Here are the postcards!
I’ve been collecting postcards since 2008. Since then, I’ve sent and received over 1800 postcards from all over the US and dozens of countries. I respond to every postcard I receive, so I’m always open for private swaps.
My origin story: Back when I was a young boy, I got the idea to write a letter to several world leaders, but I only ever ended up writing the US president and the Queen of England. I was so tickled to receive responses from President Bush and then Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II! Well, they weren’t directly from the world leaders, but rather from their staff members. President Bush sent me an autographed photograph (which I lost later in a show-and-tell accident).
One of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting sent me a very detailed letter, typed on Buckingham Palace stationery, answering all of my questions about the Queen’s horses and her corgis and her favorite foods. I marveled at the strangely-sized paper, the texture of the embossed coat of arms centered at the top of the page, and the stamps on the envelope. A real person had spent time reading my letter, responding to it, folding it and placing it in an envelope, and then more real human beings had taken the time and effort to transport it from London to some mail distribution center, to an airport in England, to an airport in the US, and back through the various USPS chains until it arrived in a plastic mailbox at the foot of my driveway in southeast Michigan.
I’m still fascinated by this process today, and all for less than the price of some chocolate! So I maintain correspondence with about a dozen penpals across the world, and send and receive postcards. At last count, I have a little under 2,000 postcards that I’ve received. Keep scrolling to see the most recent postcards that have arrived in my mailbox.
birthday wishes (Canada)
These two postcards arrived within a birthday card from the ever thoughtful Ray in British Columbia, Canada. What a great encapsulation of birthday wishes: a celebrating dog and a beautiful friend to wish health, peace, luck, and love.
summer’s end (Oregon)
Unfortunately, I don’t know who wrote these beautiful lines, but with an attention to nature’s beauty and a keen eye for great wordsmithing, it’s no surprise that this postcard comes from Linda in Portland. She describes some great hikes and funky coffee shops in Portland, including one: “…tricked out like a library with floor to ceiling books.”
Spirit of Sydney (Australia)
Matty was in Sydney on a work trip, helping to train up a new colleague, and managed to find the time to send a postcard of one of Australia’s most iconic sights! I wonder if the denizens of Sydney even stop to see the opera house anymore, or if it’s just so much background noise?
Napa Valley (California)
Our friends Julian and Salvo have been on a postcard tear, sending this beautiful one (a postcard I’ve sent many times but never received - thank you!) from the harvest festival at Quintessa, a tour of Memento Mori, and some delicious food. Is there a better way to spend a weekend in Napa?
Nancy (France)
Voici une carte de mon ami Dominique. En fait, la ville de Nancy possède une grande image dans mon mémoire car, à l’époque de mon étance en France, j’avais un colleague qui habitait à Nancy et qui m’y avait invité a visiter plusiers fois. Malheureusement, je n’y suis jamais allé, malgré la distance courte entre nous.
Dominique écrit que cette place forme partie de “l’une des plus belles places du monde. Nancy est connue comme ‘la ville aux portes d’or.’”
Kilted Ryan (Scotland)
Continuing the thread of yesterday’s dude, here is a postcard I sent myself from Scotland. A few other friends received related postcards - you can probably guess who! I think I wrote to them something like, “We’ve seen plenty of men in kilts but so far they have all been wearing shirts…” Alas.
the Merdude (California)
Salvo and Julian sent this delightful illustration of a Merdude (by Devin Mireles) to help me celebrate my birthday. I can’t think of a more perfect birthday wish from these two! Thanks, friends!
Seville (Poland)
My penpal Andreas took a trip to Poland and sent this postcard from there. I’m not sure if he also visited Spain (and perhaps didn’t have time to send the postcard from Spain before moving on to Poland) or if he picked up this beautiful postcard (easy to see why) in Poland.
Bixby Creek Bridge (California)
Our dear friends Julian and Salvo took a trip to Big Sur and Carmel by the Sea while we were away in the United Kingdom, sending this iconic view. What a treat!
Cunard Queen Elizabeth (Canada and US)
My pen pal Ray and his partner took a cruise on this cruise ship - of course, Cunard is famous for its luxury and elegance. Ray writes that on your cruise to Alaska, he “only took 4200 pictures.” I can imagine!
Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness (Scotland)
Par très grande coincidence, Dominique est aussi allé en Écosse pour des vacances pendant août! Nous ne sommes arrivés jusqu’à après sa visite et il était au dehors d’Edinburgh, mais j’ai tellement aimé recevoir une carte postale surprise comme celle-ci. En fair, il a passé des jours à Speyside, la région dont vient le whisky préferé de mon beau-père.
my hero (Australia)
This delicious card arrived from my penpal in Australia. When one thinks about Australia, naturally lifeguards (and life-threatening wildlife) come to mind first!
Monterey Coast (California)
Our dear friends Cynthia and Tracy are spending some time near Monterey and sent us this postcard exemplifying the cool, ocean breezes that characterize a summer along the Central Coast. We’ll have the rare delight of visiting them at their summer getaway too!
water gun cowboy (California)
What a delight this is! Our friends Julian and Salvo sent us this and it was just perfect to receive. The artist is Devin Mireles.
la ville de Québec (Canada)
Our friends Lauren and Jon visited Quebec City recently and even stayed at the Château Frontenac! I’ve never been to Quebec City, although I’ve visited Montreal twice. Someday!
la tarte aux mirabelles (France)
Même si j’aimerais bien essayer de récréer cette recette, je crains qu’il ne soit pas possible car les mirabelles ne sont pas disponibles ici aux États-Unis (ben, que je sache moi). Quandmême, quand je serais en France le temps correct, je la mangerais sûrement.
Melbourne Street Art (Australia)
My penpal Matty was in Melbourne for a work trip training a new coworker and didn’t have much time to do sightseeing, but somehow found the time to send me this great, panoramic postcard!
JetPunk (Finland)
My penpal Jussi sends this postcard from Finland out of love for his favorite quizzing website. I have yet to join it out of fear I’ll lose whole weekends to it. There was a time I was spending some serious time on Sporcle. I certainly credit to learning all 192 countries of the world and all the capitals of Europe and South America. I lost steam trying to learn the African capitals and should try to pick them up again!
Trinkhalle (Germany)
Here is a postcard from my penpal Dominique who was visiting Germany and picked up this postcard about “Trinkhalle” which means literally “Drink Hall.” It’s part of a hot springs/spa complex in Baden-Baden (itself literally “Baths-Baths”).
the Cabazon Dinosaurs (Oregon)
The Cabazon Dinosaurs are actually in California, but this postcard comes to me from Oregon where Linda continually finds great ones! She writes about her baking adventures, which is another of the reasons we’re such good friends.