Postcard Wars

The monuments of Washington, DC, tend to look much nicer at night than they do during the day, so Postcard Wars went and took some photos on a nice Friday night. Here they are.

World War II Memorial

World War II Memorial with Washington Monument

Our tallest president.

On the way to the National Mall to take these pictures, a very Washington thing happened — a 10-minute wait on the Rock Creek Parkway as a heavily guarded motorcade sped past. Even for a Washington motorcade, this one was impressive: probably something like 30-40 vehicles in total, with a chopper overhead too.

My guess was Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, in town visiting George W. Bush and telling CBS that the United States threatened Pakistan into supporting the War on Terror. My passenger’s guess? Bush himself. Either way, it took a damned long time until Mr. VIP passed by.

Postcard Wars recently took a trip — albeit not a very far or especially exotic one — to western Maryland. Postcard Wars greatly enjoyed western Maryland, and now would like to sing its praises.

Here is a photo of Interstate 68, on the way to Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County, very close to the border with West Virginia. Postcard Wars went camping at this lake and ate sausages filled with cheddar cheese.

And below is a photo of Muddy Creek Falls in Swallow Falls State Park, very close to Deep Creek Lake. Western Maryland abounds with state parks, and the two visited by Postcard Wars were found in excellent condition with pleasant trails, clean water and frolicking children.

Frolicking children, I say.

Verdict: Maryland is a good state. Nice flag. Beaches. Woods. Lakes. Hooray Maryland.

It would be rather difficult not to have noticed the new, sleek look of Postcard Wars.

Welcome to the future, baby.

For your viewing pleasure, I thought it might be nice to upgrade the site a bit and display your fantastic (or fantastically ugly) postcards in a nicer environment. You’ll notice, however, that some features of the old layout remain the same — most importantly, The Postcard Tally, where you can track your contributions and consider your favorites for the Postcard of the Year competition.

You may now continue enjoying the delectable chocolate cake that is this site.

Just as I thought I’d found an early hands-down favorite for Postcard of the Year — with an amazing effort from Montenegro (see below) — in came this one from our fiercely competitive correspondent in The Netherlands. What are you looking at, you ask? I asked myself the same thing…

GAY GAMES AMSTERDAM 1998!

As we know, Montenegro recently declared itself separate from Serbia, which would make it the world’s newest country, would it not? I could be wrong, but I think that’s accurate.

Regardless, postcards from countries that are younger than most children ALWAYS will generate a great deal of respect here at Postcard Wars, and when one looks at this masterpiece of an effort, a lot more credit has to be given for its audacity.

The words, according to an independently contracted translator currently living somewhere between Washington, DC, and Boston, say something along the lines of: “When you’re walking on the beach, always look down.”

By the way, the person who sent this card lives in Albania, and his postal address — amazingly — follows this template:

Name of person

American

Village in Albania

Albania

Many thanks for a parade of postcards from California, solidifying the state’s claim to being the #1 most-represented here at Postcard Wars.

Big Sur

Gilroy, Calif. — The Garlic Capital of the World! (I’m not joking.)

Point Lobos State Reserve

Del Mar: Great Trip, Great Card

In Antwerp, Belgium, gentlemen prefer blondes.

With that, however, I have to say: Belgian beer cannot compare with Czech or German.