Geography 🌎 Exploring Google Maps

[TOFB]

My Great Grandfather was born here in 1862. I stood right here in 2016, wanted to return in June but it likely isn't happening. Still in the family but the cousin was away.

Sam's Cross, County Cork, Ireland,

 

[Dan]

That's a road? Bonus: random piles of rubble, again having me ask why they're so common along some streets in developing nations.

Somewhat better road, more rubble.

You think they could at least grade it. And clear the weeds.

Curbside parking? The residents of that street prefer piles of dirt and sand over stones and broken bricks.

I know it's a developing nation, but that wasn't a favela. Those were streets laid out on a grid. Sometimes, the block over from a cow path is nicely paved.

I really like this sign.

Wouldn't ceramic tile sidewalks get slippery in the rain?

Hundreds of new houses under construction. An aerial view.

 

[mendelman]

Hundreds of new houses under construction. An aerial view.

Wow! That is amazing high density sprawl. Like the textbook definition.

Reminds me of a quote I heard attributed to the RE investor Sam Zell about building everyday housing in Mexico. That you wouldn't profit alot on each house, but the demand was seemingly infinite.

Kind of.

 

[DVD]

Meanwhile in any neighborhood in Phoenix, or is it Mesa, or Glendale...

Google Maps

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www.google.com

 

[Whose Yur Planner]

Meanwhile in any neighborhood in Phoenix, or is it Mesa, or Glendale...

Google Maps

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www.google.com

Xeriscape is y'alls friend eh? Given the fact it's a desert, it makes sense.

 

[Planit]

Has anyone seen my Cadillac?

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[Dan]

Today, I travel to Vladivostok, Russia.

I'd say that's a violation, but this is Russia.

This is what English looks like in Cyrillic. Nearby, one of the JDM cars that Vladivostok is infamous for.

MURICA.

Classy.

China is about 300' from here. So is North Korea.

Subdivisions of single family homes in eastern Russia leave a lot to be desired.

Let's go back to American soil.

Meanwhile, in upstate New York ...

And across the street.

This is the most dangerous corner in town, according to an article in one of the weekly newspapers.

Extra crunchy.

 

[Gedunker]

Jaywalking must be a problem in Russia also

 

[Dan]

This has to annoy the neighbors just a little bit. Also, if the house was on the other side of the street, its price would pretty much quadruple.

 

[Maister]

Meanwhile, in upstate New York ...

No joke, when I saw that my first reaction was "okay, it's a Volvo dealership. What am I looking for here?" Apparently the only foreign cars are Volvos.

 

[MD Planner]

This has to annoy the neighbors just a little bit. Also, if the house was on the other side of the street, its price would pretty much quadruple.

I'm not getting it. What is the annoyance?

 

[Maister]

Extra crunchy.

Yeah, a buncha granola poseurs! Where are the Tibetan prayer flags, huh?

 

[luckless pedestrian]

This has to annoy the neighbors just a little bit. Also, if the house was on the other side of the street, its price would pretty much quadruple.

I am more concerned with the white obelisk on the side of the road

No joke, when I saw that my first reaction was "okay, it's a Volvo dealership. What am I looking for here?" Apparently the only foreign cars are Volvos.

I kept that image - how to do an auto dealership in a form-based code world

But yeah Volvos in Ithaca lol - I bet they can't keep em on the lot, especially the used ones

What does the Subaru dealership look like?

 

[Planit]

I found my retirement village. Welcome to Beer, UK!

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I'll be in the Barrel of Beer...
Go to the Beer Pharmacy
Get a bite @ Beer Fish & Chips
Then head to Beer Beach

 

[mendelman]

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr's childhood home

 

[TOFB]

This was my neighborhood in Champaign, IL. Pretty suburban, but with higher density on the edges. My specific house is not important; a great place to raise a family.

61822

 

[Dan]

Uh oh!

New urbanism without sidewalk? Uhhhh ...

The manliest highway exit ever.

