The cliché is that Kansas is flat and you can see for miles. The truth is that the cliché is correct.

A long, considerably straight drive eventually delivered us to the Pleasant Hill Cemetery to offer our respects to relatives.

Before leaving, I spent several minutes standing in the middle of the intersection, photographing the scene in every direction—two intersecting roads, one small seemingly abandoned building, and about 50 headstones. It felt strangely unnatural. From childhood, we’re taught that the middle of an intersection is precisely where we should never linger. Cross quickly, stay alert, and don’t become part of the traffic report. But in Green, Kansas, where the Pleasant Hill Cemetery is located, the rules seem a little different. You can see approaching traffic from so far away that you have ample time to finish your photograph, check your camera settings, reconsider your composition, and perhaps even contemplate a few of life’s bigger questions before a vehicle arrives. The intersection may not have been designed as a scenic overlook, but on that day, it served the purpose remarkably well.

And for the 90 (or so) minutes we were there, there was no traffic.

Stepping out of the hot street in downtown Nashville and into a small diner, the clock on the wall quietly proclaimed, “Eat at Joe’s”.

That phrase has become as much a part of American roadside culture as chrome stools, bottomless coffee cups, and handwritten specials on a chalkboard. To generations of travelers, myself included, it evokes memories of small-town diners, family road trips, and the simple pleasure of finding a welcoming place to pause along the way. Even those who have never stopped at a diner named Joe’s have likely encountered the slogan somewhere before. It feels instantly recognizable as it belongs to a shared memory of America’s highways and back roads.

Like many other memorable pieces of Americana, “Eat at Joe’s” has a story of its own.

The phrase is believed to have originated in the 1930s when a small restaurant owner named Joe in California was struggling to attract customers. According to popular accounts, a pilot friend began flying overhead with a banner encouraging people to “Eat at Joe’s.” Whether every detail of that story is perfectly accurate has been debated over the years, but what is certain is that the slogan quickly captured the public imagination.

By the middle of the twentieth century, “Eat at Joe’s” had become a cultural icon. The phrase appeared on signs, menus, advertisements, clocks, postcards, cartoons, and movie sets. It was no longer advertising a particular restaurant—it had become a symbol for every diner, café, and roadside eatery that welcomed hungry travelers. Its meaning expanded beyond a place to eat and became shorthand for hospitality, comfort, and the uniquely American tradition of discovering memorable places between destinations.

Today, seeing those three simple words still conjures images of open roads, neon lights, and small-town diners where the coffee is always hot and the stories are often as rich as the homemade pie. For travelers, photographers, and wanderers alike, “Eat at Joe’s” serves as a reminder that some of the most memorable moments are found not at the end of the journey, but somewhere along the way.

If you haven’t had too much wine by the time you get to Hammondsport, NY, deep in the Finger Lakes Region of NYS, you can’t go wrong spending some time at the Glenn H. Curtiss Motorcycle & Aviation Museum. These images were captured during one of the many times I’ve enjoyed visiting this location.

Southbound in a car and wondering why.

With infinite destinations and pathways, I wonder why there is so much familiarity. The drivers in the passing cars and in those being passed, all seem to be wearing a look of familiarity on their faces too. Here we are, moving quickly from and to the familiar and known. Where’s the adventure in that?

These photographs were captured using this camera. They are some of the first shots I’ve captured with this camera since about 2010! Crazy.

We’re not sure about this being the best hotel we’ve ever experienced. But it’s descent and was the source of some snapshots we can use for this test.

Hotel & Falls Map

And where is this hotel? Here’s a map to both the hotel and a really awesome waterfalls in the Cohoes Falls Park [and more stuff added to this post as part of the new hosting tools].

I’m always thrilled when a photo I unload from the camera turns out to be far more interesting than I realized when I first composed the shot. This was one of those times.

I’ve got a lawn full of these buggers that grow far faster than the grass they tower over, constantly pushing me to mow the lawn more frequently than I would prefer.

But this one, found while walking through the Saratoga Spa State Park, needed to be photographed and it revealed far more during the development process than when it was being photographed.

Learn more about Whiskey Hollow on their website.

In motion from here to there.