Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

He imagines himself as The Big Bad, Who Is Universally Feared… instead of The Big Jagoff, Who Is Universally Mocked.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

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

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

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Bark louder, little dog.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Fuck that bum, let’s go Joe!

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

‘Museums aren’t America’s attic for its racist shit.’

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

Good Morning All,

This weekday feature 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

 

Hope you had a great weekend – pictures after the fold…

First, from BillinGlendaleCA

Where it was taken: Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles, CA
When: March 6, 2017
Other notes or info about the picture:  This is a model of downtown Los Angeles in the late 1930’s.  It was a depression era WPA project to assist the city in urban renewal(they ended up clearing the upper left portion of the city(Bunker Hill) in the 50’s and 60’).  The model was apparently much larger but parts were destroyed.  This view is from the southwest, looking northeast; the streets in downtown LA are laid out in Spanish colonial style as opposed to the north/south axis you see in most American cities.

 

Wow. Thank you! I can’t wait to see more of your work. I know you post links here and there, you can just do that and I’ll grab them from online and save you the bother.

That goes for anyone out there, you can send a link if you have the picture  online already. I don’t mean to make the process difficult for anyone, and I know that sending a link to a full-size picture is easier than sending the picture via email, so please send it as you wish and I’ll work with it.

 

Next up, from bilger:

Where it was taken: Vieux Habitants, Base Terre, Guadeloupe
When: 3-8-’17
Other notes or info about the picture: Been wandering around this island for a couple months. This place is amazing.

 

Just beautiful. Given the upcoming storm,  I wish I could frolic in that stream!

 

Next up, from lurker Vicki Delany, something notable:

Flight over Mount Everest. March 8, 2017.

 

Wow, the roof of the world! I’ve seen many of the world’s great mountain chains, some of the great mountains, but that’s…just…wow! Travel safely – I hope you send more pictures from your travel(s)!

 

And finally for this pre-storm Monday morning, from otmar:

Where it was taken: Vienna University Observatory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Observatory
When: Friday night
Other notes or info about the picture: The Vienna Observatory runs a series of monthly lectures for the general public. This Friday, my sister spoke about the hunt for exoplanets. Afterwards we visited the grand refractor, which was the largest telescope of its kind back in 1878.

 

 

What an amazing looking piece of history! When I was a kid in school, we were lucky enough to be invited to the US Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. a few nights for observations, but I don’t remember it looking so neat. Thanks, Otmar – and please, send more!

And that goes for all of you out there, throughout the world. We know there are readers, so if you’re travelling or just living overseas or somewhere “different”, send a picture or two. I know I speak for many readers who love to see what you see.

 

 

Reader Interactions

37Comments

  1. 1.

    Spanky

    Wow! A two-fer for me! I went to Guadaloupe back in 86 to see Halley’s Comet. It (the comet) was still a dud compared to others, but I loved Guadaloupe. Gotta get back some day.

    And the Vienna refractor. Something like 28″ diameter. I used to be able to use Allegheny Observatory’s 13″ Fitz-Clark which was just down the hall from the 30″ Thaw.

    I seemed to have had some pretty good times when I was much younger. Now I’m going to spend the day considering post-career plans ….

  2. 2.

    Patricia Kayden

    Love all the photos, especially the one of Guadeloupe. Looks so cozy and beautiful.

  3. 3.

    raven

    Nice, you can either go to India and fly over the Himalayas or buy a Yeti Cooler, the cost would be about the same!

  5. 5.

    NotMax

    Figure this might fit in. Not a current photo (and also shared here some time ago), but back a few years when a friend wanted to take a picture of a rare visit in Maui waters by a certain U.S. Navy vessel. At the very moment he clicked the shutter, something happened smack in center frame.

    @Spanky

    Had the very honor many, many moons past of spending some chilly nighttime hours helping the folks who used this beauty on the college campus.

  6. 6.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    I was “On the Road” yesterday, though just around LA. I took both of my cameras, visual and IR; so I’ve got some pics for tomorrow. I just have to get though processing them. I’ve got one done that’s one of my best.