I'm not getting it. What is the annoyance?

This sign is at the neighborhood B&B, a little bit further down the street.

And this sign, too.

The backstory.

 

[luckless pedestrian]

This sign is at the neighborhood B&B, a little bit further down the street.

And this sign, too.

The backstory.

When we hiked the Cascades a couple of years ago, at check in with the ranger office, they told us to bring our passports, as sometimes you slip in and out of Canada - he said it didn't used to be problem but now it is

 

[JNA]

Intimidating border barrier as seen from the Canadian side

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[Maister]

Intimidating border barrier as seen from the Canadian side

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Hold up a minute...are those invasive species we see in those flower pots? That's a palpable threat

 

[Whose Yur Planner]

Intimidating border barrier as seen from the Canadian side

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That is probably the most Canadian thing I've ever seen.

 

[Dan]

That is probably the most Canadian thing I've ever seen.

Considering it's a foot or so over on the American side.

This is probably the most Canadian thing I've ever seen.

Or this.

 

[luckless pedestrian]

I love it when the camera captures people's puzzled look like the one above by the old folks home.

I just looked at one in Maine where the car had to turn around at a dead end in an apartment complex and some guy in a pickup is just waiting/watching it

 

[Planit]

AIB WSU suggestion:

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www.google.com

 

[MD Planner]

AIB WSU suggestion:

Google Maps

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www.google.com

That picture reminds me of Blazing Saddles, "People, there's no people!"

 

[Planit]

This was taken before the big boom:

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[Planit]

...and this looking at the tall grain silos:

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[Planit]

In lovely Wuppertal...the hanging train:

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I couldn't find a good picture with the train, but here's something:

 

[Maister]

Wow. Just wow.

I must visit there some day. I'd like to see the sand and the sky.....and the sand....

 

[mendelman]

Wow. Just wow.

I must visit there some day. I'd like to see the sand and the sky.....and the sand....

That's a pretty deep beach.

 

[Maister]

Check it out - the Dunes Guesthouse charges $33 a night. That sounds reasonable.

 

[Shellac And Vinyl VelocitY]

Check it out - the Dunes Guesthouse charges $33 a night. That sounds reasonable.

Why there, when nearby J. Bed & Breakfast charges $21 a night? You can stay over 50% longer - and it's only a killometer from the Bird Sanctuary!

 

[Maister]

Why there, when nearby J. Bed & Breakfast charges $21 a night? You can stay over 50% longer - and it's only a killometer from the Bird Sanctuary!

And for the truly budget-minded traveler, a night in Bangladesh can go for as cheap as $2 a night! For realz

Is this the cheapest hotel on the planet?

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Shellac And Vinyl VelocitY]

And for the truly budget-minded traveler, a night in Bangladesh can go for as cheap as $2 a night! For realz

Is this the cheapest hotel on the planet?

www.telegraph.co.uk

Maister
Formerly hard-working elephants in Thailand are now retired and living in some sanctuaries. Due to the Covid crisis, they need volunteers to feed the elephants and care for them; free lodging & food at the sanctuaries can be arranged.

Added bonus: the elephant sanctuaries lie on huge migratory bird paths.
The hawks, especially, are the likes of which you've never seen!

One drawback: the urge to go bathing with the lovable, playful elephants is a sweet temptation that humans must always resist.

But I'd say that biggest drawback is when you return to the States. People persistently ask, "Where in Tailand where you?"

And you must answer, "Phukat!"

 

[Dan]

You take the exit off I-35, expecting you're going to be going onto another expressway, and then ... psych!

So, you're back on an expressway. Ramps, bridges, limited access. Aaaaand ... nope. Wait ... it looks like an expressway again! And nope.

 

[Maister]

You take the exit off I-35, expecting you're going to be going onto another expressway, and then ... psych!

So, you're back on an expressway. Ramps, bridges, limited access. Aaaaand ... nope. Wait ... it looks like an expressway again! And nope.

