Traveling America with camera in hand and history in mind
I have visited over 40 State Capitals in my travels around the U.S. and this is one of my favorite pictures. It is from the Capital Building of Connecticut in Hartford. I visited there during my recent trip through that beautiful State. I will have much more to say about that in an upcoming on-the-road post. At that time, I will give you a full … Continue reading EPS – Favorites
Jimmy was a quiet guy. He didn’t stand out like so many of his playmates who were much taller and more vocal than him. He was intelligent but didn’t go around bragging about that. But, He was what was needed at the time to make the project a success. I think some of you probably know who I am talking about? I don’t suspect you … Continue reading About Jimmy Madison…
By featuring this book as its own post I think I have made it abundantly clear how it has influenced me during my traveling life. I originally read this book in 1962, soon after it was published and have re-read it about a half-dozen times since then. In 1962, I was in the middle of my high school years. That was the time when I was … Continue reading Travels With Charlie
This post will be about the benefits of traveling. I am now knee-deep in the process of preparing for my first farewell tour, which will be into the South, and Southwest of our great country. When I am starting such a focused project I like to step back and ask “why am I doing this?” That question helps me to keep things in perspective and … Continue reading About Traveling…
I found this at the Mississinewa re-enactment in 2020. Little did I know that that would be the last event of that I would attend for almost two years. Getting to the point of this post, I wonder if any of you know the name of this instrument? To give you a further hint, below is the full picture of the guy using it. Continue reading What The Heck!
I am a history nut. I have read many more books on the subject than even I can remember. My main interest is U.S. history, but other countries have also been in my purview. From experience, I have learned that there is never just one version of history. I know that the term “history is written by the victors” has serious meaning, and in some … Continue reading Rewriting History…
The realization came to me the other days that for the first time in my life I now have total control of what I do and how I choose to live my life. That is a very exciting thing, but scary at the same time. My life, like everyone else’s, started out with my parents telling me what to do. At the age of 9 … Continue reading For The First Time…
Just got back from a four-day road trip to Cleveland/Dayton/Cincinnati areas. One of the most memorable places was the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati. Here are a few pictures to entice you to visit. All that neon in one place was fascinating. (click on one to see a larger slideshow view.) Continue reading All That Neon…
The very first blog I opened in 2008 was entitled InSearchOfAmerica or ISOA. It was about my portfolio of pictures I had taken on my travels around the country documenting historical sites. In those days the Internet was in its infancy so a dozen views a day was pretty good, but the blog just never grew as I had hoped. I have been trying to … Continue reading Seeking US History Buffs
First, let’s finish off the title of this post Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder I am going to spend the coming Sundays showing you what I consider as beauty. I have always been fascinated by Navajo artistry and I found it in spades at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque NM. Continue reading Beauty Is…
Last Wednesday I briefly told you that I am planning on juggling 4 active blogs in 2021. That seems kind of contrary to my statement of taking it easy. 😛 But since only RJsCorner has any sharp edges it should be much more peaceful than handling all the political issues of the last several months. The other blogs in the coming months are more narrowly … Continue reading Juggling 4 Blogs At The Same Time!!
This is not what I planned for 2020, but then it is what no one planned. I had 8 tentative trips planned for µRV this year and have taken zero! It’s just too dangerous for us seniors to get out in among all the unmasked MAGA folks. But since I am a techie I thought I would use the next few Saturday posts taking you … Continue reading A Virtual µRV Trip…
I was pleasantly surprised to come across a hidden gem during one of my uRV trips this summer. I have been through Dayton Ohio several times before but never really looked for a place to visit besides the Dayton Air Museum. What I found was the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Site.
Continue reading “A Hidden Gem…”You never hear very much about the War of 1812 but there was a major battle that took place in Indiana. It was just south of Ft. Wayne. The British along with their Indian allies fought an Ohio militia there. It happened after the Brits took over Forts at Mackinac, Dearborn and Detroit which was part of the Northwest Territory (Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and … Continue reading Mississinewa 1812
I am a dreamer to my core; it is just who I am.That is simultaneously a curse and a blessing.I recognize how things are but imagine them to be better.There is no place better to do that than Mesa VerdeMy first visit there seemed almost spiritual.I could almost see my ancestors living their daily lives.How they got there no one really knows.Why they left is … Continue reading Painting with Words – Mesa Verde
I’m pretty sure my roots go back to Great Britain, so maybe that is the reason I have such a kindred relationship with things Canadian. They still have the basic sense of being British engrained in them. 🙂 The quote above is from Martha Atwood who is Canadian and the author of “The Handmaid’s Tale”.
When I heard the quote in the title from her it made me think just how fundamentally different Canadians are from their southern neighbors. That and a photo gallery of my 2011-month-long visit is what this post is about.
Continue reading “I’m Canadian, We Don’t Do “Proud”
No I am not talking about the Los Angeles freeway, I am talking about the GoodGuys Car show in Des Moines Iowa I recently attended. I think you know by now that I am a car guy. The shelves of the study are lined with 1/32 scale models of them. When I’m too lazy to do anything else I am usually watching a car show on the Motor Trend channel. I am a car guy.
Continue reading “Cars, Cars, and More Cars…”
I had the privilege of touring a Great Lakes Freighter a few weeks ago. It is permanently docked at the National Museum of the Great Lakes near Toledo Ohio. I think I saw my first one in the late 1960s. Since that was when steel and autos were king of that region. There were hundreds of them on the Great Lakes bringing ore from Minnesota to the mills on Lake Michigan and Erie. They are still around but just not in the numbers they once were.
