Days 16 & 17: SC, NC & home!

This post covers the final two days of this big Southern roadtrip. I logged over 6,000 miles and got close to 2,000 photos for the website. There were only a few interences: backing Sparkle into a ditch, some rainy weather, and picking up a stray dog. Little "you-you" is now being fostered by a woman in Savannah. I'm sure she'll find a great home soon. This will be the last big roadtrip until the six-week jaunt to California in March. Until then, there will be additions to the website and Flickr from some smaller blog-less trips in the Northeast. Now, on with the final misc. photos.

I got to explore lots of small towns on this trip. Here are some interesting buildings from downtown Georgetown, SC:





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This arch is in Wilmington, NC. The former playground is now tennis courts.



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I went to Airlie Gardens in Wilmington to see the bottle house and wish I'd had more time to check out the rest of the place. There are beautiful gardens with artwork scattered throughout. More about the place here:
http://www.airliegardens.org/




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Kitty Dunes Realty inhabits a mid-century-looking building in Kitty Hawk, NC:





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One of my favorite places in Myrtle Beach, SC is Bark Park (aka Barc Park). It's a 12-acre fenced area for dogs to romp around off-leash. There's a giant pond, shade trees, picnic tables and benches for the humans, and some playground equipment for the dogs. It's very clean and I have never witnessed any aggressive dogs. The park is owned and operated by the City. Although I can pretty much turn my dogs loose anywhere as they come when I call them, I wish more cities had places like this.





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Most "dog parks" that I have been to are really no more than "dog runs" (with questionable sanitation and too small for dogs to spread out and have their own space). I have my favorites around the country. One of them that comes to mind is the 42-acre Dogwood Park in Jacksonville, FL:
http://www.jaxdogs.com/

For a listing of dog parks, this website is a great reference:
http://www.ecoanimal.com/dogfun/

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There was lots of time for sleeping on the long drive home for some of us. Here's Fixie in an unusual position:



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A new snack discovery (for me anyway). Grippie gives her endorsement of Cheddar Jalapeno Cheetos:



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Lastly, here are a couple signs from North Myrtle Beach that caught my eye. This Preston's sign appears to be a new one but it is still nicely done:



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This sign is from an abandoned course. Myrtle Beach has long been populated with dozens of mini golfs but most of them these days are the new elaborate type with mountains spewing molten lava, giant waterfalls, and such. I prefer the older more understated courses. There are still some old carpets and hints of what this course looked like behind an overgrown broken chain link fence. That and this sign will probably not be around for much longer.

Day 15: Georgia & South Carolina

I had a very productivfe and satisfying day. The weather was perfect and I was in some big cities which gave me some very dense photographic material. Only another day and a half left of the trip but I'm ready to settle down and put my life back in order. I'm sure the dogs look forward to their usual routine as well. Lots of photos for ya today!

As if the one-way streets didn't slow me down enough in Savannah, there was also a homecoming parade for Savannah State College which blocked off several roads. I was glad to have a good map to steer around all the various back ways to get what I needed but still it took more time than I would've liked. There are worse places to get jammed up though - it's a beautiful and interesting town. In addition to the marching bands, hand-shaking politicians, cars with waving beauty pageant winners, there were also lots of fun-loving Shriners.



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The old Globe Shoe store is a beauty:







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Just a couple doors down is another old shoe store with yet more great terrazzo. Some day I'm going to go down all the Main Streets in the U.S. and shoot just this. Maybe start a new flickr ID "terrazzonut"?



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So I've gotta mention/show the Spanish Moss -- okay, so it's an epiphyte and all that but it's so beautiful:



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I can't decide if this is cute or disgusting. Tybee Island has one of those art project things around town with differently decorated sea turtles. Here's this guy indulging in a banana split at the Sugar Shack:



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and another sea turtle pirate at the Crab Shack with a sleeping friend. It was a really busy place with mobs of people walking by and making noise. But this guy was just so used to it I guess.






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Speaking of snoozing, here's one of my roadside pals asleep at the wheel. It's usually Grip in my lap on these trips, alternating between watching scenery, sleeping, and nipping at big trucks that go by. Nik usually only takes this spot when he's freezing (after swimming in cold water). But today I guess he found a sunny patch & couldn't resist. He falls asleep in the most uncomfortable looking positions and held this one for quite awhile.



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This old Texaco is on the road between Savannah and Charleston. It looks like a fake set-up to me but it could be real I guess since it's at a major fork in the road.



