Postcards Take a Vacation

Last week I lamented the lack of map postcards, and postcards in general while on vacation in North Carolina. On our last day on the beach, we decided to try parasailing. After a long drive around the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, we arrived at Atlantic Beach in time to find out that all parasail flights had been canceled due to thunderstorms. So we toured historic Fort Macon instead.

And there, in the park gift shop, I found two map postcards!



Both of these cards depict the Outer Banks of the North Carolina coast, a portion of NC that I have never actually visited, but that has never stopped this map postcards collector before.

The second postcard records the many shipwrecks of the area. An interesting thing I learned at Fort Macon was that just a couple years after the state of North Carolina had restored the Fort as part of a State Park, the U.S. Army re-armed the fort as part of the coastal defences in 1942. Several of those ships on the card were sunk by German U-Boats.

After returning home from this vacation, I was pleasantly surprised to find this fine postcard to add to my collection. I've never been to Scotland either.

Thanks Allison!

Naturally, when you return home from a week's vacation, you need to go grocery shopping. Another surprise! The grocery store has an Ohio postcard that I haven't seen before. w00t!

So, I guess I can call this a successful postcard vacation after all.

Driving to the Beach

So, as previously noted, I am vacationing on the beach. In my nearly half-century of life, this mid-western boy has never done the "week on the beach" kind of thing. Its been a pretty laid back week. Not much to do (and that's just fine) but it doesn't make for much interesting map stuff. So, feel free to move on to the next post.



I'm on the North Carolina coast for a family reunion. All three of my brothers, and most of our kids, wives and grandchildren (none for me yet, thank you) are all staying in a big house of the beach.



The family is scattered all over. My brothers and I are originally from Michigan, but now we live in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Florida and Maryland. I've done a bit of swimming and bicycling, but mostly just hanging out with the family. The biggest bicycling challenge was climbing to the top of the bridge that connects our island to the mainland, over theIntracoastal Waterway



I find it quite fascinating that the Army Corps of Engineers has built this waterway that connects most of the Gulf and Atlantic coastal states with navigable rivers, straits and canals, allowing commerce and pleasure boats to travel without hitting the high seas. Perhaps more on that in a future post.

Another mappish thing noted on this trip: While I haven't added any new states to Where I've Been, I did drive a stretch of highway I've never driven before. That's always fun.



No new map postcards, in fact, I don't think I have even seen a postcard at all this week. Fewer and fewer shops even carry them any more. Who sends postcards any more I wonder...

I'll be back to a more regular schedule next week.

North Carolina

Yesterday, I commented on the Indiana Primary. On Tuesday, North Carolina Democrats will also take to the polls. Much of the African-American population is expected to go for Barack Obama, however Hillary is expected to be strong with the Applachian vote.



I only have this one postcard, and I don't have much else to say about North Carolina. It was pleasant enough the few times I have visited.