The Flying Egg ...

“I fell in love with the process of taking pictures, with wandering around finding things. To me it feels like a kind of performance. The picture is a document of that performance.”

         ~Alec Soth

             ~ born 1969

             ~American photographer

               based in Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Flying Egg sign stands out in the course of the cool and historic streetscape that is Main Street in historic downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in this infrared capture I shot on a late November afternoon.

The Flying Egg, a self-described “Boutique diner in the heart of Bethlehem,” is a casual-chic, white-brick eatery offering an all-day breakfast menu alongside brunch.

The Supper Train ...

“Trains, like time and tide, stop for no one.”

                          ~ Jules Verne

                               ~ 1828-1905

A mid-April sunset reflects in the windows of The Blue Comet train car at Clinton Station Diner, Clinton, New Jersey. The windows face Interstate 78.

I shot this image when stopping for supper at the diner on the way home to Pennsylvania after a wonderful spring day trip to New York City. The meal was delicious and served in the cool, unique and historic train car.

Seating at the diner, which opened in February 2004, is offered in the authentic 1927 Blue Comet Train Car. The Blue Comet was one of the most luxurious and legendary trains in New Jersey history. It crashed August 19, 1939 in the then village of Chatsworth in the middle of the Pine Barrens.

The Blue Comet, called “The Seashore’s Finest Train,” was a passenger train operated by Central Railroad of New Jersey from 1929-1941 between New York and Atlantic City.

For more information on The Blue Comet and its history, visit the diner’s website, https://www.clintonstationdiner.com/train-car. The site includes a video of the train car being delivered to the diner many years ago.

Clinton is a town in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, located on the South Branch of the Raritan River.

The town is perhaps best known for its two mills which sit on opposite banks of the South Branch Raritan River. The Red Mill, with its historic village, dates back to 1810 with the development of a mill for wool processing. Across the river sits the Stone Mill, home of the Hunterdon Art Museum for Contemporary Craft and Design, located in a former gristmill that had been reconstructed in 1836 and operated continuously until 1936. In 1952, a group of local residents conceived of a plan to convert the historic building into an art museum, which is still in operation today.

Dutch Treat ...

“Kumme esse”

 ~ Pennsylvania Dutch phrase for “Come eat”

 The Hamburg Diner advertises its Pennsylvania Dutch fare on its sign on a late June afternoon in historic Hamburg, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the diner closed after 50 years in business in May 2018, a month before I shot this high contrast monochrome image. Hopefully it will reopen!

The Pennsylvania Dutch are a cultural group formed by early German-speaking immigrants to Pennsylvania and their descendants. The word “Dutch” does not refer to Dutch people or language, but to the German settlers known as Deutsch in standard German and Deitsch in the principal dialect they spoke, Palatine German.

Most emigrated to the Americas from Germany or Switzerland in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. Over time, the various dialects spoken by these immigrants fused into a unique dialect of German known as Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania “Dutch.” At one time, more than one third of Pennsylvania’s population spoke this language.

Pennsylvania Dutch specialties include Schnitz un knepp ( a dish of ham or pork shoulder with dried apple and dumplings), apple butter, baked apple, chicken and waffles, Chow-chow, cole slaw, corn fritters, Lebanon bologna, pork and sauerkraut, potato filling, pot pie, fastnachts, funnel cake, funny cake, angel food cake, whoopee pies, shoofly pie, sugar cookies, root beer and birch beer.

As I am half Irish and half Pennsylvania German, I grew up with much of these tasty offerings because my late grandmother was a wonderful baker and cook, and fastnachts, shoofly pie and angel food cake were my favorites of hers.

Hamburg, Pennsylvania, officially founded in 1787, was named after Hamburg, Germany.

The phrase “Dutch Treat” refers to an outing, meal or other special occasion at which each participant pays for their share of the expenses.

Let's Go Dutch ...

“Kumme esse”

  ~ Pennsylvania Dutch phrase for “Come eat ”

The Hamburg Diner advertises its Pennsylvania Dutch fare on its sign on a late June afternoon in historic Hamburg, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the diner closed after 50 years in business in May 2018, a month before I shot this image. Hopefully it will reopen!

The Pennsylvania Dutch are a cultural group formed by early German-speaking immigrants to Pennsylvania and their descendants. The work “Dutch” does not refer to Dutch people or language, but to the German settlers known as Deutsch in standard German and Deitsch in the principal dialect they spoke, Palatine German.

Most emigrated to the Americas from Germany or Switzerland in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. Over time, the various dialects spoken by these immigrants fused into a unique dialect of German known as Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania “Dutch.” At one time, more than one third of Pennsylvania’s population spoke this language.

Pennsylvania Dutch specialties include Schnitz un knepp ( a dish of ham or pork shoulder with dried apple and dumplings), apple butter, baked apple, chicken and waffles, Chow-chow, cole slaw, corn fritters, Lebanon bologna, pork and sauerkraut, potato filling, pot pie, fastnachts, funnel cake, funny cake, angel food cake, whoopee pies, shoofly pie, sugar cookies, root beer and birch beer.

As I am half Irish and half Pennsylvania German, I grew up with much of these tasty offerings because my late grandmother was a wonderful baker and cook, and fastnachts, shoofly pie and angel food cake were my favorites of hers.

Hamburg, Pennsylvania, officially founded in 1787, was named after Hamburg, Germany.

The origin of the phrase to “Go Dutch” is traced back to the 17^th century when England and the Netherlands fought constantly over trade route and political boundaries. To “Go Dutch” implies an informal agreement that each person will pay his or her own expenses during a date.