2012 Pennsylvania Auto Show
Some photo highlights from the 2012 Pennsylvania Auto Show which was held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, PA. Of course my favorites are BMW, Audi, VW, and Lexus.
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Jonathan Smith is a web designer, graphic designer, and photographer in Harrisburg, PA.
Archive for the ‘ Photography ’ Category
Maclay Street Bridge Decay
Every day I cross the Maclay Street bridge on my way to work and on my way home. I’ve noticed how overgrown the weeds have gotten and how they seemed to have taken over the sidewalks. Finally, I found myself sitting on the bridge in traffic and looked over to my left. I was looking through the side of the bridge to the railroad tracks below.
How do things get this bad? I mean, if your house had a hole this big in the wall, and you found yourself looking outside, wouldn’t you fix it?
Following are a series of photos I took as I walked across the bridge. Hopefully this gains some awareness to the fact that this area is in dire need of attention. I hope to schedule a public/community cleanup day in the near future. If the city isn’t going to do it, then let the concerned citizens of Harrisburg spearhead the initiative and accomplish things.
This is the back of a large TV sitting in the weeds along the sidewalk of the bridge.
More trash sitting on the sidewalk.
The concrete of the bridge has worn away exposing the rebar of the structure of the bridge.
Not sure what kind of repair job this is. I wouldn’t be proud of this workmanship.
A battery and cigarette butt.
Steel plate placed over something with macadam holding it in place. Hope they don’t need easy access.
Missing some rails in this section.
A man pushing his bike through the weeds of the sidewalk. Doesn’t seem like a pleasant place to ride/walk.
A vine growing through the side of the bridge breaking the concrete apart.
An orange barrier sits along the intersection of Maclay and 7th Streets so that the bridge can be blocked off when the street floods.
A fire hydrant sits among the weeds of Maclay Street.
Weeds growing out of the concrete traffic island at Maclay and 7th Street making it difficult to see traffic coming from different directions.
Trash along the sidewalk.
Trash along the bridge near the Pennsylvania Farm Show.
The sidewalk disappears below the weeds along the Maclay Street bridge near the Pennsylvania Farm Show. Makes for a difficult and unpleasant walk.
Weeds and trash along the Maclay Street bridge.
Great Salt Lake from Above
Having recently flew into and out of Salt Lake City, Utah, I thought I would share this beautiful landscape. About 10 years ago I had the opportunity to drive across the country and found Utah one of the most beautiful states to drive through. The scenery is such a contrast from what we have on the east coast of the United States.
The Great Salt Lake is the largest salt lake in the northern hemisphere. This lake is very unique as it has no outlet besides evaporation. The lake is fed by the Jordan, Weber, and Bear rivers which deposit minerals into the lake making it far saltier than sea water.
For more info on the Great salt Lake, check out the Wikipedia article. Now enjoy the photos.
Harrisburg Flood – September, 2011
Following are images I took today (September 8th, 2011) showing the city of Harrisburg as the Susquehanna floods it’s banks. Crest is supposed to be around 29 feet and occur sometime tomorrow night.
2011 BMW Finger Lakes Rally
This weekend was the 37th annual BMW Finger Lakes Rally at the Hidden Valley campground in Watkins Glen, New York. The weather was calling for showers and thunderstorms all weekend. But I decided it was worth going.
Last year’s Finger Lakes Rally was the first rally I attended. This year I would be travelling two-up with Erica riding pillion. We packed our gear into the two system cases, tank bag, and a U-Pac. Photos of this setup can be found on this previous post.
Friday morning we met up with my friend Jon and his friend Doug and Chris at the Summerdale Diner for breakfast. After breakfast we hit the road and headed north on route 15 towards the New York border. We arrived at the Hidden Valley Campground in Watkins Glen, NY in the early afternoon in time to find a good camping spot and set up the tent.
After setting up camp and unloading the bike, we headed to the Village Marina Bar and Grill for dinner. I chose the fish and chips and we ate our dinner overlooking Seneca Lake which was quite beautiful as the sun was setting. After dinner we retreated back to camp with a bottle of local wine to enjoy while hanging out with friends.
Saturday morning we woke up to more warm and humid weather. My friend RJ asked if we were coming with him. He mentioned something about the world’s largest pancake griddle, the letters “USA” mowed into a field, and a trip to Monica’s Pies. We decided to join him and some others and head off to see what RJ had planned.
The group stopped to have breakfast at Angel’s Family Restaurant in Penn Yan, NY.
While waiting for the group to have breakfast (we had breakfast back at camp), we enjoyed socializing the local vendors who were selling goods on the sidewalks of Penn Yan.
After breakfast we headed to the next block to see the world’s largest pancake griddle hanging on the side of a building. Note Erica standing at the bottom for scale of this thing.
Following the pancake griddle photo opp, we rounded the corner to check out the Penn Yan Diner. The diner was closed but it was interesting to see how low the ceiling was on this diner. It looked like it was designed for fun-size people!
We left Penn Yan and headed out in search for the letters “USA” which were supposedly mowed into a field nearby. A few miles out of town we found it.
Finally, we headed to Naples, NY to visit Monica’s Pies for a blueberry pie. I had made a trip to Monica’s last year with Elsie and a few others. Now I think it has become a tradition. I bought a blueberry pie which was brought out by Monica herself. We grabbed some forks and headed outside to enjoy the pie before heading home. RJ bought an apple pie which we enjoyed for dessert after dinner Saturday night.
A thunderstorm blew through Saturday evening drenching everything. Luckily we were already at camp. By morning all seemed fine but at breakfast Sunday morning people were discussing the weather in the area. It looked like some storms were heading in from the north and west. We were originally going to stay until Monday. But with the forecast I had decided it was probably best if we headed out Sunday morning for the best possibility of making it home and avoiding the rain.
We packed up the tent and gear and started loading up the bike. We were being slowed down by some fellow rally participants who wanted to chat about the R1100S and our gear. This may have been a blessing in disguise. Heading out on our way south we travelled through Horsehead, NY, then to Towanda, PA. Many times the sky looked like it would open up and rain at any moment. Some of the roads were wet from a recent rain. Pushing forward we wound our way to Williamsport, then Sunbury where we stopped for fuel and a late lunch. The sky to the west looked almost black and it is my guess that the storm had recently passed through the area and was heading east. We made it back to Harrisburg, PA safely and without a drop of rain which in my mind was a successful trip.
