OT, my father's family were the among first founders of Maury County, just to the south of Nashville. Dad was born in Mt. Pleasant in 1906, and we go back to long before that. An ancestor was a state representative in three states, and never moved --- NC, TN and the State of Franklin. Cool, maybe we knew one another in another life!

There are a couple of them still around here but none of them work any more. It is an alternative to draw bridges. You don't have to lift the weight, just rotate it. The rivers aren't navigable anymore so they didn't maintain the bridge equipment.

I used to frequently cross the Coleman Bridge across the York River at Yorktown VA. I never saw it opened, but it's a double swing span bridge, still operating, that dates from 1952 and was rebuilt in the 90s.

We have a fair amount of bridges. 446 But none swing. I'm sure there is a lot I don't know about my city.

In Kansas City KS. there are some underground caves. Not the ones that are used, but others that are somewhat unsafe. At one point, in the school district I worked, the school buses were re routed to avoid those roads. General traffic came and went, but insurance declared it was unsafe to drive the roads over the caves. News to me at that time.

We only have one swing bridge in Kansas City called the Hannibal bridge owned by the BNSF railroad. I've never seen it open.

I too had never seen it open.

I have this "game" I play to pass the time on my way home, and it's called "race the train" across the river. I love to do that. It hardly ever happens, but I look everyday to see if my train is there. Yesterday, I was sure the bridge was broken! Oh no! How will the train get across. Then I looked up river and I saw the boat, put two and two together and realized it was that way on purpose. Oh.

sushi, we had to have. And don't you live near where I used to live (I consider dad's work, just traveling since it was temporary), Monterey, CA?

Yes, we lived in several places in Monterey County, Monterey and Carmel Valley and the boonies between Salinas and Monterey.

:)

We lived in Seaside. I should've said. Mom always said Monterey. Guess she felt it was fancier.

In the town in Texas where I was born, there was a law that you could ride your horse in a saloon, but no one could ride a horse and buggy through the town square.

Can't think of anything off hand. But DH and I still joke about a car pool member who would all of a sudden notice things. "Yes, that 7-11 has been there only the whole ten years we've been driving this route every single day ...." Now I wonder if he needed glasses.

If you say Seaside or Pacific Grove or Marina or whatever, people say "Where?" If you say Monterey, they all recognize it. Matter of convenience to people outside the area, only means something to the people who actually know where the Seaside/Del Rey Oaks/Monterey borders actually are.

Pacific Grove. Ah. Monarch territory. That's a sight to see.

We have three draw (raising type) bridges here. One of those had an uncanny way of making me late for my first job or classes at the junior college.

We have a bridge that rotates to open too. It's a little bit of a slow process but thankfully while located where I'm crossing it often, it's rarely swiveled open. On a river that only occasionally sees a boat big enough the bridge must be turned sideways ;0) I can't remember the last time I had to sit in my car and wait on it.

"We lived in Seaside. I should've said. Mom always said Monterey. Guess she felt it was fancier."

Yeah, I've encountered that many times before. Nothing wrong with Seaside (better than Sand City) but under the excuse of "I didn't think you'd know where it is", sometimes people like to upgrade their geography.

I have heard of rotating bridges but have never seen one. I have been stuck in traffic because of drawbridges.

When people from other areas ask where I am from I say Santa Cruz, CA because no one knows where the heck Aptos is. There's a good chance they have heard of Santa Cruz, especially if they are interested in surfing.

Elmer, since moving to the East Coast, we find that most people who ask don't care a whit about expanding their geography knowledge. It's a short polite question, and rarely gets a follow up except when they say vaguely that they were once in Southern California.

Sorta like the little kid who asks his mom where he came from. She goes into a lengthy explanation about the birds and bees, and the kid says, but my friend Joey says he came from Pittsburgh.

I sometimes say "Palm Springs" when I mean "Cathedral City", but that is only when I think people will know where PS is but not CC. If I wanted a serious real estate upgrade, I could say "Palm Desert", but then people might not know where that is either. Personally, I prefer being in Cathedral City to Palm Springs because the lots are bigger, and we can have a bigger pool than what is typical in PS. Also, I prefer a quieter neighborhood.

