Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina

Blue Ridge Parkway
North Carolina

Fall view of Mount Jefferson from the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.

Photo by Gregg Balkcum

This postcard is postmarked in 2016.

- - - - - - -

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States that is known for its scenic beauty. It runs for 469 miles (755 km) and was built to connect Shenandoah National Park to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

USA stamp 2014

Batman's Bat Signal 

Circle Shaped Stamp

Forever a 1st class stamp

A Tornado with Lightning in Oklahoma

Oklahoma Tornado
Photo by Jason Blakeslee

This postcard is unused.

- - - - - - -

Most of Oklahoma lies in an area known as Tornado Alley characterized by frequent interaction between cold, dry air from Canada, warm to hot, dry air from Mexico and the Southwestern U.S., and warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. The interactions between these three contrasting air currents produces severe weather.   An average 62 tornadoes strike the state per year—one of the highest rates in the world.

The Battle of Waterloo, June 18, 1815

Battle of Waterloo

18 June 1815

Partiel reproduction of the Panorama

Artistic views Editions postcard

Photographed by Marc Boseret

This is postmarked from Belgium with two Waterloo stamps and a 200th anniversary  Waterloo postmark. 

Belgium (Belgie-Belgique) stamp 2015

The 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo

Willem, Prins Van Oranje

William, Prince D'Orange - 1 Europe

- - - - - - -

William II (6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849) GCB was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg.

He was senior officer of the Allied army in the Low Countries when Napoleon I of France escaped from Elba in 1815. He relinquished command on the arrival of the Duke of Wellington, and fought at the head of I Allied Corps at the Battle of Quatre Bras (16 June 1815) and the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815), where he was wounded. As a sign of gratitude for his victory in Waterloo, William was offered Soestdijk Palace by the Dutch people.

- - -

Belgium (Belgie-Belgique) stamp 2015

The 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo

Michel Ney - 1 Europe

- - - - - - -

Michel Ney, 1st Duc d'Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa (10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), popularly known as Marshal Ney, was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original 18 Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon.

Morro Castle and the Malecon in Havana Cuba

Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba

(The city of Havana, Cuba)

Malecon de la Habana y Castillo del Morro

(The Malecon of Havana and The Morro Castle)

This postcard is postmarked in 2015 with a Cuba stamp.

The sender writes:

We went here with Victor and Abby to the Canon Ceremony!  We even rode the horse and buggy around the 'castillo'.  Also, check out the waves flooding the malecon on this postcard! 

- - - - - - -

Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro, named after the three biblical Magi, is a fortress guarding the entrance to Havana bay in Havana, Cuba. It was built in 1589.

The Morro fortress shares its name with structures in Santiago de Cuba and the Castillo de San Felipe del Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

Cuba stamp 2014

Cubania en Mariposas III

Butterflies of Cuba

Holguinia holguin, 65

Art of a Young Girl from artist Liesel Lauterborn

There is no description on the back however the letters going up the middle read:

Kunstpostkarten - verlag (publisher) 

The artist is Liesel Lauterborn.  

This postcard is postmarked in 1936.

Belgium stamp 1936

 Lion with Crown

New Daily Stamp, 35

An Arctic Paradise in Finland

Helmikuu Februari Veebruar Februar 

February Fevrier Februarius 

Lappi Lapland Lapimaa Lappland Laponie

Laponia Lapponia Laponia 

The languages are (I think): 

Finnish, Dutch, Estonian, German

English, French, Esperanto

and there is one more that I can't type, that looks like Russian. 

The sender writes:

We are skiing in Lapland.  Fine weather and lots of snow. 

This is postmarked in 2016 from Finland.  

Finland stamp 2015

Golden Swan, 1 lk kl

- - -

Finland stamp 2008 

Water & Archipelago, 0,10

Men Performing a Tribal Dance in Gabon

Images Gabonaises (Images of Gabon)
Les haommes de la Danse (Men Dancing)

Photo: J. Trolez

This postcard is unused.

- - - - - - -

Gabon, officially the Gabonese Republic, is located on the equator on the west coast of Central Africa.

The Albion Printing Press from the MOTAT Museum in New Zealand

 MOTAT

The Albion press is an early iron hand printing press manufactured in London from around 1820 - 1930

Printed Letterpress by Volunteers in The Print Shop

The sender writes:

This card is from MOTAT, The Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland, New Zealand. 

This postcard was mailed from New Zealand in 2016. 

New Zealand stamp 2016

Year of the Monkey, 2.00

Namib Desert, Namibia

Namib Desert

Zebra pan after a good rainy season;

Sossusvlei environs (Sossusvlei area) - Namibia

Photograph: Johan Steyn

This is postmarked in 2008 with a Namibia 'Ediacaran fossil' stamp.

- - - - - - -

Sossusvlei is a salt and clay pan (dry lake) surrounded by high red dunes, located in the southern part of the Namib Desert. 

The name "Sossusvlei" is of mixed origin, and roughly means "dead end marsh".  Sossusvlei owes this name to the fact that it is an endorheic drainage basin (i.e., a drainage basin without outflows) for the ephemeral Tsauchab River.

