Roadside Architecture

moving on...

2009-02-27T22:42:00.000-08:00

It's been nice blogspot... but I've decided to move on to a new home for future posts. You can find all my roadtrips (old and new) over at wordpress.com at:
http://roadsidenut.wordpress.com/

Day 46: Des Moines, IA to NYC

2008-09-16T04:47:00.001-07:00

The dogs and I only stopped for gas stations and pee breaks this last day of the trip. I always say I will schedule the ends of these trips so that I won't do this to myself but it never works out that way. We arrived home around 9pm Sunday night -- too hot and exhausted to do much. It'll take a few more days to repair my life before I start adding photos to my website. Despite the fatigue and chaos, it feels great to be home and turn the engine off for awhile. The dogs are thrilled to get back to our routine and are still catching up on their sleep.

During this six-week adventure, we covered more than 18,000 miles. I put more than $4,000 in gasoline alone on the credit card. There were five pit stops at Jiffy Lube for oil changes & maintenance ($542), the overpriced fuel pump replacement ($1339)... plus hotels, food...

... but the thousands of photos and the adventures for my dogs and me = priceless!

Here are some Nebraska photos taken before I glued myself to the steering wheel.

I love this tank of a travel trailer. It was for sale in Gibbon, NE. I can't find anything about Travelures on-line.

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Cairo, NE was named after the Cairo in Egypt because of its desert-like landscape. Streets are named Nubia, Suez, Mecca, Nile, etc. and the sports teams are known as the Cairo Camels.

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The State Theatre in Central City, NE opened in 1916 and is still going strong:

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The Lake Sunset Motel in Fremont has long been closed but the sign lives on. The bottom sign brags that this is a Ma & Pa Motel.

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A nice Art Deco F.O.E. (Fraternal Order of Eagles) Building on Main St. in Fremont, NE:

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and just down the street, this fun decorated shoe repair shop:

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The final photo stop on this trip was Omaha, NE where there were lots of buffalo statues downtown. I have never seen a buffalo run in person -- but the term "buffalo stampede" must come from somewhere. These big bronze statues defy gravity -- I suppose they have supportive piping that runs into the ground?

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The next blogged trip probably won't be until next summer when we hit the Midwest for a few weeks. Thanks for all your comments and sharing the journey with us.

Day 45: North Platte, NE to Des Moines, IA (and still going)

2008-09-13T17:33:00.000-07:00

Just a quick hi from the road as we're now barreling our way across the East. I underestimated the number of Nebraska stops but went after nearly all of them anyway. The weather was so nice today that I couldn't resist. We didn't cross over the border into IA until 4:30pm so now I will pay the price for that indulgence.

The dogs didn't get much exercise as every field I selected seemed to be a haven for nasty stickers. I had to run Nik on pavement which always bloodies his feet a bit as he scampers for ballies. Grip, who never lets me touch her feet without trying to take my hand off, was very calm for sticker removal. I had to pick out about a hundred of them from my pants and from the doggie blanket in the van.

We'll be taking the Flying J tour on the way home. Flying J truck stops have been very good to me on these cross country trips and there are a lot of 'em on this I-80 route home. Tons of them in IA, IL, IN, OH, PA -- which is just what I need. Coffee and a bathroom and internet service ($4.95 for a 24-hour pass at all their locations) is all I need. I can sit right in my van in the parking lot and log on. There's all that fun trucker stuff to look at in the store, a restaurant, and you can even take a shower if you want to. I love hearing the rumble of the idling trucks and the announcements over the intercom as I type this "Number 412, your shower is ready". With a nearly non-stop 17 hour drive ahead, I feel like a trucker myself right now.

For some reason, I can't get to their regular home page while I'm logged in. But here's info about their internet service anyway:
http://www.fjcomm.com/internet-hotspots.asp

Flying J doesn't give a crap if you sleep in your car or park your camper overnight. I'm sure you could go into the restaurant in your robe and slippers if you wanted to and no one would bat an eye. Can't beat the price! I'll probably only sleep three or four hours tonight as I'm as excited to get home as I was to begin this trip. I understand there might be nasty weather ahead as Chicago got eight inches of rain today as Tropical Storm Ike has spread to the Midwest. But, hey, it's better than driving in snow like the last Midwest trip.

Today's photos and more commentary to come Monday morning. Back on the road now -- heave ho!

Day 44: Colorado Springs, CO to North Platte, NE

2008-09-12T19:06:00.000-07:00

It rained all day as predicted -- but not heavily so I was still able to shoot. Very quickly and with much wiping off of the camera. Hopefully, I won't have too many blurred or streaky photos. I made it through all my CO stops and feel good about that. The weather looks like it will be much nicer tomorrow, alas, when I'm on the interstate.

The dogs were pretty rambunctious in the van -- constant playing between Nik and Grem -- which means constant barking of Grip and Fix. Well, it kept me from getting drowsy. Because of the rain, the only one who got any true exercise -- though never enough -- was Nik. He would chase his ball in a field of fire I think. There are no dog parks in the plans for the rest of the trip so I'll just look for abandoned lots or deserted parks off the interstate.

Here's the plan: I've barely entered NE and am a good 24 hours of straight driving from home with two days to do it in. So I'll do the rest of my NE stops tomorrow (Saturday) -- there aren't many. Then I'll blow off the IA, IL, and IN stops I had planned. Those will have to wait until next summer's big Midwest trip. I'll drive as far East as I humanly can tomorrow night and skip the Flickr uploads and this blog in favor of sleep. I'll catch up on Monday morning when I'm home.

These photos are from Colorado Springs unless noted. I was surprised to see this sign still there with development going on all around it and a terrible location next to the highway. The cowboy is painted rather strangely -- it's not the blurriness of the rain in this case:

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This motel, the Dun Rovin' (love the name!) looks like it's been closed awhile. Sadly, the doors are all boarded up and there's a big dumpster under the porte cochere (I love using that name but really, it just means carport). Even though it's closed, the neon for "office" and fittingly "sorry" are still lit, even during the day. From the remaining concrete posts, it looks like the rooms had long rows with these midcentury legs as well.

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This plastic sign is not all that special but the cowboy detail is nice:

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I've driven by a lot of chainsaw art on this trip but I've never seen a gnome before. This guy was in Manitou Springs, CO:

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I like the way the artist cleverly merged the "K" with a spatula. This sign is from Holyoke, CO.

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And lastely, this giant cheery flower was a nice break from the rain and gloom. This was south of (possibly in) Julesburg, CO. The photo was taken near dusk and came out so dark that I had to pump up the brightness considerably. It makes the photo look a little surreal but so be it.

Day 43: Denver to Colorado Springs

2008-09-11T19:06:00.000-07:00

A fairly grey and cool day with some light rain here and there. I won't complain since I've had fantastic weather nearly every day on this trip. However, I understand that it's supposed to rain non-stop all day tomorrow here in Colorado Springs. We'll see if they got it right. If it's ridiculous, I guess I'll just start the trek home early. Well, not really early since I'm probably a day and half behind and have a LONG way to go.

I was glad I missed out on being back in NYC on 9/11. That's always such a depressing day. I didn't notice a minute of silence this morning in Denver if there was one. I avoided the news on the radio today, too. What more can be said really.

I found a fenced legit dog park in Denver today for the dogs to stretch out. Nik was delirious to be running again after being cooped up for a day and a half. Even Fixie, who's been pretty bored and sulky lately, was happy to be doing tricks for cheese today. Grip is staying in shape retrieving -- still very active and fit for an 11 year old. Grem saw some squirrels running around outside the fence and was busy trying to figure how to get at them. She finally got her body halfway under the fence and I quickly snagged her and hooked her up. I had a lot of other dog parks on my list today but skipped them when I read "natural barriers". Yeah, right -- like split rail fencing and brush would be enough to keep my hunters in. "Natural barriers" sounds more like "critter nesting areas" to me. I'll be happy to be back home in Prospect Park where the squirrels know better than to come down from the trees before off-leash ends at 9am.

