USA Archives • Folksy Travel by Bill Smale

Last year I visited the US. I was lucky to be able to catch up with some of my good friends who I knew from Japan, Thailand and my college in Iowa. I attended my 50th college graduation event which was really a great chance to gather with people and learn what they are up to and what they have done to build an interesting life. Cornell really gave them a great opportunity to see the world from different perspectives. That’s the benefit of a liberal arts education.

Minnesota

Minnesota has been in the news a lot recently. I went up there to stay with my buddy Bob and to see the local sites before driving down to Iowa.

Local barbershop USA — This is the exclusive, award-winning barbershop available only by reservation. Bob is a well-known contributor to the local community.

Red wing USA — The downtown area of red wing

Factory USA — This is an old red wing shoe factory, a major long-term contributor to this town

Boot for a knife USA — Even in my generation there was a tradition that a boy should carry a knife around for various purposes, most of all whittling if not cutting twigs or other things to get through the countryside. so they made this boot which carried a small knife for utility purposes

Town clock Bill Smale — a clock in the park near the train station

Train depot Bill Smale — a train actually stops here

Handmade guitar Bill Smale — Handmade guitars are still a craft in this area

Scandinavian gift shop Bill Smale — And of course you all know one of the great developers of this area from the European world where the Scandinavians

Bookshop — This is a good not for profit business which you should visit if you have a chance to be in this town

New York

every time I visit New York I stay with a friend who I’ve known for 50 years and as a well-known illustrator and artist. We go looking for art deco buildings and Attend a Broadway show. This time it was MICHAEL.

Katz deli — Katz Deli still serves great pickles

Katz is busy — It seems to be always crowded but it’s the best place I found to get a pastrami sandwich

Spicy pickle sour beer — I did not try this spicy pickle sour beer. Maybe I should have

Marquis de Lafayette — a great hero of the American revolution

Gelato laboratory — we had to visit here to get some good gelato

Gelato — I think it was lemon on top of mango

Interesting store — Interesting name for a store

Used clothing store — a good place to buy clothes. It’s better than sending them to Africa since they have an overflow of used clothing from the US

Art deco exterior — This art deco exterior was very dramatic

The inside had been modernized so we didn’t get a chance to see what it looked like in the past

of course you have to stop by radio city when you visit New York

Celtic bar — Maybe next time I’ll visit this pub

A new savior — This is an interesting movement community

Local neighborhood — Local New York neighborhood

Goodbye New York — Saying goodbye to New York City

San Francisco

the amount of tourism has reshaped my hometown tremendously. It’s nice to see many of the old things still there like the means of transportation but some things of course are disappearing.

Sea lions take over — as the local fishing industry decreases these guys have taken over the docs

Our old house — You can see our old house on the hill from the city

Expensive parking in the city — if you’re rich you can afford this parking. It is most likely more expensive than your Car Rental.

Home at last — It feels good to be back in my city

Great deli — The local diner at the union Square area is kind of nice so I went there for breakfast every morning but I always ate too much. They make great Mexican style food combinations

Avocado — When the avocado and the remnants left it was very enjoyable

This was another day but it was very good. It is Lori’s diner you should visit

Special margarita — Is this really the kind of image you want to give for a special margarita? The nuance is……

Boulder and Longmont

Train to Boulder — At the airport they have a train going to Boulder

Art Deco building — This is one of the art deco inspired buildings in Longmont

Bagel with cream cheese — In the morning I had a bagel with cream cheese of course

I seem to always have Mexican food when I’m in the western part of the US. I just can’t get enough

I made an emergency trip to the US landing on July 4. After taking care of necessary issues I traveled to see some friends in bad health and stop by my old hometown to check out how things changed.

Quick US trip Mama’s pizza — Near Phoenix airport there is this Arizona style pizza place with a South of The Border flavor selection. It was delicious. Try out Mama’s.

quesadillas — My favorite kind of breakfast, a quesadilla with guacamole and crema. A good way to start out the day.

Not an announcement but some very interesting information about he past came to light. I got this cookie at my favorite chinese restaurant. Did you know this fortune cookie tradition was started by a Japanese restaurant owner in San Francisco for kids many decades ago

onigiri — Mispelled but an interesting way to present ONIGIRI

retro diner — They have new owners but a pretty nice diner in the city, retro style

Monroe photo — This is THE famous Marylin photo

Our doctor’s office, Dr. Cook who became the county coroner

corner Market — The former Corner Market where I worked as a delivery and bag boy for the Manteganis

The house my parents built in Tiburon in 1967

bay view — Part of the view from out house bay windows. We could see the fog rolling in over the Golden Gate bridge and over Sausalito

The bakery was Mr. Taylor’s barber shop where I had one of my first jobs at 9 years old sweeping the floor an shining customers’ shoes.

st steven’s — St. Steven’s where I was an acolyte and was confirmed so I could drink the wine on Sundays

Behind the tree is the rest room for he Belvedere park where I almost fell from the roof to a disastrous fate. I grabbed the gutter on the way down

Old house — Our former house on Bayview Avenue. I talked to the new owners who didn’t even know they had an extended garden area in the back. The plum tree in front has been replaced.

Cheap alcoholic drinks in round containers. Interesting Marketing

market street — Not so much taffic on Market street

Famous clam chowder in Boudin’s sour dough french bread

luggage — This is everything I own. Yes, it is all carry on.

A Mexican style pizza with lots of jalapeños

Category: USA

USA

Quick US Trip

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