Before heading out on an adventure, I start my detective search on the Roadside America  website matching cities and counties to those along our planned destination. Roadside America  has huge database of strange and sometimes unheard of road side attractions listed by city, county, and state. Roadside America recently released an iPhone app for looking for those hidden treasures on the go.

During a recent trip I match up the cities and counties along the route and stumbled upon a page about the tree in the middle of the road which sounded fascinating. I convinced my partner in crime, otherwise known as my friend Karen, that it should be a must see on our adventure. She reluctantly agreed as long as we added Albert the Bull in Audubon Iowa. I thought was only fair since Karen’s from Texas.

We started on our adventure and turned a four hour drive into a six hour drive. We visited the only working Danish Windmill in the US and also had time for Albert the Bull. Some attractions can be found a couple of miles off the interstate; others require a bit more of a search. Of course this was the case as we were trying to find “the tree in the middle of the road.” With some directions from a few locals we headed seven miles on a hilly dirt road in search of the “tree.” Karen swore that the children of the corn were going to come out of the corn fields at any minute. As we crested the final hill we saw a tiny little spec of a tree at the bottom of the hill sitting near the next intersection. We drove closer and the spec turned into a cottonwood tree that grew in size to over 100 foot and was smack dab in the middle of the intersection. It was the coolest thing!

So how did the tree get in the middle of the road? In 1850 a surveyor cut a cottonwood sprout to use as a walking stick, later planting it in the ground to mark a section corner. It grew into the massive tree that still stands there today in the middle of the road.

Do you have a hidden treasure in your community or one that you have found on the Roadside America website?
Happy Hunting!

Each spring, as the weather gets nicer, I spend less time watching TV.  I guess this is a good thing except for the fact that I’m paying for cable and DVR that I’m not using.  I’m not a fan of paying for something I’m not using.  When May rolls around and my DVR gets 90% full and the weather is too nice to spend that much time playing catch up on the DVR, I unplug my DVR and head to the cable office to alter my service.  I will drop down from digital service with DVR to a basic cable with 60 channels or so.

Since I know I have this love/hate relationship with my DVR, I don’t enter into a two year contract with the cable company.  You might be thinking, I don’t want to watch the shows on a tiny computer screen.  I know the feeling, so I have a few options when it comes to connecting to the TV and finding your favorite shows.

How to connect to your TV

• Apple Products
  • Apple TV
  • HDMI Connector

• Hook your Computer up to your TV via a switch.
  • The Wireless Laptop/Projector to HDTV allows users to watch and share any notebook/PC content (such as pictures, movies and presentations) and any Internet content, on their HDTV, a remote projector or monitor, without cable limitations.   The PC Adapter connects to a USB port (available in all notebooks/PCs) and the A/V Adapter connects to an HDMI port  available in all flat TVs) or VGA port (available in all projectors and monitors), for wireless connectivity between any notebook/PC and any TV/projector/monitor. Audio is supported via the HDMI port (with the video) or via a separate Audio jack for a complete wireless audio/video experience.  View a more detail PDF sheet of a computer switch

Where can I find the shows?

Almost all the major networks carry their primetime shows online and will post the new episodes usually the day after it airs.  I create a folder under my browser bookmarks to favorite the networks for quick access.  Some websites, like the paid version Hulu will create a playlist based on your favorites and add new shows as they are added to Hulu.

• Free Options
  • ABC
  • NBC
  • CBS
  • FOX
  • HULU – free account
• Paid Options
  • Netflix
  • HULU – paid subscription ($10 per month)  Just be aware that the mobile app doesn’t offer all the TV show streaming meaning some shows can only be view via the Hulu website.
  • HBO on the GO – I put this under the paid version because you have to be a HBO subscriber to access this service.

The Downside to watching TV Online

• During peak time like 7-9pm you will find that the streaming sites are slower due to everyone else catching up on their favorite shows.
• The quality on some streaming sites won’t be as good as cable especially when streaming on a very large TV.
• You have to wait at least day after the show airs to catch it online.
• Some TV Shows aren’t available online.
• You will still need high speed internet to handle the streaming data.

The Pros to going streaming

• Less Cable Bill
• Less commercials.  You may still have commercials but they are usually two – 30 sec spots in a half hour making a 30 minute show only 20 minutes to watch.

After traumatic events people are often encouraged to start a journal to express their feelings. Someone once suggested I start a journal but being a visual person, writing didn’t seem right. I know – how ironic is it that I now write for a blog.

I decided that I could hide behind my camera and start a photoblog which would be a representation of one day of my life in a snapshot.

I started out in 2006 on photoblog.com but over time as more ads appeared throughout my posts I started looking to move the blog. After some research, I moved the entire blog a year later to Blogger.com. This site enabled me to changed the designs, layout, schedule posts and to post via my phone. I also set up an email subscription signup list so family members would get an email notifying them when I posted something new. Blogger isn’t the only site to check out when starting your own photoblog. Tumblr and WordPress also have features similar to Blogger. The one thing that remains constant is my snapshot of that one day in my life.

Family members loved the idea so much that several now have their own blogs. My sister started my niece’s blog before she was born in 2007 and tries to post a picture each day. I loved this idea of being able to watch her grow up via the blog since we are eight hours away. She is was always amazed when we comment on her art drawings, ask about her friends by name, or mention that particular outfit she picked out herself. I can see over time my niece taking over the blog, posting her own photos and thoughts.

I still enjoy posting to the blog, keeping an online visual journal of my life, using one snapshot at a time.