One disappointment -- Lakeside Amusement Park was closed. Only open Fri-Sat-Sun and this was a Thursday. This is my second attempt (four years ago it was closed for the season). A lot of old neon, some funky rides and a carousel that I really wanted to see. Some day.

One surprise -- I stopped at the Air Force Academy to hopefully see the interior of the Chapel. Last time, it was closed to the public on Sundays (I think that was the day). This time, there was majority security at the gate. They had to inspect the van while I took the dogs out. Asked lots of questions. In 2004, I just drove right in. Also, you had to park much further from the chapel. They almost didn't let me in saying the visitor center closed 20 minutes ago and the chapel would therefore be closed. I begged to let me in to take exterior shots & they gave in to that. When I got there, the door was open! A couple people inside playing guitar and chatting. They didn't question me so I grabbed my photos quickly. A breathtaking place -- glad it worked out!

Time for the photos. Just about everything here was from Denver or suburbs unless otherwise noted. The Lakewood Heritage Center had some fun stuff (the diner and the barber shop appear at the Flickr stream tonight). The also had this neat sidewalk with representations of signs (most of them gone):

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I've been seeing a lot of old Sinclair stations in CO. I think these pumps are old and have been retrofitted with new pump handles, etc. They have a real 1970s robot look to me. But maybe they are newer than that?

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A contemporary sign but nicely done:

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The Lakeside Amusement Park Tower, sigh -- I'll get into that place someday:

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The former Federal Theatre. I'm not sure what it's being used for now. Behind the Art Deco era marquee is evidence of a much older building:

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I love the way this motel integrated the sign and building:

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I don't think I've been to a zoo in 15 years or more. I have a hard time supporting caged animals, etc. I know, I know, they're deeply involved in conservation and all that now. But somehow, it's still animals confined in small spaces with humans gawking. To the Denver Zoo's credit, the place was very nice and I saw lots of personnel at the exhibits making copious observation notes about their animals. In my mad dash to the carousel that I just HAD to see and was the sole reason I reluctantly forked out the $12, I couldn't help but take a quick glance around. All the animals seemed to be eating - which made me hungry.

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These hornbills were grooming each other. I don't know if it was a parent/child, husband/wife or just buddy/buddy thing:

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These cheetahs seemed a bit unhappy to me. They were in a big, naturalistic enclosure but pacing back and forth all along the fencing. Maybe they pace in nature but I doubt it. Maybe they were just waiting for the delivery of dinner. I'll reserve judgement since I really know nothing of cheetahs or zoos really.

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I'm glad that there are places like this when the need arises (from Colorado Springs):

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And, in closing, another bit of signage from Colorado Springs. This place was really busy -- covered with paper signs and the bulbs and neon working nicely:

Day 42: Colorado (Avon to Denver)

2008-09-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

I found out in the morning that I wasn't through the Rockies at all. There was still a lot more mountainous driving to do. Then, I had a bunch of stops north of Denver before I got down to the busy city stuff. I'm only about halfway through the Denver area stops so I'll keep banging away tomorrow. There's a big chunk of Colorado Springs stuff next in my stack so I guess I'll go south for a bit though any sane person wouldn't. I'm at least a day behind schedule and it's looking like the Iowa stuff will get nixed so I can get home in time for work. Yes, I DO work for a living and it's got nothing to do with roadside stuff or taking pictures. In fact, I'll be working as much OT as they will allow so I can whittle away at the credit card debt that's piled up on this trip.

Nik and Grem didn't get off leash at all today since I discovered that Colorado is abundant in prairie dogs. Grip & Fix are only slightly interested in those dirt mounds so they got privileges. But Nik and Grem were screaming frothing pulling nightmares. I was VERY careful each time I opened the van door as I didn't trust those possessed dogs one bit. Grem is definitely small enough to fit in their tunnels. I think the prairie dogs enjoyed tormenting the dogs with their squeaking. I saw fields with hundreds of them today.

The weather was pretty warm for a few hours (low 90s) but there was a breeze and it was still much better than it was in Central CA. I did put the A/C on when the dogs started panting. But there's something definitely wrong as it was cooler outside the van so I turned if off. So I hope we're done with the worst of the weather. It got grey and dark for about a half hour but then cleared up. By 5pm, there were so many clouds at the sunset horizon that it was really too dark to be shooting but I kept at it. Most of the day was gorgeous though with loads of fluffy white clouds and blue skies.

Now, on with the photos. In Loveland, this looks like it was originally an icebox gas station. Although, it's remotely possible that it might have always been a cleaners:

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The devilish creatures that made two of my dogs nuts:

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A business in Englewood -- that appeared to still be selling violets. Unfortunately, the other side of this sign was pretty bashed up:

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A still-functioning gas station in Englewood. I haven't seen old pumps like this in operation in a long time.

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A new business and sign in Englewood:

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An unusual Mission style building in Englewood:

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The Smart Car dealership in Denver. I think these cars are even cuter parked in groups. Especially when they only take up half a parking spot each.

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A huge, adapted sign in Denver. I'm glad this bible store kept the shape even though it's pretty irrelevant to what they are selling. Although I guess they have painted the suggestion of a dove on this kettle.

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I'm sure this one in Denver must have revolved at one time:

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This guy is on the roof of Spin N Chicken in Denver. He was hard to shoot as there was apparently not enough air going into his body to get him fully upright. I've seen a lot of these generic flailing guys, but never a chef before.

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And lastly, a couple old painted wall signs in downtown Denver on Champa St.

Day 41: Ogden, UT to Avon, CO

2008-09-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

Although I did a lot of driving today, I'm still about a day behind schedule. I'm also feeling pretty weary and am tempted at times to bag it and just hit the interstate for home. But I will try to hang in there for a few more days because there's still a lot of good stuff on my lists and who knows when I'll make it this far west again.

I didn't have a lot of stuff to shoot in Southeast Utah but I was glad I went a little out of my way for the stops anyway. It started pouring when I got to Green River and I had to actually stop for safety for about 20 minutes. Incredibly strong winds, torrential rain, and I was worried about flash flooding and crazy reckless drivers. Then it cleared up and I went back to work.

I drove through the Rockies in the dark. It wasn't as scary as April's trip during the snowstorm. Still, it was pretty nerve-wracking since it started raining and the lighting was not great. Before this leg, I had gulped down a 20 oz. SuperRev coffee (or whatever the gas station called it) because I was feeling a little drowsy and had a two and a half hour drive ahead of me. But I really didn't need the help.

The dogs were a bit deprived today. The only water I found was at these state park situations where there were huge signs saying "NO DOGS -- EVEN ON BOATS. DRINKING WATER". Other rest areas had weird "no dogs" signs, too. But I managed to find some construction sites, etc. where they could run a bit. Some sticker balls though so everyone but Nik is being a little cautious about where they step.

On with the photos... Some nice old signs in Price, UT:

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An abandoned one in the weeds:

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I'm not sure what will become of this one -- the building below is now vacant:

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Also in Price, this building detail at a flower shop. Maybe it has always been one.

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I had never been to Moab before and it was definitely worth the extra hour or so detour. In addition to the breathtaking red rocks, there is the famous and wonderfully tacky tourist attraction:
http://www.theholeintherock.com/

I didn't feel the desire to take the tour of the house. I was really there to see a couple neon signs and just the spectacle of the place. There is a lot of sculptural stuff there and a petting zoo as well. I was careful not to park the dogs next to the emus or kangaroos.

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Just north of the Hole in the Rock was this hillside rock formation. It looks like an animal's head to me:

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And lastly, later, taken while driving, on I-70 headed for Colorado:

Day 40: Reno, NV to Ogden, UT

2008-09-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

Somehow I think my numbering got off. I think this is really Day 39. Close enough! It feels more like Day 60 at this point. I'm eager to get home but there are still a lot of stops and maps to get through. It breaks up the tedium of the interstate anyway. Today was an excruciating example. I had done a thorough job of northern NV on the last trip so it left me pretty much driving from Reno to Salt Lake with nothing in between. Straight line, desert landscape -- pretty in a desolate sort of way. I found a park with grass in Battle Mountain for the dogs to run & sniff a bit. Otherwise, we were all pretty much prisoners.