- - - 

Namib Desert, Namibia 

From Earthsong by Bernhard Edmaier 

This is postmarked from Canada with three Canadian handcraft stamps and one gorgeous 'The Flood Gate by Homer Watson' stamp in 2007. 

- - - - - - -

The Namib Desert is a desert in Namibia which forms part of the Namib-Naukluft National Park one of Africa's largest. The desert occupies an area of around 50 000 km², stretching some 1,000 miles (1,600 km) along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Namibia, which is named after this desert. Its east-west width varies from 30 to 100 miles (50-160 km). The Namib Desert also reaches into southwest Angola.

The area is considered to be the oldest desert in the world, having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for at least 80 million years.

 

Cevapi, 'Fast Food' in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarajevo

The sender writes:

On this card you can see our traditional food. 

Name: Cevapi

It is Bosnian fast food.

The sender also wrote their e-mail for future swaps, But I can't read it.  :-(   I tried several different ways, but I never heard back from them.  It is a shame, I would love to have more cards from Bosnia and Herzegovina!

This is postmarked in 2016.

- - - - - - -

Ćevapi is a grilled dish of minced meat, a type of skinless sausage.  They are usually served of 5–10 pieces on a plate or in a flatbread, often with chopped onions, sour cream, kajmak, ajvar, feta cheese, minced red pepper and salt.

Bosnia and Herzegovina stamp 2007

Drinking Fountain in Tuzla, 1.50

Judy Garland

 Judy Garland

This reproduction postcard is unused and was bought in 2014.

- - - - - - - -

Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an American singer, actress, and vaudevillian.  She received a Juvenile Academy Award and won a Golden Globe Award as well as Grammy Awards and a Special Tony Award.

She made more than two dozen films, including nine with Mickey Rooney, and one of my favorite movies... 1939's The Wizard of Oz.
- - -
Here is a postcard of her in The Wizard of Oz . . .

Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Night St. Isaac's Cathedral.

This postcard is postmarked in 2015. 

- - -

Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in the city and the fourth largest (by the volume under the cupola) cathedral in the world. 

During World War II, the dome was painted over in gray to avoid attracting attention from enemy aircraft.

Russia stamp 2015

City of Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, 17

- - -

I believe this is a statue of Gennady Ivanovich Nevelskoy.

- - -

Russia stamp 2008 

Fox  1.00

- - -

Russia stamp 2009

Definitive Issue

Kremlins 

Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin

4.00

- - -

Russia stamp 2009

Kremlins

Novgorod Kremlin

5.00

Cars Disney Movie - Released on June 8, 2006

Lightning McQueen
Lightning McQueen is a hotshot rookie race car, poised to become the youngest car ever to win the Piston Cup Championship.  He has just two things on his mind: winning and the perks that come with it.  It’s everything he’s dreamed of ... but that’s about to change.  When McQueen gets lost in the forgotten town of Radiator Springs, he’s introduced to a group of new friends that challenge him to reconsider the car he wants to be.

Fun Facts:
- #95 sponsored by Rust-eze Mediated Bumper Ointment
- Top speed: 200 mph, 0-60 in 4.5 seconds
- Favorite expression: “Ka-chow!”
- He considers his silver lightning bolt his lucky sticker
- - -

Sally
Sally is a beautiful 2000 Porsche 911 from California who grew tired of life in the fast lane and made a new start in the small town of Radiator Springs.  Charming, intelligent and witty, she is the town attorney and the car most dedicated to preserving and reviving the town with the hopes that one day it will “get back on the map”.

Fun Facts:
- Owner of the Cozy Cone Motel in Radiator Springs
- Sports a pin-striped tattoo
- Her nickname for McQueen is “Stickers
- - -

Doc Hudson
Doc Hudson is a 1951 Hudson Hornet, a seemingly quiet country doctor who runs the local “medical clinic’ (mechanic shop) in Radiator Springs.  Though he’s a car of few words, Doc is respected and admired by the townsfolk for the way he looks out for their health and tends to their aches and pains.  Doc ends up teaching McQueen lessons he can apply both on and off the track.

Fun Facts:
- Doc is not only the town doctor, but also the town judge
- He has a few surprises under his hood
- - -

Mater
Master is a good ol’ boy with  a big heart and the only tow truck in Radiator Springs. Mater runs Tow-Mates (should read Tow-Maters) Towing and Salvage and manages the local impound lot.  Through (maybe another error? should be though) a little rusty, he has the quickest towrope in Carburetor County and is always the first to lend a helping hand.   Mater sees the bright side of any situation and is the first to befriend McQueen.

Fun Facts:
-  Lightning McQueen’s best friend
-  Self-proclaimed “World’s Best Backwards Driver”
-  His lifelong dream is to ride in a helicopter
- - -

From the manufacturers of ‘The Incredibles’ and ‘Finding Nemo’
Disney Pixar
Cars
in Cinemas June 8 (although I think it might have actually come out on June 9th)

All four postcards are unused and from 2006.