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This is how they do Halloween in South Carolina I guess, the Palmetto State:



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I had never been to Charleston before and it's drop dead gorgeous. I'm coming back someday just to start a new Flickr ID and/or website called "really-old-buildings". Here are some examples:







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I told myself I'd stop shooting these Montgomery-Ward buildings but this is perhaps the most nicely preserved one I've seen:



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There are lots of brick-walled courtyards which sometimes give you a glimpse of what's on the other side:



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The buses are done up like street cars:



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And lastly, let me leave you with this delightful discovery in Charleston. You've all seen those giant inflated eagles and Uncle Sams on the roofs of car dealership but here's a unique touch. I'm told there really is a Mama and that she's in her 80s. I only missed meeting her by a few minutes and would've loved to get a posed shot with her underneath her likeness. Damn!

Day 14: Georgia

The sun finally came out which made things a lot more pleasant and productive. I had a long haul through back roads across the whole state of Georgia so am feeling pretty wiped out. Let me get these photos up this morning so I can get a little nap in before hitting the road again.

Let's start with a mid-century building from Abbeville: the Henry County Courthouse:



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Abbeville's little downtown theatre, the "Archie", is unfortunately closed as are many other theatres that I've seen on this trip:



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The facade is all that's left of the Walker Theatre in Fort Gaines. The box office looks out onto a vacant lot. The owners are working towards making it an "open air" theatre with only one third of the building having a roof.





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The Blakely Theatre (in Blakely) is closed but undergoing renovation:
http://www.early.k12.ga.us/earlycounty/community_life.htm



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Here are a couple signs that caught my eye. This giant boot sign in Albany is abandoned (the shoe repair is long gone):


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Ashburn mixes humor and civic pride. In addition to its giant peanut on I-75, the town hosts this annual festival:

Day 13: Alabama

It rained again for most of the day but I finally got a break in the afternoon. I managed to squeeze in the northern Alabama stuff I had to skip earlier in the trip and still stay on schedule. No hitches or glitches to report. I've got more photos for the blog today than for Flickr, so let's get started!

I stumbled across this little mid-century "roundie" in Irondale and while it's no architectural masterpiece, some folks might enjoy it. I don't know what it was originally but for now, it's a dentist office.







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Now if more modern businesses took this approach to signage, the world would be a better place. This giant calla lily and sculptural fence are from Birmingham:



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Miss Electra looks down on Birmingham from atop the Alabama Power Company Building:





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Here's the first group shot of the four world travelers together (well, IF I'm keeping her). This was natural posing -- not the greatest composition. But what's noteworthy is that at least little "you-you" has learned that when the van doors open, you have to wait for the "okay" to jump out. That's a step in the right direction even if she hasn't learned her name or how to pee/poop on-leash yet.



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Are you hungry? Here's a new one on me. I'm sure you're all familiar with the Southern delicacy: the moonpie. Personally, I think you have to be born here to enjoy these mushy and tasteless snacks. But I couldn't resist sampling this orange version that I hadn't seen before. It was better than the original flavor since it had a little more punch to it. A step above soft cardboard and I love the color. Hey, what do you want for 59 cents?







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But I did find some tastier items at Priester's Pecans in Fort Deposit. Priester's has this huge candy & gift shop and another location in Perry, GA. I'm a sucker for any kind of nuts. Suffice it to say, I scored enough goodies to last me the rest of the trip - and then some. They have a huge mail order / on-line business so you need not feel left out. I can whole-heartedly recommend the "pecan fiddlesticks":
http://www.priesters.com/shop/dispProductDetail.cfm?Product_ID=106



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There is an overhead viewing area where you can watch the nuts being roasted and the candy being made.





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And I just love this display -- who knew there were so many different kinds of pecans?





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Just a little further down the road is the Bama Nut Shop. How could I resist a place with signage like that? I got a huge bag of peanuts for the dogs. They love shelling the peanuts themselves and making a big ol' mess.





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While we're on the subject of nuts, I should mention the cute little figures scattered around Dothan. This town hosts the annual National Peanut Festival. Here's a patriotic little group representing the various armed forces - and more characters if you're interested here:
http://www.dcmi.com/peanuts/photo3.html




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The Byrd Drug Company in Troy is half pharmacy and half lunch room. It's not the classic counter & stools ice cream parlor arrangement. But the counter and tables set-up still has an old-fashioned feel. The signage is great and includes a neon bird in the sign affixed to the corner as well as etched glass birds on the door.







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Burger Chef fans can add this one to the list of "survivors" (well, partially anyway). This sign/building are what's left of the Ozark location.



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Getting gas down South is sure a lot more fun with these kangaroo and bunny stations. This "Hop-In" station features rabbits and bouncing colored balls on the pumps and inside the store. Sorry for the blur -- I'm not sure what happened:



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And lastly, a couple signs to lead us out of today's program. This cutesy billboard was in Luverne. I don't think it's advertising anything in particular (the other side was a painted American flag).



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This plastic sign from Birmingham is a knock-out. Apparently, this business is still in operation in some form as there was still an office inside the building. But I don't know if they still answer the phone for you.