After I finally got sick of the news babble about Sarah Palin, the Casey/Caley story, and Hurricane Ike, I switched over to music for the rest of the day. NPR did have some good stories though which helped with the boring drive -- including one about global "weirding". That's evidently a more accurate description of what we're in for rather than just "warming" (extremes of hot and cold, more hurricanes, tornados in cities where there haven't been so before, etc.).

We arrived in Utah around 5pm which only gave me enough time to grab the quick shots I needed in Salt Lake City and Ogden. Lost an hour's worth of shooting with a time change as well. Tomorrow, I'll finish up Utah and head on to Colorado. Running about a half day behind still and traffic didn't help. There was tons of road construction on I-80 which slowed things down to a crawl what seemed like every 10 miles. Then two big accidents near SLC -- one which closed I-80 just west of town, then another rubbernecker just north of town.

I stopped by Wells, NV to check on the status of this place which was damaged in a big earthquake back in February. Sure enough, it's still fenced off and has not been repaired:

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This sign in Ogden appears to be a newbie -- still, they get an A for effort. The sign is lit at night as well:
http://flickr.com/photos/19505510@N00/2111795423/

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I have never seen this kind of bird before. He was like a combination of crow and pheasant -- a very long tail and a confident big hop. I poked around a little on-line and I think he might be some kind of magpie. Does anyone know for sure?

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As if that bird didn't give the dogs enough to bark at, there was one of those dreaded art projects in Ogden. Fixie, who usually is very reserved, went ballistic over this faux horse:

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Even camouflaged, the troops went nuts over this one. So I guess it must be the shape without needing any details. Anything with four legs and a head/neck? Did the unusual-ness of this one's coloration make it more unnerving for them? I really can't say.

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And lastly, I noticed this little place, Jack's Shoe Repair in Ogden, had moved to a location. It left behind these nice little details that will probably be gone soon.

Day 39: Modesto, CA to Reno, NV

2008-09-08T00:17:00.001-07:00

I slugged it out in the Central Valley today and finished up CA. It was as hot as predicted and the dogs were panting by 11am. So I cranked up the AC in the van. Even on the coldest temperature seeting with medium speed fans, it's probably about 75 degrees inside -- so something must be wrong. But it's enough to keep us reasonably comfortable and get us through this trip I hope.

Although many of the stops today were repeats to make up for the accidently deleted photos, I stumbled upon new things so it made the replacement effort worth it. It also made me aware of how much stuff is out there that I have missed/don't know about and will have to go back for some other year.

I found a grassy park in Lodi early in the day for the dogs to run on. Then it was dry dirt undeveloped areas until the end of the day. I went to check out a fenced doggie area at the Sparks Marina. It wasn't huge -- but plenty big enough and had an open end into the water. It was surprisingly cold and Nik could only handle about 10 minutes of swimming in it before he started shivering. The fencing was vertical bars which would've been very easy for Grem to fit between. But luckily I kept her busy enough running around for Cuz toys. There were also some big dogs for her to run with and muck on the shoreline for her to sniff and sample.

I made the decision to stop in Reno so that I could shoot some neon signs that I won't have the chance to see til who knows when again. I've only been to Reno once before and wasn't here at night. There are so many wonderful old signs left but sadly most of them are either partly lit or not at all. I was too tired to push on to eastern NV anyway in the dark. I'm about a half day behind now so some of my plans for stuff closer to home may get ditched.

Here's a nice sign from Stockton. The businesses below it don't seem to fit in with the hat theme so I'm glad they have let it live on.

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Another sign just below it -- it seemed to be working:

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I have witnessed a lot of these corner human advertisements lately. Morrison Homes has people dancing with giant arrows. I think all the Mr. Pickle's Sandwich Shops have them. This guy was really getting into it despite the 100+ degree weather (plus uniform). I asked him, as he was dancing, how he does it. He said he just likes it. Drinks a lot of water. Sometimes listens to rap music. Here's a bit more about these dancing Mr. P mascots:
http://media.www.theorion.com/media/storage/paper889/news/2007/02/28/Features/Whats.The.Dill.With.Mr.Pickle-2746607.shtml

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Here's a modern sign from Grass Valley:

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I finally managed to find the Lincoln Highway marker that I had wanted to see on the previous trip through Reno. This used to be a bridge but is now just sort of a display. It is relegated to a highway pull-off on eastbound I-80 just past mile marker 6. You'd never know it was there from the cryptic "historic marker" mention on the interstate.

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Let's end with a couple signs from Reno. This one seems strange to me because they seem to have repainted the guy's face but left the rest of the sign faded. Personally, I find that a good compromise as too often old signs are spruced up pretty poorly. I'd rather have the patina look:

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This one seems unique to me. I've never seen an Arby's sign with neon and chasing bulbs before:

Day 38: San Francisco to Modesto, CA

2008-09-06T22:36:00.001-07:00

It's great to be back in the Central Valley -- not. 9pm here and it's 91 degrees. Sparkle's A/C seemed suspiciously weak today in S.F. so I turned it off in hopes of saving it for when I really need it. Like tomorrow -- where it's expected to be over 100 degrees for at least a couple days. Sheesh -- it's September already and I had hoped things would start to cool for us by now on our return trip. I doubt I'll be able to find Nik and Grem anywhere to swim tomorrow either.

I felt very sad to be leaving the coast today -- not just because of the nice weather but also because I don't have any clear idea when I'll be back in California. One week to get back home and start paying for this trip. The reality of closure is starting to set in -- but I'm anxious to settle down and straighten out my life. Six weeks is WAY too long to be away but I really wanted to cover the West Coast in a serious way since it's a long drive out here.

On with the photos! There probably won't be as many per posting from here on out as I'll be stuck in the driver's seat more than usual.

The seagulls at Fisherman's Wharf seem to have the good life. This guy seemed exceptionally clean and self-confident as he assessed whether I might have snacks for him.

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The Palace of Fine Arts has always been one of my favorite S.F. buildings. Unfortunately, the main rotunda was covered with scaffolding for restoration. So you'll have to settle for a couple shots of the other part of the building and a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Fine_Arts

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Just north of the Presidio, there was a breast cancer installation with hundreds of pink tents. I wish I had had the time to find a better vantage point as it was visually stunning.
http://cms.komen.org/komen/NewsEvents/BreastCancer3-Day/index.htm

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At least Haight-Ashbury hasn't changed all that much in 25+ years:

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While I was there in the Haight, there were some people working the crowds promoting and demonstrating this Polaroid Pogo printer that hooks up to your digital camera or camera phone. I can't think of any use for it myself -- but other people seemed into the concept:
http://globetrottingv.blogspot.com/2008/08/tech-travel-polaroid-pogo.html
http://www.polaroid.com/pogo/us/

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I saw a couple of these neat little tour buses around town. They have a really neat ooo-ga horn:
http://www.mrtoadstours.com/

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No one's gonna miss the Pacific more than my little boy, Nik. He really, really wanted to get out on this stretch of beach this afternoon -- but he'd already been swimming twice today and his poopie is getting loose again. I'll miss his squealing and whimpering fondly in retrospect once this trip is over.

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On the other hand, Fixie is dead tired at this point. Her reaction when we pull over for beach time is more like "do we have to?" She really likes when I put the armrest down so she can use it as a pillow. She will be SO happy to be home.

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A cute bunch of houses on the same block -- shot just minutes before leaving town:

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And about an hour later, we had arrived in hot, hot Pleasanton. A nicely painted mural shows what the local landscape looks like:

Day 37: San Francisco

2008-09-05T21:52:00.001-07:00

A very hot and exhausting day in San Francisco. The weather was not at all like I remembered it -- maybe I was never here in August before. So much for fog and needing to put on a sweater every 15 minutes. It must've been near 90 today. I love the city but I driving up and down steep hills stresses me out. And Grip clearly doesn't care for cable cars -- those crammed vehicles with people hanging off the sides gave her something new to bark at.