Continue reading “In Search Of America – The Great Lakes Freighters”I just returned from the Vincennes (Indiana) Rendezvous this past weekend. It was my second trip there. Here are a few pictures. Continue reading Vincennes Rendezvous 2019
What could be more American than the small rural county fair? I have had the pleasure of living in one of the smallest population wise counties in Indiana for almost two decades now. While I don’t go to all the annual county fairs I enjoy the ones I have attended. The pictures here are from our first visit in 2002. So, all the kids in … Continue reading The County Fair
I wanted to visit Greenfield Village once more before we close out another year. This visit is a gallery that shows no evidence of the 21st century. That is one thing I truly enjoy about Mackinac Island, no cars allowed). Nantucket is a great place to visit but it is kinda ruined by all the cars that have flooded the island. Anyway, here is my … Continue reading Greenfield Village Re-visited…
Last Saturday’s “Artsy” post gave you a snapshot of our trip to Cleveland earlier this year. This post will put some flesh on those bones. 🙂 Our first extended visit to Cleveland was in 2013. We were visiting a couple of my high school classmates of fifty years ago. We took in the downtown area and most of the usual tourist places during that trip. … Continue reading Cleveland – A Different View
For the first “Artsy Saturday” post at the reformatted RJsCorner, I chose the Coastal Taco in downtown Cleveland Ohio. The picture was taken just after sunset from our room at the very eclectic Aloft Hotel. As you can see the restaurant was under a very large bridge going across the Cuyahoga River near Lake Erie. The food was pretty good and the inside atmosphere was … Continue reading Coastal Taco – Cleveland
The two major things that drive the US economy are personal consumption and military spending. With this post, I will try to convince you that is a basic problem for us as a country. It thwarts happiness and is a wasteful way to live a life. But the biggest problem is that for too many of us it is the ONLY thing driving our lives. … Continue reading The Fallacy of Consumer Driven Capitalism
Here I am sitting in my uRV. It is only 6am but my body says it is 8 and time to get up. It took me three days to get here but I am finally in the Rocky Mountains and will be heading to the Ft. Bridger Wyoming Rendezvous later this morning. I think I will hold off on the trip here report until I … Continue reading Heading to the Rendezvous
One of my dreams, you could say one of the few things on my bucket list, is to go to the Ft. Bridger WY Mountain Man Rendezvous and that is just what I am doing starting today. I have packed up my uRV and will soon be on the road for the 1400 mile trek. The rendezvous is this coming weekend. I will be there … Continue reading One of My Dreams…
This post is primarily about my recent visit to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn Michigan. But first, I want to get some things off my mind in relation to Ford’s contributions to America. It is pretty well known that Henry Ford established the middle class here in America, or at least the easiest path to the middle class. He allowed someone with little or … Continue reading Robots And Henry Ford
This is a post about my first and last venture to a rock concert, or whatever they might call them nowadays. When I got an advance ticket to the Madison Regatta recently it asked me if I also wanted a ticket to the rock concert being promoted by another entity. I have never been to a music fest so, even though I am deaf, I … Continue reading Rock Concerts
I believe that I live in a country that is just as flawed, but in different ways, as most others in the world today. One of the most serious flaws is that we have an inordinate love of our guns. Our culture is primarily centered around violence. We are four percent of the world’s population, yet own almost fifty percent of the world’s guns. But … Continue reading Bullets Or The Ballot Box…
A few months ago I told you that I was moving my InSearchOfAmerica stuff to Flickr. That site now has over 800 pictures and about 8,000 visits of my travels throughout America. That is pretty good but one thing that is missing are words. Flickr is primarily a visual media and there is just not much there to support the written word. So, to eliminate … Continue reading Just Doesn’t Hack It…
I took a uRV trip to Madison Indiana for the annual Madison Regatta this past weekend. This is the first time I have been there so it was on my bucket list. I am generally not a powerboat racing fan but it was neat to see these guys go 100+ mph across the water. If you want to see more pics, check out my Flickr … Continue reading Madison Regatta
I have pretty much given up on the hope that those who are part of the Radical Right/Fear tribe will ever really understand my view of the world or that I will understand theirs. All we seem to be able to do lately is to scream at each other across the red/blue abyss that separates us. Is that a fruitful way to spend the rest … Continue reading (WS) I Don’t Need The Annoyance Anymore…
This being a primary election day here in Indiana, democracies are on my mind. Two of the most beautiful and delicate things in the world are orchids and democracies. They both need constant nurturing to thrive. An orchid needs the right light and temperature. It needs constant watering or it will die on the vine. The same thing is true for democracies. Too many in … Continue reading Orchids & Democracies
The old Indiana governor, which is my home state is probably the best Vice President in US history. I know that is kind of a bold statement, especially coming from me! But hear me out. If you are as sharp as a tack you probably already figured it out. The basic job of the vice president is to sit in his office and wait for … Continue reading Puppy Dog Eyes
For this artsy Saturday, I want to give you a “dramatized” photo of one of my favorite shots from Pleasant Hill Shaker Village near Lexington Kentucky. I have been to Pleasant Hill perhaps a dozen times over the years and I find myself re-taking this picture every time I go. Continue reading Artsy Saturday – Shaker Seeds
Just a short post to tell you that I just added a Santa Fe album to my Flickr portfolio. Click here to see it. Santa Fe has become my favorite city InSearchOfAmerica. It is flush with history, heritage especially things Native-American and Spanish. Continue reading Santa Fe on Flickr
RJ's Corner 