That is weird for sure. When I looked at the links I thought 'damn, that kinda has a Pittsburghish feel, but yah, dat's Duluth.

 

[JNA]

One of the larger tollboths where the the Turnpike & Parkway Intersect

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NJ traffic circle -

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[MD Planner]

That traffic circle is one of the goofier things I've ever seen.

 

[kjel]

One of the larger tollboths where the the Turnpike & Parkway Intersect

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Drive through this the days I am in office. I take the GSP and crossover to the NJTP. I try to go through the EZ Pass lane that's the 3rd from the right since that lines up pretty well with the left lane of the entrance to NJTP without getting buzzed by the trucks.

NJ traffic circle -

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This is one of the worst intersections in Elizabeth. It's not really a traffic circle though. The circle is really a connected set of doglegs. Rt. 9 carries a LOT of local truck traffic.

The Somerville Circle is among my least favorites https://goo.gl/maps/fLHYNscrrJgBJdHR8

Tonnelle Circle in Jersey City is also pretty bad, I used to drive it every day and the construction of the new Witpenn Bridge, the never ending Pulaski Skyway improvements, and realignment of 7 & 139 make it awful. Also the aforementioned Rt. 9 in Elizabeth continue on through here with all its truck traffic. https://goo.gl/maps/j5umoSvy5NVD1seZA

 

[Gedunker]

<snip>
The Somerville Circle is among my least favorites https://goo.gl/maps/fLHYNscrrJgBJdHR8
<snip>

My all time favorite - it was much more of a challenge before NJDOT built the 202 overpass. My mom used to be the bookkeeper at a Greek Diner that use to be where the in-line center is (NW Quad). I used to see exactly how fast I could manage the circle in my VW beetle in the late 70s/early 80s. Looking back, it's a wonder I was never involved in a wreck.

 

[JNA]

I grew up driving Route 22 with commercial in the median or divided highway with multiple U-Turns.

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[kjel]

My all time favorite - it was much more of a challenge before NJDOT built the 202 overpass. My mom used to be the bookkeeper at a Greek Diner that use to be where the in-line center is (NW Quad). I used to see exactly how fast I could manage the circle in my VW beetle in the late 70s/early 80s. Looking back, it's a wonder I was never involved in a wreck.

Oof. I used to work at the McD's in Branchburg and had to travel through the circle, seen plenty of hairy accidents there.

 

[kjel]

I grew up driving Route 22 with commercial in the median or divided highway with multiple U-Turns.

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Route 22 is so jam packed now with traffic you literally crawl westbound through the two miles closest to the GSP. Those U-turns are ridiculous especially when people are making one with the goal of merging into traffic to cut across 4 lanes to the retail on the other side. The U-turn nearest the Target is notorious for that.

 

[mendelman]

A NJ Levitt & Sons neighborhood? Or a contemporaneous copy?

 

[kjel]

A NJ Levitt & Sons neighborhood? Or a contemporaneous copy?

Copy, but fairly typical for many neighborhoods built at that time. NJ did have it's own Levittown, but it's called Willingboro now. Look for Mill Creek Park.

 

[JNA]

Morristown, Tennessee Main Street - elevated walkway

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Google Maps

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[DVD]

Memorial Hall, now the senior center.

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[SlaveToTheGrind]

Morristown, Tennessee Main Street - elevated walkway

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We had those (enclosed) in Minneapolis and are called skywalks.

 

[SlaveToTheGrind]

Huston, Iowa, cemetery in a roundabout. Came out here in 1988 to take pictures as an assignment for my high school photo class when I thought it was out in the sticks.

 

[mendelman]

Huston, Iowa, cemetery in a roundabout. Came out here in 1988 to take pictures as an assignment for my high school photo class when I thought it was out in the sticks.

Interestingly, look at the 'ghost' realignments for the three roads adjacent. It appears the local road jurisdiction has platted a bypass of the cemetery that puts it outside the road right-of-way(s).

Talk about forensic planning.