The look of the place is not how I remembered it either (25 years later). The neighborhoods I knew well (Columbus, the Marina area, downtown) are not even recognizable to me now (new businesses, new development). The gritty areas are no longer gritty. I covered a lot of ground despite the one-way streets and traffic. I just might be able to pull off finishing S.F. tomorrow and getting some other nearby cities in. Since tomorrow's Saturday, I should get off to a light-traffic start at 8am (usually when I start shooting).

The dogs got to play at two legit dog parks in town. Mid-day, we went to check out McLaren Park. There's a small pond (reservoir) for the dogs to play in which helped cool them off. There were some ducks that Grem thought she might catch but they paddled along just out of her reach for about five minutes til she got too cold and had to come back to shore.

At the end of the day, we went to Crissy Field which is right at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. Incredible views and it seems the whole waterfront is off-leash. There were way too many people so we went further down across a bridge. There were a lot of windsurfers and photographers set up to shoot the sunset behind the bridge but we stayed out of their way. Everything was great til Grem disappeared into the fenced off protected area. So I had to have someone hold my dogs while I climbed the fence and went looking for her. When I finally got her after about 5 long minutes, she got put back on leash for the rest of the time there. She is such a hunter -- everything's fine as long as I work like a maniac to keep her busy with ball/treat/ball/treat.

I was relieved that Nik was so focused on his Dinosaur Cuz (squeaky dog toy) that he didn't notice the sea lions swimming and barking when they cruised by only about 30 feet from shore. He surely would have gone after them had it not been for his toy. There were also pelicans flying around. What an incredible place!

On with today's photos. The painted wall advertisement for Shasta. I love this little guy!

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This has to be one of the most dramatic arrow signs that I've ever seen - complete with martini:

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A lot of sad used-ta-be movie theatres on Mission. Some will make it to my website but these won't:

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Some streetscapes. This one is rather scary:

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A couple doggie shots from my lap while stuck in traffic. I don't think Grem had ever heard the violin before. I think she kind of liked it. This performer was in front of Neiman Marcus:

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Grip is the only dog that I know of that recognizes 2-D representations of animals and people. She barked at this guy on the bus advertisement next to us.

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An artpiece on an abandoned building on Howard Street entitled "Defenestration". It features the illusion of furniture & stuff being thrown from the windows.
http://www.metaphorm.org/pages/portfolio/defenestration/defen.html

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A couple nice plastic signs:

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A more realistic turn-around cleaning time. I'm told that no one really does it in one hour anyway:

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It seems so disrespectful to see these modern logos slapped right on these great Art Deco buildings:

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And lastly, an iconic photo of San Francisco. Ah, yes, the sailboats on the water and the Bay Bridge -- with a homeless person's shopping cart in the foreground. I've sure seen a lot of economic disparity on this trip. I won't get into politics in this blog, but hopefully the next President can bring some positive change to America.

Day 36: Santa Cruz to almost San Francisco

2008-09-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

Finished up stuff in Santa Cruz in the morning and stumbled upon a legal doggie area on the beach north of where all the surfers are. Huge waves and Nik got thrashed around a bit but it didn't stop his enjoyment. He's got diarrhea though which I assume is from swallowing way too much salt water during the past couple days. But he's a good boy and pokes my ear repeatedly when he needs me to pull over.

Working northward from Santa Cruz, I got to the El Camino Real cities early afternoon. Other than the things that were on my list, not much else is left. Very sad since when I left California about 25 years ago, there were still tons of neon signs, old motels, cafes, etc. left there. Now, it's just like everywhere else -- all the chains, new big developments, and much more wealthy now. Sometimes as I sat at stoplights (way too many of them, and the sequences are incredibly long in CA), I'd do car inventory from the light. BMW, BMW, Audi, Lexus, Prius, BMW, Sparkle...

According to my schedule, I've got two more days left for CA which is going to be a hustle as I am just outside the San Francisco city limits now & have obviously much to shoot there. I'll do what I can but I have a feeling Iowa plans might be getting the cut.

The Peter Pan Motel sign in Santa Cruz is a bit faded but still fun:

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Still wet and sandy, Nik decides the best place to doze is with his head resting on the "magic box" that contains his assorted favorite toys. I'm sure he can smell them through the plastic.

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Redwood City has been claiming its "climate best by government test" since the 1920s:
http://www.ci.redwood-city.ca.us/about/local_history/exhibits/climate_best/climate_best.html

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I went to Malibu Castle Golf & Games in Redwood City to check out the mini golf -- which was nothing all that special. The mini golfs at these places always require a walk through the arcade and snack bar area so I take a quick look around. I haven't seen this Percussion Master game before (not that I'm an expert). These girls were having a great but serious time.

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I had to chop off the title of this game in order to get more of the game itself in -- and of course now I've forgotten the name. But anyway, the concept is earthquake-related. That's San Francisco's Transamerica Building (or whatever they're calling it these days) at the back, etc.

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As I was saying earlier in this post, there's not a lot of old stuff left on El Camino Real now. I did find several fun mid-century buildings in San Carlos. This one appears to have been a former car showroom. There was nowhere to safely park Sparkle on this now superhighway so I left her here for scale. The glass walls were removed and the interior linoleum is visible. I don't know how long the remains have been like this but I'd imagine it won't be long before there are more bland stores like all the others at this spot.

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I don't know what this building used to be but it seems to have been subdivided and reused by new businesses now:

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And, lastly, I don't know if this has always been a tire store but it has a nify V-shaped roof and complementary signage.

Day 35: Salinas to Santa Cruz, CA

2008-09-03T21:08:00.001-07:00

There was a lot of driving but not a lot of picture-taking today. From Salinas, I went down to shoot some things further south to Paso Robles and then decided to take the coastal route back up. I knew it would take more time -- but it would be cooler and prettier. I took that route up to S.F. from L.A. many times a couple decades ago when I lived here in CA. It was even prettier, twistier, and more time-consuming than I remembered.

The dogs, of course, got many beach romps out of the route. Nik would start Irish dancing every couple hours and making me nuts. The smell and sight of the ocean were driving him (and consequently) Grem mad. I remember stopping at least in San Simeon and Monterey -- finding little pockets of beach there where no one was around. I had heard that Carmel's beaches were all off-leash. So I toughed out the traffic and snootiness of the place to have a look-see. Sure enough, many dogs there were off-leash but they all seemed to be the laid-back types. Not like my monsters running, jumping, yapping, crashing in the surf. We were a spectacle I guess to the mucky-mucks and tourists on the beach I suppose.

Grem bullied some a couple Lab puppies a bit (twice her size), Nik retrieved his ballie in BIG waves, Fix got loving from the crowds who always find her adorable and ask "what breed is she?", and Grip stuck close by me for ballie/cheese sequencing (from about 3pm on all she thinks about is her next meal). One of their favorite parts of the Carmel experience was a gigantic dead sea lion -- at least that's what I think it was. It must've been 7 feet long and dead for awhile (pee-uuu). The dogs sniffed and I think licked at it (ick!) -- I prayed they didn't roll on/against it. I couldn't figure out how people could just set up their towels and umbrellas about 20 feet away like it wasn't there. I went way down the beach from it but had to keep going back to get one of the dogs who couldn't resist the fragrance.

There aren't many photos for this posting of Flickr tonight since most of the day was spent either behind the wheel or in the sand. But the next few days should make up for it as I have a huge list & stack of maps for the S.F. area.

Perhaps I've been on the road too long -- or been admiring too many neon signs on this trip. But at this point, any bit of neon catches my eye. This arrow sign is from the roof of the Wagon Wheel Motel in Salinas:

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I've seen a couple old (1960s/70s?) Mobil station signs like this with separate letters but I don't recall seeing any Shell stations:

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Lots and lots of beautful coastline, Big Sur type trees, fog, bridges, etc. but no photos of them. I saw tons of people at vistas shooting with their digital cameras -- even passengers with their video cameras stuck out windows as they were driving the California Coast. I always find that sort of thing too boring to look at in itty bitty photos. You had to be there.

