooth tire valve monitors. Seems like a worthwhile thing to get (if they work) given that the weight of our trailer (5,000 lbs on the axle) is perilously close the the max load rating of the heaviest duty tires we can find (2,850 lbs each).
Anybody have any experience with these Bluetooth aftermarket monitors?
Next up: Austin. Never been, so welcoming any tips (especially food related)!
Travel safe (IRL or virtually), jackals!
rikyrah
Malta looks beautiful.
And, Poco is having a great time ??
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@BellyCat:
That stretch from Vernazza to Monterosso was breathtaking. There’d been some heavy rain a couple of days before we arrived and they just opened the trail again – I’m super glad we did it.
Quinerly
@Sab:
So sorry. 14 is a good run but we never have them long enough. Now get out there and let another one rescue YOU. Thanks for the sweet Poco words. He’s still snoozing. His hike yesterday at Utah’s Kodachrome Basin SP kinda wore him down.
Quinerly
@Anya:
It’s not misplaced. I’m glad you put it here. I, too, missed the news.
Quinerly
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
Love NOLA. Traded in 20 years in a row at Jazz and Heritage Festival (usually both weekends with a trip camping at that SP in Gulf Shores between weekends) for my Southwest pilgrimage. Jazz Fest just became too popular for some fest “amateurs” and so expensive after Katrina when there were no urban campgrounds. Miss NOLA. Need to get back. The Fest is a must at least once for any music lover. Will never forget the shows that April after Katrina.❤
BellyCat
@Quinerly: Did you happen to catch Joan Osborne at Jazz Fest back in the day? The entire crowd needed a cigarette afterwards, if you get my drift. Sizzling!!!!
BellyCat
Oh joy…. Second blowout. WTF?!??
Tenar Arha
@Quinerly: Nin sequitur – I’m just so impressed you & Poco got photographic proof of an Ent living in Bryce Canyon NP! That so cool.
Quinerly
@BellyCat:
Yep. Can’t remember the year. Great show. But then all the shows at that fest are fantastic. Might have seen her twice. The only show I walked away from was the Allman Brothers…the sound was off and so loud…distortion. Dylan, Van, Buffett, Bonnie, Willie, Bruce right on the fence..those were the days!
Quinerly
@Tenar Arha:
I just loved that little tree. A true survivor.
J R in WV
@Quinerly:
Regarding sound quality and levels: YES! Was invited to go to ZZ Top show locally, opening act was Lynyrd Skynyrd (sp?) which was never a fav of mine. They were running their equipment at ^11 or so, clipping/distortion/painfully loud. To make up for the not very played crummy songs.
So I had ear plugs commonly used with power tools or target shooting, which made it tolerable. Then they cleared the stage to a minimalist setup for ZZ Top, stand with drum kit, two mike stands, two speaker sets.
Fabulous sound, fabulous sets. Wonderful job. Same crowd, same arena, two different worlds of music.
Also, way long ago in the 1970s we saw the Greatful Dead at the Coliseum in Morgantown, a circular basketball arena. Had rooms a short walk from the arena, should have been wonderful. But the crew couldn’t get the sound right in the hall.
They kept working all the way through the show, moving huge speaker towers, re-aiming speakers, reseting delays, just never gelled. Mostly hearing two different sounds, off about 0.8 seconds, like having an echo built into your head. Terrible…. bad for the Dead. Their sound was usually pristine.
Quinerly
@J R in WV:
Love the stories these threads bring out.
frosty
@BellyCat: Oh shit. I may start looking at that bluetooth valvestem option. With just one axle there’s no redundancy for failures. And until we get a bigger vehicle double axles are all too heavy for us.
frosty
@J R in WV: I saw the Dead in a stadium in the 70s with their Wall of Sound setup. Very loud at the far end of the stadium but crystal clear.
Alain the site fixer
@?BillinGlendaleCA: WordPress auto resizes when I upload but 800×600 or 1024×768 or nearabouts those numbers is great. For some of your fine art type awesomeness I prefer bigger!
Alain the site fixer
@SiubhanDuinne: I’m going to ask you some questions about it. Pop me an email so we can chat as I’m curious as to the lineup you saw!
Jane2
@Sab: Condolences – it’s devastating to lose a fur-member of your family.