I think the only rotating bridge I was ever on was in Oregon, but I don't remember exactly where it was - perhaps mid-state on the Willamette River, but it might have been in Washington State or Texas.

There is a rotating bridge between Davenport, IA and the Rock Island Arsenal Island. There is a lock and dam immediately upstream of it on the Mississippi River. This rotating bridge is special because its a double decker; The upper part carries the Rock Island Railroad and the lower part has a road bed for autos and trucks. There are pedestrian walkways on both side of the bridge. The bridge span drops into V-notches to align the trail rails. Also, it is symmetrical in that it can rotate completely around and set either end of the span in the V-notches. The bridge operator sometimes uses this capability to save time. He may open the span and continue its motion as the tow boat passes through following the boat.

The span begins its operation by being lifted up from the v-blocks before rotating. This lift is accomplished by a huge hydraulic piston at the center of the span. Surprisingly, the hydraulic fluid is river water.

Another unique feature at this installation is the dam. It is a roller dam. Each gate consists of two large rollers set in geared tacks at each end of the rolls; one roll sits about the other. The dam is opened by moving the upper roller up a bit to create a spillway between the rolls. There is about 10 sets of these rollers to span the width of the stream. Under normal times, only one set of rollers is used to control the pool level, but there is a hidden surprise. All sets of these rollers can be operated thus opening the entire dam!

If you are ever in the area, look for this dam, bridge, and locks. It is unique.

One of the girls in my carpool growing up was from Pittsburgh. She was saying something about being from that city when her mother was driving. Her mother interjected and told her, Kelly, we say Pennsylvania, not Pittsburgh.

I am guilty of saying SF for where we are from when we are traveling. I should just say Northern California. I am not trying to sound fancier or cooler, just figure most people are not clear on where my town on the SF Peninsula is unless they are from these parts.

sushipup, I think you misunderstood my comment. this has nothing to do with expanding a questioner's geography knowledge. It was about rob's comment "she felt it was fancier". It's sometimes an opportunity for people living in a more ordinary or even troubled community to upgrade their geography to a fancier one to mask the truth. I've encountered this before - in many flavors

Where are you from

----Los Angeles

What part?

---Actually, not exactly there but nearby

Where?

San Bernardino

(Huh - a troubled town an hour east)

I've am born, raised and still live in Pittsburgh. I never say I'm from PA, always Pittsburgh. For some reason even when we are in Aruba or Sint Maarten people know where it is. I think it is because of our sport teams. It's not the most exciting place to live , but it is by far not the worst or anything to be ashamed of.

Because Nashville is metropolitan, people say they are from _________ (suburb) to those who live here. I grew up in Crieve Hall, have lived in Belle Meade, my parents are from Inglewood and Madison... It's so sprawling there's no other way to do it. I bet a lot of other cities are like that, Houston, Nawlins, Atlanta...

elmer, there are many "cities" in Southern California that are, in fact, not incorporated cities but are communities within the City of Los Angeles. They have their own Zip codes and such, but they're still part of the City of Los Angeles. San Pedro and Venice are two that come to mind right away.

And before you climb up onto your high horse, yes, I know you were talking about San Bernardino, which is the name of a city and of a county east of Los Angeles (city and county).

I've always wanted to visit Pittsburgh, but I know absolutely nothing about any sports teams that might be there. When I was a teenager, I had a pen pal in Pittsburgh, and he helped me keep my sanity while growing up on a farm, at least until I transferred to a high school in a small city nearby. I think of steel factories and Andrew Carnegie when I think of Pittsburgh. I never did get to meet my pen pal, and we are out of touch, although I did meet one in New Jersey who had saved my letters from when we were teenagers. I just met her last summer, and we are back in touch now.

I am reminded of the quotes from Auntie Mame:

New Bedford Massachusetts - huge fishing town right on the ocean. They have a rotating bridge between there and the tiny town of Fairhaven.

We were visiting and eating in a nice little restaurant right at the base of the bridge. We expected it to be a drawbridge, so it really was surprising to see it rotate. I'd never even heard of such a thing.

lindsey, I'm puzzled about your taking the time to educate me about my home town. It's where I was born and lived the first 24 years of my life almost entirely (but not exclusively) within the city limits. We still have friends and family there and over the decades have visited quite regularly, even more so since I retired. You had no way to know. But thanks.

