Double Rainbow Over New Jersey

Yesterday I was heading back from Philadelphia to New York City since I finished graduate school last month. (Did I mention I graduated? Good stuff.) Spent a pleasant afternoon along the Jersey coast, featuring a massive and delicious burrito from 10th Ave. Burrito in Belmar.



Part of the great thing about late spring and summer is that you can photograph towns and post offices well into the evening. Last night I was busy until 8:15. At 6:30 a thunderstorm bore down on this corner of the Jersey shore, though it produced more noise than rain.

The rain dissipated by 7:15, and the benefits to sticking around New Jersey (instead of heading right back to New York) were evident in Ocean Township, whereupon a rainbow appeared over the Ocean [branch of the Asbury Park] post office:



The rainbow revealed itself to be double looking over the side of the post office:


It was actually still raining at the time, too.

Neither rain, nor vast puddles consuming the town's main road...

Ah, yes, the two worst words in the postal tourist's English language: "Road closed." (Or perhaps some misinformed soul attempting to lecture, "[You can't take pictures of that!] That's federal!")

I spent Saturday and Sunday exploring rural Pennsylvania in a persistent drizzle. Apparently it had rained more heavily before; at two points in the main artery leading to Montandon, PA [across the river from Lewisburg, best known as the home of Bucknell University], the road had been flooded out. Meanwhile it's 11:20, and the post office closes at 11:30. The PO is still a half-mile away. What to do!?

Well, I realized that if I took a side road a few hundred yards, I could get past that pesky sign. So, I parked the car just before the lake flooding the town's primary artery several inches deep, and trekked out along the curb the quarter-mile to get to the post office. Just in time! Good ol' New Yorker instincts come to the rescue again.

Here's my trusty Camry waiting for me, in a telephoto taken in front of the PO.


Here's the photogenic Montandon, PA Post Office, #8 of my Saturday.


No, this post office is not on the RAOI study list, and will thus not be closed at the end of the year.

Speaking of Lewisburg, PA, their post office shares its grand old home with the courthouse. (Omg! That's federal!... Naw, it's actually just county.) I was informed by a local that the building was just sold to Bucknell, and the post office might be moved. I can't otherwise verify this information.

Here's the Lewisburg, PA post office: [Along the long side of the building; also, #9 of my Saturday]

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Sometimes, it's unfortunate what the weather conditions are when you're on the road hunting down a nice four-bar cancellation in some obscure part of the country. So, here are some of my post office photos that have never seen the light of day, partly because the light of day was obscured under torrential downpours of rain at the time.

1. Counce and Pickwick Dam, TN:
I stayed the night at the Pickwick Dam State Park. I also remember leaving that hotel just after 09/09/09 09:09:09! The Pickwick Dam post office has tons of P.O. boxes and a new PMR who was wary of postmark collecting. Of course, it was his first week and he'll probably not see another collector for another 20 years. Fortunately, the Postmaster at Counce (just a mile away) helped out, and I got both postmarks. Let's have a look at those victorious photos.





It was really not possible to open that back window without enabling the backseat of my car to subsequently become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Later that day I visited plenty of nice Tennessee post offices, including Shiloh -- of the Shiloh Civil War battlefield.

2. Kissimmee, FL: Oak Street Station:
I spent the 15 minutes I spent in line at this office regretting walking outside in this mess. Among the worst rain I've seen. Which means I really had to protect my cancellation collection under my jacket. That's Florida for ya!



3. La Push, Washington:
Ah, this was a fun one. As with Neah Bay, Washington, the trek to this post office was 16 miles one way to the shoreline and post office, and 16 miles along the same route back to Forks. (If these names sound remotely familiar, think the popular tween Twilight series.) Only 16 miles? Sounds good to me!

When driving cross-country I had wanted to either set foot in the Pacific Ocean at Neah Bay (too dark) or here in La Push. Unfortunately the rain was completely horizontal and I couldn't open the car window a mere crack without getting drenched. Eventually, I found the post office (and lovely Postmaster) and snagged this photo.