    ETA: I’m also planning to be “On the Road” again later today.

  8. 8.

    Mnemosyne

    Just arrived in Orlando — sitting on the bus waiting to be taken to my hotel. I’ll probably be busy enough that the travel thread will probably be the most likely place to spot me, unless we get really bored in line.

  9. 9.

    gkoutnik

    Thanks so much for the pic of Everest! I hope you don’t mind that I’ve copied it – it will join the pic that my wife’s grandfather took from a rented plane decades ago. I’ve been fascinated with Everest and its story ever since reading “Kingdom of Adventure: Everest” (Ullman, 1947) in the 80s.

  14. 14.

    Citizen Scientist

    In Little Rock for work this week. The week did not start out well, with an 8+ hour electric outage. Today, cold, dark, and rainy. Still ready to attack the day. Safe travels everyone!

  15. 15.

    Mnemosyne

    The nice man at the front desk of my hotel took pity on my injured knee and found me a room at 8 am. It’s a handicapped room, but that’s probably a good thing this week.

  18. 18.

    laura

    @Mnemosyne: Make good use if it! Stay on top of the ibuprofen to keep the swelling down and minimize pain. Have more fun than warranted, and please send a photo with your Mickey Ears hat.

  19. 19.

    Sloane Ranger

    Sitting in a cafe in Ponta Delgado, Azores after an Atlantic crossing that left the cruise ship looking like a hospital as the rough seas claimed broken bones, sprains and twisted ankles in their dozens and that’s not even counting the the numbers of Mal de Mer sufferers!

  20. 20.

    Mnemosyne

    @laura:

    I’m finally laying down with some ice on my knee and some ibuprofen. I’m hoping to get in a nice long nap before I have to go back to the airport to pick the kids up.

  21. 21.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Alain the site fixer:

    A suggestion: perhaps you could use blockquote or some other formatting to clearly distinguish between the contributors’ comments and yours in the main post.

  23. 23.

    Elizabelle

    @Sloane Ranger: what cruise line? Did that itinerary last April — first stop was the Azores — but the Atlantic was smooth as glass. Enjoy!

    Love all the accounts and photos. BJ is a traveling set.

  27. 27.

    satby

    @Mnemosyne: Mnem, when I ruptured the tendon in my shoulder I found naproxen (Aleve) actually worked a little better in relieving the pain and allowing me better movement, and I’m normally an exclusively ibuprofen user. Give it a try, you may be helped by it too.

  30. 30.

    prob50

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    True, I traveled a whole 7 miles.

    Yes, but to take the effort to record and then share your discoveries with others makes the width and breadth of the journey seem much more expansive, at least to the other readers here.

    Thanks.

  32. 32.

    Quinerly

    @Alain the site fixer:
    Recapture Lodge. LOVE IT. Reservations since August. Here for 4 nights total. Might pick up 3 more nights since I’m working my way back to St. Louis from here. Skipping Arches and Moab on this trip. 5 week mark tomorrow.

  33. 33.

    J R in WV

    @satby:

    @Mnemosyne:

    Yes, me too! My Dr prescribed a larger than over-the-counter dosage of Naproxen twice a day for me years ago to keep my various inflammations and tendonitis and such in check. But the O-T-C Aleve works just fine.

  34. 34.

    gkoutnik

    @raven: Yeah – he was some civil servant in the British India servant who wasn’t happy about the decision. Now he’s famous!

  35. 35.

    Mnemosyne

    @satby:

    When Aleve first came out, I gave it a try and got really, really sick to my stomach. I’m reluctant to try it again on a trip, unfortunately.

    But I did set an alarm for my next dose of ibuprofen so I can stay on schedule.

  36. 36.

    Sloane Ranger

    @Elizabelle: Fred Olsen. There are people on the ship who did the journey last year when the Braemar sailed out to the Caribbean and they say the same thing. Clearly March is NOT a good time to cross the Atlantic!

Comments are closed.