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Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear…And the joys of driving them today!

Breakfast At The Diner....


roadmaven
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Happy Sunday, all! Yesterday I stepped up to the 1990's and bought my first digital camera (Anyone have any use for a 5 year old Nikon N-65 35mm?) Last weekend Jennifer got herself a Canon PowerShot A550 so she could have a little digital to carry around in her purse for those times when a camera was needed, since she doesn't lug around her Nikon D-50 all the time. Since she was quite impressed with it, I decided to pick one up myself before the sale ended Saturday. I took it on its first "road trip" today, which consisted of breakfast at The Diner in Bridgeport, IN, on the western edge of Indianapolis on US 40.

 

I posted the results in the Gallery, which you can get a link here: Order Up!

To view them in sequence, you have to start from Page 3 and work your way back. Still can't figure out how to change the viewing order on a gallery when uploading images. Seems only the most recent uploads show up first. Regardless, enjoy! :ready2eat:

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Roadmaven,

 

Yum Yum! Lots o bacon! Chucky potatoes. Buttered toast. Where is the ketchup?!

 

I see you are putting your new digital to good use!

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

I have this image of you on the scale at your next physical. The nurse says "Hum...up 15 pounds."

 

Your reply, "Its my new digital camera"

 

Yeh Yeh, I know...I guess you had to be there!

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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Roadmaven,

 

Yum Yum! Lots o bacon! Chucky potatoes. Buttered toast. Where is the ketchup?!

 

 

The ketchup (along with my very hungry stomach) had to wait until Ansel Bremer finished photographing our meals! LOL :jk:

 

Glad to see he's having a good time with it!

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I was confused at first ... there's a diner in Bridgeport? The only thing in Bridgeport is a ... ahem ... "gentlemen's club." Then I looked at the pictures. OK, that's the diner on the east side of Plainfield. Kinda surprised the address is actually Bridgeport, though.

 

It's been awhile since we ate there. Unfortunately, we did not have our camera with us that day.

 

Of course, Ansel :D , that's just another reason to go back.

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I joined the '90s this year myself with my first digicam.

 

I used to have a large camera collection -- had a hundred of 'em from 1910s bellows cameras to Polaroids to box cameras to TLRs to lousy instamatics. I ran film through several of them. It was fun.

 

But once I got my digicam and took it on that first road trip, I think I could cheerfully never use film again.

 

jim

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Pat and Jennifer,

 

This is obviously a hungry crew!

 

I have an “academic” question for the diner crowd. What distinguishes a diner from a cafe? Is “diner” part of a regional vernacular?

 

I used to subscribe to a magazine devoted to diners. They were mostly east of the Mississippi. My recollection is that they featured metal diners, of the “former railroad car” variety. Those are easy to distinguish as diners.

 

However, had you not called the restaurant in your photos a diner, I would have called it a cafe.

 

My wife and I frequently have breakfast at a restaurant with counter seating and booth seating. How would I know whether to call it a diner?

 

Beware your answer because I also have a digital camera and know how to use it.

 

I am only being half funny as we have our share of interesting roadside artifacts that might be called diners on old US99, if I knew how to identify one. We have a neat 1935 roadhouse “Mary McCracks”, a 1930 restaurant complete with the hat clips on the back of the wooden counter stools “The Spar”, etc. But I have not considered them diners.

 

Educate me!

 

Keep the Show on the Road

 

Mobilene,

 

Do you still have the old cameras?

 

I was a very early adopter of digitals, way back when 640 X 480 was top of the line. But I kept my 35’s until a couple of years ago when we got to 4 megapixel. I kept my old Nikon F through the years, and it still works, so if I ever need film, I’m ready!

 

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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It's a long and unpleasant story, but I no longer have my old cameras.

 

I have recently started collecting again, slowly and deliberately. I'm going after rangefinder cameras, TLRs, and bellows cameras primarily. I have a Minolta Hi-Matic 7, a Kodak Automatic 35F (with a broken light meter, rendering it useless), and a Brownie Reflex Synchro Model that an old friend gave me.

 

I do have a precious few photos I took with my old cameras, and I posted some of them here.

 

jim

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Jim,

 

I’ve visited your Blog before. Very nicely done, and certainly a way to get to know the writer better! And you write exceptionally well. I wish I had your style and grace in language. And I don’t know how you find the time! And I’m retired.

 

I have thousands of slides and movies mostly from the 1960’s moldering away in the basement. With the interest in nostalgia and heritage travel, I could probably actually sell some on Ebay (most have been converted to video so I don’t need the originals) because they were mostly travel stuff on my various road trips.

 

I also have an exceptional road map –road guide - ephemera collection which, as I have said before, is mostly sitting in boxes and binders because I will never visit all the places. Your discussion of trips along the PPOO again gets me thinking. I have suggested some things to Becky, such as an American Road Resource library, but I’m not sure where that is.

 

I am trying to decide whether it is worth the time to scan maps and post them. I think I will try a post under the appropriate forum.

 

In the meantime, tell what distinguishes a diner from a cafe.

 

Keep the Show on the Road.

