Category Archives: Offbeat

Bubbles

Posted on November 26, 2019 by Ron Haines

I’ve never done a whole lot to direct the trajectory of my life. Things just seem to have happened of their own accord as I’ve moved from one phase to another. That’s why, to this day, I am amazed that … Continue reading →

Posted in Offbeat, Road trip | 4 Comments

Burma-Shave

Posted on November 21, 2019 by Ron Haines

Those Burma-Shave signs, remember them?  I thought they were completely gone long ago, but I happened upon a string of them on a drive out West a couple months ago. A relic of a time when driving a long distance … Continue reading →

Posted in Offbeat, Road trip, Signs | 1 Comment

Wide streets and Eskimo Pies

Posted on December 7, 2017 by Ron Haines

Lots of towns have some claim to fame. Usually it’s proclaimed on a sign or billboard on the way into town. Onawa, IA, has two claims and uses banners on streetlamp poles to do the boasting. The Eskimo Pie one … Continue reading →

Posted in Offbeat, Road trip | 1 Comment

Cool Springs Park

Posted on December 4, 2017 by Ron Haines

Only twice in my life have I been in a store so filed with every conceivable item that I couldn’t think of what I could ask for that they might not have. Cool Springs Park in Rowlesburg, WV, was one … Continue reading →

Posted in Offbeat, Road trip | Leave a comment

Seeing pink elephants

Posted on November 19, 2017 by Ron Haines

I’ve been drunk in my life.  Many times.  But I had never seen a pink elephant. Until one day, stone sober, I came across this one in Guthrie, Kentucky. It appears to be the mascot for a gas station.  And … Continue reading →

Posted in Offbeat, Road trip | 1 Comment

Can you cut the mustard?

Posted on October 16, 2017 by Ron Haines

The National Mustard Museum was a must visit during my recent whirlwind tour of offbeat places in the Midwest. Why? For the simple reason that mustard has become a standing joke with me and granddaughters Margeaux and Simone.  It started … Continue reading →

Posted in Offbeat, Road trip | 5 Comments

Look out below!

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Ron Haines

Believe it or not, this is actually the second two-story outhouse I have encountered in my life.  I discovered the first one, which I actually used,  nearly 50 years ago and in another country. But more about that later. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Offbeat, Road trip | 3 Comments

Kumquat Festival here I come

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Ron Haines

I stopped in Dade City the other day.  It’s small, about 7,000 population, and is located in west central Florida. It was a Saturday and it seemed to be antique day, because all the stores were open downtown and there … Continue reading →

Posted in Gas stations, Offbeat, Road trip | 1 Comment

Crater Lake…just what it says it is

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Ron Haines

On my road trip last year from San Francisco to southern Oregon and back I noticed a sign proclaiming that Crater Lake National Park  was nearby. After a short detour off of U.S. 97  I was at the entrance, my senior … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature, Offbeat, Road trip, Snow | 2 Comments

Swamp cabbage and Arbuckle Creek

Posted on February 26, 2017 by Ron Haines

I combined two of my sweet spots on Saturday:  A paddle in a nice place and a visit to an offbeat festival.  And because this was all in rural south-central Florida I was even on some roads I’d never traveled … Continue reading →

Posted in Offbeat, Paddling, Photos mostly, Road trip | 1 Comment