In Castroville, I decided to get a local "delicacy" (probably just tourists like myself that eat them): deep-fried artichoke hearts. This was just a half order but was enough for a $6 dinner. There were about a dozen of them -- not bad! Not too greasy and the batter was pretty thin and not overwhelming.

Day 34: San Jose to Salinas, CA

2008-09-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

San Jose took up most of the day. I had quite a lot of stuff there and it's a bigger town than I thought (spread out). The weather got pretty hot -- mid 90s and by the time I moved south, I saw bank clocks at 100 degrees. I'm hoping by noon tomorrow to be back on the coast for a few days. I won't be in any rush to leave San Francisco for Nevada and Utah! Though stops will be much fewer by then as I'll be pretty much hustling home. 12 more days to go.

The dogs were back in stickery fields today though I did find some skanky rivers to play in a couple times. Temperature extremes (the heat or the AC) seem to wipe them out -- esp. in the afternoons. There's usually a couple hours then when I can get in and out for photo-taking and nobody moves a muscle. The mornings (pre-finding that first place to romp) and evenings (pre-dinner) are the worst (barking and other forms of insanity).

All of today's photos are from San Jose unless indicated. One of my favorite discoveries was this terrific piñata shop:

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95% of the time when I go to re-enter the van after taking a photo, this is what I see. Grem moves into the driver's seat and pretends to have been there for hours (even though it's been seconds). She has her back to me and doesn't make eye contact when I open the door. Denial that I will really boot her out? Sometimes she even softly growls at me as I nudge her over. Sheesh! The huge van, plenty of sun elsewhere, but no -- she wants MY seat! P.S. That's Fixie in the passenger seat looking miserably exhausted.

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The 10th Street Pharmacy has this neat giant mortar & pestle:

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I love this lotsa glass building:

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A nice old cleaners -- but what really gets me is "Miss Careful":

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A pay toilet -- unfortunately, I wasn't "in need" enough to pay & take photos inside. We have these in NYC and they are just as ridiculously huge and forbidding. Why can't the city/cities just have fancy porta potties -- and more of them. On this trip, I have gone right by a number of construction sites and if nobody's around and I have to go, I just use the porta potty. Can they arrest me for that? Trespassing, private property?

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An incredible, nicely preserved Squirt sign. The two sides were different so I include them both. Just looking at that bottle makes me thirsty.

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Just one more sign before I go. This one for an exterminator company -- kind of a clever, euphemistic name:

Day 33: Oakland to San Jose

2008-09-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

A bit warmer here today (high upper 80s?) but it was nothing compared to a few days ago further inland. I got tons of photos and there will be plenty to choose from tonight for Flickr and this posting. The van is chugging along reliably. I was surprised that most businesses were open despite today being Labor Day. I had to hop on the interstate a bit in the early evening but luckily the traffic was jammed up going the other way.

No dog parks today but I found a deserted piece of bay in Oakland that adjoined a college -- no one around so we grabbed some running and swimming time. At dusk, I found a closed down business park with a huge golf course like green area. A really nice change from the usual dry, stickery fields that these guys are used to. Both Grip and Fix got the zoomies and were running gleefully around, tucked tails, in the vast springy softness of it. Weeeee!

Most of my time was spent in Oakland yesterday. So unless indicated otherwise, that's where these photos were taken. This repair shop sign is mostly concealed behind a more billboardy type sign:

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I like the variety of shapes in this one. The "hot dogs" piece (or whatever it used to read) must have spun originally:

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I love this place. I don't know how evident it is in the photo but the "interior" is all craggy and cave-like. And the color is sensational.

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Paul's Newsstand is an Alameda landmark. Unfortunately, it was closed I guess because of the holiday. Here's a bit about it:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20060820/ai_n16672576

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A random block on San Jose St. in Alameda exemplifying the Bay Area's diversity. Personally, I love all these houses.

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Back in Oakland, a couple next-door-neighbor used car lots. This OK sign looks almost handmade -- the lettering looks like a stuck-on decal as opposed to the usual embossed plastic or neon type:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/193295652/

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I've never seen a heart-shaped car lot sign before. The bulb pattern on this was a pointing arrow.

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I saw several of these martini signs today. This one was in nice shape:

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This sign was at TNT Liquor in Hayward. I assume the neon fish is a Christian add-on from much later?

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And lastly, an incredible place in Oakland -- I have a lot more photos of it but it's time to get rolling so I'll include just this one. The Robert Howden & Sons Building from 1925 was used as their tile factory. The entire building is covered with beautiful tile and terra cotta details. Here's a photo of the side of the building:
http://flickr.com/photos/coy_mistress/2660386486/

Day 32: Berkeley & More

2008-08-31T22:10:00.000-07:00

It was delightfully cool today (comparatively) and I got a lot done. Most of the day was spent north of and then into Berkeley proper. I got started on some of the Oakland stuff but I'm realizing this Bay Area list is really going to take a good number of days to get through. After Oakland, we'll be dropping down south towards San Jose and then further south. Then I'll be coming back up via the coast for San Francisco area stuff. Splitting up the Bay Area in this way should give me and Sparkle a decent break from daily city traffic. Tomorrow is Labor Day so hopefully traffic will be light and help me navigate a lot of cityness.

The dogs and I got to check out Point Isabel today in Richmond. We spent more than an hour there (a lot of valuable shooting time but it was a great place). The water was too cold for Nik to swim much but there were 21 acres of running room -- and no real signs of critters in the bushes or gopher holes. There's even a "Sit and Stay Cafe", as well as "Mudpuppies" (a dog wash & toy shop) right there in the parking area. Here's some more info about this place:
http://www.mudpuppys.com/ptisabel.html
http://www.bahiker.com/eastbayhikes/ptisabel.html

A huge fading-away old sign in Rodeo:

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I love this inventive use of the donut shape -- this store in Richmond:

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This sign appeared to read "Bab's Donuts" is also in Richmond. It most likely related to the business below which is still somewhat a convenience store but mostly seems to be engaged in small-scale wholesaling for lunchwagons and that sort of thing. Maybe the sign was installed wrong? The arrow points towards the road.

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Berkely has many examples of storybook style houses -- and since I don't have a section at my website for them, I'll just throw some examples in here. If you're interested in these kinds of places, there's a great website and book about them:
http://storybookers.com/

Here are a couple of great, giant houses on Spruce St:

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A couple other smaller scale houses on Ross Street:

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A fascinating modern house in Berkeley -- it's nicknamed the "Fish House". But more properly, it's known as the Tsui House:
http://www.tdrinc.com/tsuihs.html

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And lastly, from Oakland, a couple more signs. This one is at "Original Steele's" (a still operating scuba shop):

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And this one is a fun twist on the Rent-a-Wreck car rental concept:

Day 31: Sacramento Area to Bay Area

2008-08-30T20:16:00.001-07:00

It was another brutal day in and around Sacramento. But I diligently banged away at the list and have arrived in a much more pleasant place on earth. Cool and breezy in Lafayette tonight! The dogs and I are much relieved. Tomorrow should be all coastal as well. Sparkle held up well despite the abuse of temperature and traffic. I don't know why I haven't seen more overheated cars on the side of the road in the past few days. The people look ridiculously comfortable walking around and riding bikes in that scorching weather as well. I guess all things (people, animals, and cars) just get used to it.

Here's the crew in Chico early in the day, before it got hot:

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In Gridley, someone went to the trouble to put this tractor way up on a pole. It's a used car lot below now. Maybe "Liberty Inc." was a tractor sales and/or repair place before (this is farming country).

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I imagine this sign in Sacramento had a lot more detail and neon once upon a time. Still, I'm glad that at least the shape has been reused. Does anyone know what this used to advertise?

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This much smaller guy in Sacramento, only about two feet long, is hanging in there. I think the Delux Barber Shop is now gone (windows covered). The other side of this sign doesn't have any neon at all:

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Four of Sacramento's finest. Horsie #1 was impatient about being photo-ed I guess. That'll teach me to take more than one photo for subjects that can move.