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KTSOTR, I was thinking about your resources yesterday. My original plan was, after exploring the PP-OO, to go all the way back to Rockville and follow the scan you posted some time ago from one of your guides that tells how to get from there to Terre Haute. It went through Rosedale and ended up on the original alignment of US 41 through Terre Haute. But then (a) I forgot to print it out and (B) I ran out of time anyway.

 

I would be thrilled, for example, for a scan from a 191x road guide for my US 31 trip in a few weeks. South Bend to Indianapolis. (This route used to be Indiana SR 1!)

 

You have said before that you are willing to share, and perhaps if you are interested in creating a site of scans, adding scans there as requests here arise might be an efficient way to go.

 

jim

Edited by mobilene
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KTSOTR, I was thinking about your resources yesterday. My original plan was, after exploring the PP-OO, to go all the way back to Rockville and follow the scan you posted some time ago from one of your guides that tells how to get from there to Terre Haute. It went through Rosedale and ended up on the original alignment of US 41 through Terre Haute. But then (a) I forgot to print it out and (B) I ran out of time anyway.

 

I would be thrilled, for example, for a scan from a 191x road guide for my US 31 trip in a few weeks. South Bend to Indianapolis. (This route used to be Indiana SR 1!)

 

You have said before that you are willing to share, and perhaps if you are interested in creating a site of scans, adding scans there as requests here arise might be an efficient way to go.

 

jim

 

 

Jim,

 

Thanks for the suggestion on how to get going! I have pondered this for months, which shows what a dynamic guy I am!! I even suggested to Becky that we start an American Road Resource Library and post our collections. She showed some interest.

 

I have really enjoyed being a resource because the maps get some use and I get to kind of vicariously enjoy the trip I can't be on. Besides I appear the “expert” which is always good for an old guy’s ego.

 

Incidentally, I may photograph some materials rather than scan them to minimize damage to the originals.

 

My biggest barrier is deciding how to organize the site. I think the best approach is by road rather than year or place. I also don’t want to see my stuff reproduced so I’m thinking I will use a screened watermark.

 

The software to compress large files is pretty pricey. Just doing jpg files doesn’t work well on the viewing end as you change scale. Lizard Tech has a nice product but it runs in the $500 range.

 

There is a product for free called Zoomifier, or something like that, which I have. I like what I’ve seen of it. Maybe I’ll use it for the posts here for your planned trip. Kind of test it out.

 

Anyway, I’ll start pulling maps and guides to see what I have matching your plans.

 

I'll start a new thread if you don't because we have gotten off the topic here.

 

Keep the Show on the Road

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Happy Sunday, all! Yesterday I stepped up to the 1990's and bought my first digital camera (Anyone have any use for a 5 year old Nikon N-65 35mm?) Last weekend Jennifer got herself a Canon PowerShot A550 so she could have a little digital to carry around in her purse for those times when a camera was needed, since she doesn't lug around her Nikon D-50 all the time. Since she was quite impressed with it, I decided to pick one up myself before the sale ended Saturday. I took it on its first "road trip" today, which consisted of breakfast at The Diner in Bridgeport, IN, on the western edge of Indianapolis on US 40.

 

I posted the results in the Gallery, which you can get a link here: Order Up!

To view them in sequence, you have to start from Page 3 and work your way back. Still can't figure out how to change the viewing order on a gallery when uploading images. Seems only the most recent uploads show up first. Regardless, enjoy! :ready2eat:

 

After working my way thru 2 digital's (I used Minolta 35mm's for years) I finally found one I really like - a Kodak EasyShare C533. Gives me Album, crop, slide show and multi-up options, 1.1, 2.1, 3.1, 4.4 (3.2), and 5.0 MP options - plus a bunch of other stuff. Once you take a picture you can zoom in on it on the view screen to get a better idea what you have. It also has a zoom feature for picture taking. I paid about $125 for it, as I recall, but I also got a $40 1 gig storage card for $20 with it.

It takes great pictures and is compact enough to fit in a back pocket, if you need your hands free in a hurry.

Oh, yeah - takes two double A batteries and doesn't seem to chew them up to quickly. That has always been one of my "must have" for a digital camera - you can find AA batteries anywhere - not so for some of the more exotic batteries.

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

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I got an EasyShare Z730 on closeout. Mine sounds a lot like yours, Alex, except I got the exotic battery. The one that came with the camera was good for about 75 shots. I was constantly running out of battery in the middle of a trip. So I bought a second, fatter battery that lets me take about 300 pics. But I wish now I had given a second look to a camera that took AAs. jim

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The Canon PowerShot A550 has a whopping 7.1 mega pixels, umpteen different scene settings, takes AA's, has a separate view finder, 4X optical zoom, and on the right side of the body it flares out for better holding. It was on sale at HH Gregg for $129...regularly $179. Since I was on my way to a car show Saturday when I bought it, I needed to get an SD card for it, so I just got what they had and went to 2G. I found out later I got taken to the cleaners by paying $50 for the card when Fry's had them for $29! :sDOH: But still, I'm very pleased with it so far. :happyguy:

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