LA has "districts" with names like almost all cities have. It may confuse you and other visitors but not locals. San Francisco has districts, NY, Paris, Berlin, Washington DC and on and on all have districts with names. Most do.

I think it's you on a high horse for some reason, offering heat but no light, but no matter.

I've only lived inside the city limits of Los Angeles since moving to southern California in 1989, except for one month in Huntington Beach, when I was visiting a friend who was moving to L.A. with me. My first address was Culver City 90232, which mean that the CC post office delivered my mail, but I was actually in Palms, and so we had to rely on L.A. fire and police departments, even though the Culver City police department would call me to solicit donations, which I refused to give. Then I moved to Venice, which is also in L.A. city limits, and now I live in Westchester, also in the city limits, and if I go very far (like 10 miles) away, people do not know where Westchester is, but they do know where LAX is, which is completely within the zip code of Westchester 90045. I tell people I live in Westchester because L.A. is too vast (for locals). Culver City, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood are all completely surrounded by Los Angeles but are their own cities, as is the city of San Fernando. I expect people to know where Culver City is, since it was the original home of MGM Studios, and I lived just across the street from there and could see the MGM lion from my kitchen window. I did tell people back then that I lived in Culver City because it was more specific, and that's what my address was. I also worked in Culver City at that time, and now my brother does as well.

Seattle and environs has a lot of weird bridges: 3 fresh water floaters, one salt water floater, the only concrete double leaf swing bridge, several single arm bascules and a few pretty good sized cantilever ones.

When you have hilly terrain and are surrounded by multiple bodies of water, bridges tend to factor in pretty heavily :-)

And I agree with Elmer - most larger cities have districts or neighborhoods that may have their own character and identity and are well known to locals and referred to only by their district/neighborhood name yet remain a part of a greater metropolitan persona.

Lars, that "Venice" thing did puzzle me the first couple of times you mentioned having lived there. Italy? okay that did seem pretty exotic! LOL!

nickel, there are a lot of goofy things in SoCal and Venice is on the list for me.

Not unlike many other beach areas, you can move a lot of "dirt" (usually sand and always with big machines) to dig passages and open areas, let in sea water, and you have canals, marinas, etc. The Venice canals are small and number just a few and are dwarfed in size by its nearby neighbor Marina Del Rey but they were intended to be a seaside destination when built a good number of years back, early 20th century. Google it, take a look at satellite views and photos easily found on the internet, and you'll get the flavor.

At the edge of the beach sand is the Venice Beach Boardwalk (it's a wide concrete walkway lined with tacky shops) which is an especially unique and goofy place that's mobbed on most weekend and summer beach days. Where nearly any sight or activity involving humans can be seen as you stroll along. Any. If you ever visit LA, it's worth seeing.

Function, I should have been more clear. I don't think there is anything wrong with Pittsburgh. My husband/boyfriend at the time spent six months there studying at Westinghouse/Bettis. I enjoyed the city and the people when I visited. This carpool person was desperately trying to make herself into something new. I was making fun of her efforts, not her hometown.

Zalco, no problem. I didn't take it the wrong way.

Thanks for the additional info, Elmer. LA isn't high on my list of places to visit (I'm more inclined to natural scenery) but never say never. This time of year, anyplace warm would hold a certain charm :-)

Nickel, I would love to live in Italy, but I have to be content just to visit. For me, California comes the closest in this country, but without the architecture and antiquities.

This thread reminds me of the time, while dining at a remote restaurant in Switzerland, we heard American accents at the next table. They responded to the inevitable question of where they were from with San Francisco. Our response, Atherton. They then clarified that they were actually from Walnut Creek. Had we been asked first we would have said San Francisco.

Zalco, I'm sure by now your city, at least to anyone in the states, would be quite recognizable, as is Menlo Park thanks to Facebook. Or maybe Stanford would be a better answer than P.A.

Lars, as an avid screenwriter, I would have been thrilled sitting in the shadow of the MGM Lion while writing a sp!