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From Pleasant Hill: a memorial from 1927 that pays tribute to the Contra Costa County soldiers that served in World War I. I'm not much into memorials or war stuff -- but I liked the Art Deco styling of this one (and of course the "spikey" on top).

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And, lastly, a nice little shopping center sign in Lafayette that has managed to escape updating and renaming. There's so much to love about the sign: its three-sidedness both above and below, the gold poles, the ballies, the lantern/clock, and that little bit of neon.

Day 30: I-5 Corridor, North of Sacramento

2008-08-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

The good news: Sparkle is back in action. The bad news: I think I was ripped off big time -- $1339 for a new fuel pump. I was a little shaken up after having broken down yesterday -- and then putting my van back on the road in 110 degree heat for a full day's worth of driving. I usually drive about 12-14 hours per day, turning the engine off only for getting gas & doggie romps. But Sparkle's holding up well god bless her. The heat was absolutely excruciating today. As soon as I can get through this Sacramento & inland area, I'm off to the Bay Area and coastal stuff. I sure miss those beautiful beaches we enjoyed just a couple days ago.

I did find a nice lake in the afternoon near Mount Shasta. The dogs were freezing after just a few minutes of swimming in it. I think it was fed by a river from the mountains. But we still all enjoyed the sudden shocking cold water. Much earlier in the day, I had located a schoolyard near the mechanics' that had just had sprinklers on so the dogs got some exercise and got a bit wet there. When I stopped throughout the day, they were obviously dumbfounded by the outside world being SO much hotter than inside the van.

I'm glad there no pet cemeteries or amusement parks on my list today that required a lot of walking around. Here's a neat laundromat sign from Corning:

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Redding has a little motel strip that reminded me of Reno or Vegas. Or maybe it was just the heat of the place that made them seem similar. Here are two side by side classics, now on the seedy side, with signage from both ends of their buildings.

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I saw Western references in Red Bluff, Redding and elsewhere along the I-5 corridor. It seemed appropriate since it was just as hot and dry as West Texas.

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Once you enter the Mount Shasta area, there is suddenly relief with pine trees and slightly cooler temperatures. Here in Dunsmuir, the Cave Springs Resort advertises from the higher "sleep under the trees". They have a pretty scripty neon sign over the canopy (and a not so nice but still fairly old plastic pole sign).

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Just up the road, there is apparently an older resort with a dramatic entrance:

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The little town of Weed (not the nicest name -- maybe it's named after someone?) has several cute motels with photo-worthy signs and a very nice totem pole:

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I'm not sure what type of wild-and-crazy pine tree this is. It looks more like a branch in this photo -- but it's a giant tree.

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And finally, my last photo stop for the day, way up just north of Yreka. I'm glad I went out of my way for this dragon. He was pretty magnificent. Made from recycled materials.

Day 29: Inland Northern CA

2008-08-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

It was incredibly hot today -- over 100 degrees on the bank clocks that I passed (Petaluma, Sonoma, Napa, Fairfield). The dogs were the lucky ones -- comfortable in the van most of the day. Wile Mom nearly had heat stroke trying to shoot signs, buildings -- and then walking around an enormous pet cemetery looking for nice inscriptions during the hottest part of the day.

Then, everything changed in the blink of an eye. In Fairfield, about to get on I-80 for Vacaville, waiting at a red light. And all of a sudden, Sparkle sputtered and stalled out. She has never stalled before and runs like a top. Wouldn't restart. Busy intersection -- slightly uphill so not pushable out of the way. Waving cars around me as I tried to be patient with AAA. The 800 number is New York and they put me on music for California. Finally, get California folks & they take my info. By now, at least fifteen minutes later, a couple cops come and park behind me and direct traffic around me. I have the dogs out of the van in the shade with me since it's well over 100 in the van.

It takes about an hour for the tow truck. Then once at the local mechanic, by the time they take my info and a mechanic looks at my van, it's another hour has passed. They close promptly at 5pm so I'm screwed as it's now 4pm when they diagnose a fuel pump. They open at 8am -- but won't get the part til 9 or 10. Then they have to remove the fuel tank (after draining it) and it's not a quick job. With luck, maybe I'll be rolling again at noon. According to the mechanics, fuel pumps are supposed to be problematic with GMCs (Sparkle is a Chevy but they are really the same thing). They will replace with an upgraded one that doesn't have these problems. I'm supposedly lucky to get 180,000 miles out of mine.

Ah well. So, at least I was about two days ahead of schedule & I can afford the downtime. I'll get to bed earlier tonight, too. Maybe even be scandalous and have a beer! I wouldn't mind so much about my stay tonight at the repair shop lot, but it's gonna be stifling hot. I don't mind a little urban camping -- but tonight wouldn't be my pick of nights. The dogs and I are woozy from the heat after being exposed to it for half a day already.

Anyhow -- here are a few blog-worthy photos that I managed to get before the big event.

Napa and Sonoma were much too snooty for me and I made haste to get out of those downtowns. Would it be politically incorrect of me to mention how there seemed to be only two extremes everywhere I went: the obviously rich and the obviously much less-well-off farm labor workers. I found it really uncomfortable seeing those rich white folks sipping lattes at cafes while the Mexicans were out in the fields dealing with the grapes and other produce. Although I may be a privileged white girl myself touring the country, burning petrochemicals like crazy, all for the indulgence of taking signs of groovy buildings and signs... but somehow, I do feel much closer in mindset and lifestyle to the working class. Other than these trips, I really don't spend a dime on food, movies, clothes, etc.

But I digress -- here are a few photos from Napa.

Cornerstone Place is one of these wealthy folks places -- for shopping, wine-tasting, art-browsing. I was here to photo this tree and then I was OUTTA there. The tree is covered with plastic ballies (yes, like my dogs, I'm obsessed with ballies myself). I didn't do my homework to find out the meaning (if any) of this artwork:

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At the pet cemetery, there was this reminder of how hot it is. Thriving prickly pear cactus!

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These guys on the premises didn't seem to mind:

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I have only one architectural shot for you today since my shooting time was so limited. I thought this building in Petaluma made creative use of cinder blocks as detail:

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I should also mention -- in case you don't hear from me suddenly -- that I'm also experiencing some computer problems. It seems my AC adaptor isn't working properly and the batteries aren't charging so well. It seems to be the plug in the back of the computer is misaligned (or worn out). I have to get the stem in just so on either the battery charger or the wall outlet adapter or it's not pulling current. I don't think there's anything that can be done until I get home & call Dell. So all I can do is be gentle with this plug situation and hope I can get through the next couple weeks.

Day 28: Coastal & Inland Northern CA

2008-08-27T22:32:00.000-07:00

A very productive day despite it being over 100 degrees in places. There were lots of Highway 101 stops down into Santa Rosa. I think this was a more efficient route than zigzag-ing over to I-5 which was the plan. I did enough mountain treking in the past couple days and couldn't bear it today -- though that's what my list had told me to do. I'll have to go back & grab that portion of the trip very soon. It's about a 5 hour drive up to Yreka from the Bay Area so I might do that at night tomorrow or the next day so as to not waste sunlight hours when I could be shooting. It'll mean skipping the Flickr/blog portion of my evening & then catching up the next night.

The dogs got to play in a number of rivers today (the Eel, the Russian, etc.) and very dry grass (the stuff of brush fires). I had hoped to end the day with the ocean for them after my last stop way up in Sea Ranch. I went to one of the numerous "Beach Access" detours. The two barefeet symbols with the signs were very inviting. But I must have made a bad choice because part of the trail was closed (probably the one that led right to the water). So the dogs and I followed the other trail for what must've been two miles and there was STILL no beach access. These were the kind of cliffs you couldn't cheat on -- super steep and leading directly to water not sand. So we had to turn around. Grem & Nik were pretty exhausted from pulling me the whole way on leash anyway. Grip & Fixie had a good time being free since they are the well-behaved members of the family that do pay attention to my whereabouts. Although it could have been disastrous since, almost back to the van, I could see wild turkeys and DEER above the grass and the dogs' eyesight -- only about 100 feet away. That would've been an awful and scary sunset adventure getting them back if they took off after wildlife.

Whew! I was really long-winded last night -- well, SOME of you are interested in the doggie portion of this trip anyway. On with the photos!

Lots of redwood-related roadside attractions up in the PNW. I don't know if this Redwood Tree House is still open. It was too early for me to really tell. There were two doors in the base -- one looked pretty permanently closed:

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Cement figures on the side of the road just south of Willits gave me a chance to test Sparkle's brakes:

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The Ukiah Saw Shop is now vacant. I hope this building will survive all the development going on around it. I don't know anything about this building which is embedded with various sized rocks:

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I stopped at the Solar Living Institute -- mostly to check out their unique hand-carved, solar-powered carousel. But there were lots of other eye-catching things. Wish I'd had more time to investigate the place. This huge neat thing sprayed water below and had a fountain underneath. I'm sure it was all recycled water and solar-powered. A very good thing in this part of the country. I think it was 101 degrees and not even noon.

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Canopies of grapes around the place -- this is Mendocino County after all -- wine country:

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This incredible statue stands near the entrance:

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I had a chance to check out the "weird restrooms" while I was there:

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The sign said the doors were made from recycled prescription bottles:

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A bit more about the place and what you can do to lessen your impact on the earth:

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In stark contrast, I witnessed landscaped of toppled trees everywhere. It was very sad and shocking -- like looking at dead bodies:

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There was lots of artwork in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol to cheer me up. A goofy cow in the middle of a real cow pasture:

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A huge doggie in front of the Sonoma County Humane Society. It looks like he might have been mostly built from an Airstream trailer?

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A fun fishy dude. There was lots of public artwork in Sebastopol -- I think mostly from this same artist.

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The Sebastopol Foster's Freeze was incredible: a vintage stand with intact signage. I think the nicest one I've ever seen. So I had to patronize. This was a "dipped half and half" (half chocolate & vanilla with chocolate coating). I had to snap this quickly before the whole thing disintegrated. Dinner! And a good choice for such a hot day.

Day 27: Coastal Oregon & California

2008-08-26T22:29:00.001-07:00

The coastline of southern Oregon & northern California is quite spectacular. Gorgeous trees including giant redwoods, gigantic lava-like rocks in the water, beautiful dunes. I couldn't help myself and indulged the dogs in beach runs more times than I can count. Boy, are they tired tonight! Of course tomorrow morning, it'll be like nothing happened -- back to zero.

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Early in the day, I went to Myrtle Point, OR to see the Muffler Man. He stands next to the Logging Museum which is housed in a very interesting building. It was evidently originally built as a Mormon church. However, because of its round shape, there was "acoustical chaos". The woman working at the museum demonstrated by going to a far corner and, talking softly, it sounded like she was right next to me. This model of the church gives you a better idea of its unusual shape. This link gives more info:
http://www.museumsusa.org/museums/info/1160655

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There were some other neat things inside the museum, including this cute Paul Bunyan & Babe (about a foot tall) and some incredible carved out logs.

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Coastal OR and Northern CA is logging country so it's no surprise that there are a lot of tributes to Paul Bunyan and the industry itself. I had wanted to see the giant Paul & Babe in Klamath, CA for decades. They were even bigger than I imagined and so nicely maintained. There was a little cabinet with vintage collectibles inside the gift shop . I think this piece was a mock-up for Paul's construction.

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But what really gave me pause were these cute stuffed Pauls. But I know he would have had a short life with the dogs around if I had gotten one.

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And, lastly, what would a posting be without a photo of at least one sign? This one comes from Trinidad, CA. I can't tell how old it is. The larger square portion appears to be painted plywood at this point. However, the ducks might be painted metel. I like the illusion of flight created by the one duck on a metal stick.

Day 26: Central & Western Oregon

2008-08-25T23:48:00.000-07:00

It was much cooler today and there was not as much picture-taking. There were a lot of miles between stops -- most of it quite breathtakingly scenic (forests and ocean views). But I was also stuck looking at the butts of far too many slow-moving hay trucks and giant RVs for much of the time.

There was a long drive in the morning out to Lakeview which is in the high desert in Central OR. They are proud of their tallest town status -- this sign is in the middle of the fairgrounds. I believe it was used as a welcome sign in town in a more prominent location on the highway.

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Lakeview really felt like Texas. I was surprised by the town's appearance and dryness, as well as the amount of cowboy hats and Western-themed signage, etc.

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Here's a non-Western example from downtown -- a shoe store with not one but two nice neon signs:

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Later, up north in Bend, we stopped at the Funny Farm for a few minutes. It's a bizarre mix of folk art and antique store.
http://www.funfarm.com/

The agitator wall ("Without agitators: nothing in the world would come clean"):

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The bowling ball tree:

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and other fun, slightly scary stuff:

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I finally got to see Petersen's Rock Garden in Redmond. But I hadn't counted on the abudance of peacocks in the parking lot and all over the place. The dogs were berserk over them. I had to carefully climb in and out of the van to avoid bloodshed. The dogs' barking was audible for miles during my visit. At first, the peacocks were a little concerned but they quickly got over it and confidently strolled about.

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One of Petersen's grand sculptures is surrounded by a moat with lily pads. There are super tiny frogs that you could easily miss. Anybody know what these guys are called? Here's one at the center of this photo:

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After finishing the Central portion of the trip, I headed west. It took quite awhile with the twisty windy roads and traffic. It was already dusk when we arrived but I got a couple photos in. Then, I found a stretch of beach for the dogs to run around. Lost Creek State Park in Newport had clear signs about leashes being required but hardly anybody was around so I found a deserted area to let them rip around. We all had a blast and it was nearly dark when we left. This photo doesn't really do the place justice:
http://www.u-s-history.com/or/l/lostcree.htm

Day 25: Southcentral & Southwest Oregon

2008-08-24T23:20:00.000-07:00

Today was another busy and hot day (bank clocks announced low 90s most of the day). Blue skies though and I found lakes and rivers to keep the doggies cool during breaks. Tomorrow won't be nearly as productive as there will be long, long stretches of nothing between stops -- but for stuff that are Must Sees. I'll be heading back north and then along the Coast. I'm optimistic that I can finish up Oregon tomorrow -- but I just did some Mapquest estimated distances between some of these stops and it doesn't seem possible. Especially with time-consuming multiple crossings of mountain ranges.

In addition to the blackberries, there are lots of stickery plants around all parts of Oregon. What appears to be a safe yellowed grassy field for Nik to chase ballies in, very often proves otherwise when he freezes in his tracks and I have to go over and remove little thorns from his pads. The girls are much more careful about watching where they step. Grip likes to sniff bushes because that's what she prefers to pee on and more than a few times she's yelped as something sharp has poked her in the nose.

Only a few blog photos today and I'm trying to rattle this one off tonight rather than letting the post drag over til the morning. I want to get rolling before the sun comes up for the next stop which is two hours away. I hate wasting daylight hours on the computer when I could be shooting.

In Rice Hill, the K-R Drive-in has a fun sign. I love depictions of burgers and a triangular support is much nicer than just a simple pole. Just across the highway, there is a great complex of A-frame restaurant & motel rooms. Perhaps this sign's A-frame-ish base was designed by the same owner or builder.

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Also in Rice Hill, this hand-made Michelin Man:

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A cute sign in Grants Pass:

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A huge painted wall sign in Grants Pass advertising for Bull Durham. The "Owl" lettering I believe was for Owl Cigars.

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And lastly, in Klamath Falls a beautiful building with great details:

Day 23 & 24: Portland, OR & Thereabouts

2008-08-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of catching up to do from recklessly taking a night off from Flickr and this blog to socialize! All has been going great the past couple days: beautiful weather, tired dogs, tons of photos, and Sparkle's running trouble-free. What more could I ask for? My get-together with Vintageroadside & wife was great fun. I urge you to go buy lots of t-shirts from these nice folks:
http://vintageroadside.com/

So, let's move on to the snapshots since I've got a lot and the sun is already up and teasing me. These are all from Portland unless mentioned otherwise. A painted wall advertisement -- I especially love graphic images (Jeff, any idea how old this is?):

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A cute back-to-school themed window display:

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The Hawthorne Hostel Ecoroof:
http://www.portlandhostel.org/ecoroof/index.html

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A paint store sign that appropriately uses different colored neon for each letter -- prettier at night:
http://flickr.com/photos/photoinference/954696816/

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Silly maybe - but it does get your attention:

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Coffee kiosks abound in Washington and Oregon. You can't go more than a couple blocks without seeing one. Here's a little bigger building serving as a hot dog stand. I love the shape of this thing:

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A neat castle-shaped restaurant:

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The sign around back:

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Behind the restaurant are some nicely stucco-ed & interesting courtyard-style apartments (more buildings than shown here):

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Graffiti: Portland-style. There is a huge bicycle culture here with tons of people commuting to work on them, special bike lanes, etc. They are everywhere.

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I'm not sure what this feminist-style stenciled graffiti means -- if anything. I assume this was just an "I was here" produced by the Guerilla Girls:
http://www.guerrillagirls.com/

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The carousel operator at Oaks Amusement Park told me that owls have been living in the rafters of the carousel building for about six years. They are raising families and doing quite well off the mice that live off the dropped park snacks. This guy was snoozing apparently so this is the best I could get of him:

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This unique camper had a stove and fridge inside at the back. But I didn't see much room for sleeping unless there was an overhead cot which I didn't notice.

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This almost Vegas-like sign is from The Dalles:

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I was forced to pull over in Mount Hood when I saw sign on the road promising a pet cemetery. Way in the back of a regular human cemetery, there were really only a couple new and dull grave markers but there was this wonderful entrance:

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An abandoned gas station just north of Hubbard. I love the odd shape of the office:

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I believe this shapely sign was in Woodburn:

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In Silverton, there's quite a tribute to "Bobbie the Wonder Dog" who managed to find his way home on a 2,500 mile, six month journey from Indiana. There is this replica dog house and statue, as well as fantastic wall mural with details about Bobbie's life. Here's some info about the dog:
http://www.silvertonor.com/murals/bobbie/bobbie_wonder_dog.htm

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And lastly -- I've been noticing people picking these berries all over Washington and Oregon so I figured they are safe to eat. I tried a few myself and they're pretty good. The dogs won't eat them when offered but Grem plucks them right off the vine herself. I'm not sure if they are blackberries or boysenberries or what.

Day 22: Seaside to Portland, OR

2008-08-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

It was pretty drizzly and grey for about half the day. Then the sun came out and it was almost too bright to take pictures. I guess this is normal Northwest weather. I didn't actually get to Portland until around 5pm but still got a good chunk of stuff done. The earlier part of the day I had little stops here and there that took longer than expected. Gas is now the lowest I've seen on this trip: $3.71 -- but you have to let them pump it which I hate. I try to NEVER get gas in NJ because of the same thing. Forced conversation with some stranger asking questions about my dogs barking at him like mad for messing with the van. Ugh.

I was back across the border in Washington for just a couple hours to do Vancouver and a few other stops. Just as I was about to head back into Oregon, I got a goodbye present from a very nice trooper (or whatever you call them here) for speeding: $93. He gave me a break -- citing me for only going 5mph over the speed limit when he radar-ed me at 73 in a 50. It was a trap for sure -- a little bridge with four choices of major highways and I was speeding up to get around a truck to see what I should do less than a mile down the road -- and there the cop was just waiting for some sucker like me.

The dogs got to stretch their legs at the East Delta Park dog park in Portland in the afternoon:
http://www.portlandpooch.com/dogparks/eastdelta.htm

While it is fenced, I'm sure Grem could squeeze through if she really wanted to -- and for a while she was running the perimeter casing it for possibilities even though the area inside was plenty big enough. Then she discovered gopher holes in the middle of the dog park and was satisfied to just dig away at them. She dug out one hole big enough that she was almost sneaking inside. Enough of that -- leash time! The little bugger growled at me when I removed her from the hole. I don't want to know what would happen if she got into one of the tunnels. A fight to the finish I suppose and I don't know who would win. I'm glad we don't have burrowing critters back East.

One thing I really didn't like about the Park was a couple people that were not picking up their dogs' poop. They fully realized their dogs were going and were too arrogant to do anything about it. It was really hard, but I held my New York tongue. I'll try to find another place tomorrow because I really shouldn't have to watch where I step at a dog park -- irresponsible dog owners make me FURIOUS. At home, I'll yell at assholes on the street for not picking up. I've evern yelled out my fourth floor apartment window at them.

Anyhow -- sorry for the digression. Let's get on with the show. I uploaded the painted metal sign to my agilitynut stream:
http://flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/2786565954/
Here's the lesser photo-ed plastic sign as well. The placed burned down earlier this year and you can see the melted corner on this one.

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In Forest Grove, I noticed this neat phone booth with a great plastic sign. Yes, I picked up the receiver and there was a dial tone!

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I picked up another gas station candy that I hadn't seen before: Chick-O-Stick. I checked the label to see if there was chicken in it but no. I give it a B but it's not something I would buy again. This webpage describes the candy a little bit more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick-O-Stick

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I couldn't resist posing my family with this family in Hillsboro. Usually, I pose them without leashes/collars which looks better. But this was right next to a very busy road and I didn't want to risk a squirrel suddenly darting out from somewhere. Grip and Fix look as exhausted as I feel. Whereas Grem and Nik, at the center, look like Day #1.

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This old sign in Camas, WA looks reworked -- but I could be wrong. Regardless, a very pretty little sign and cute cafe on the main street downtown.

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Finally, into Portland as the sun was already getting low. But that's not a bad time to shoot anyway as it can add some nice shadows to neon signs and make even fairy ordinary ones seem special:

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This appears to be an updated old sign:

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The shape of this one is intriguing. Are there pieces missing, did something once revolve?

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I don't know anything about this building on NW 16th Ave & Everett (Allergy Asthma & Dermatology Associates). I can't tell if its spruced up 1960s or contemporary. It appears to be faced with stainless steel.

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And lastly, more on the subject of traffic signs and signals. These "one way" signs in Portland really have a homemade look to me. Notice the font next to the more traditional style of the "No Turn on Red". It's weird to see a sign without a border as well.

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Tonight (since I'm really finishing writing on Friday morning), I'll be getting together with Flickr's Vintageroadside & wife -- two people I've never met. So I'll be taking a well-deserved night off from the Flickr photos & blog and will have to catch up on Saturday night/Sunday morning somehow.

Day 21: Olympia, WA to Seaside, OR

2008-08-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

It rained most of the day. The sun came out dramatically for about an hour -- while I was driving so it didn't really help with the quality of the photos. At least it wasn't a high volume day as I was just finishing up widely spaced apart stops in the southwest corner of WA. I just hope I get some sun for the Portland stuff starting tomorrow since there will be tons of photos there. I'm pretty much done with WA now except for Vancouver which I'll get to right after Portland.

The best part of the day was running the dogs in Long Beach, WA on the beach. They had a blast and I guess the Pacific wasn't too cold for Nik. Grem really enjoyed chasing the taunting seagulls who would hover just a few feet over her head. Fixie enjoyed rolling in the sand and seaweed mix -- luckily there's no dead fish smell. Grip was ball-retrieving enthusiastically since I was packing cheddar cheese and it was dinner time.

Aberdeen had a lot of great street art. I guess you can do this in a small town. I'm sure in NYC stuff would either be stolen or vandalized:

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Some beautiful tree protectors and grates. I have to ask -- why do trees need so much protection in the Northwest?

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Another great tree grate from Raymond. It might be hard to tell from this photo but the metal leaves actually overlap one another. This discoloration was just the rain drying up (temporarily!).

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I saw a lot of these scary signs today in southwest WA. Yesterday, near Tacoma, the were "Volcanic Evacuation Route" signs. How common are these events? I guess I'll stick with NYC where we just have to worry about being obliterated by terrorist acts. Saves the bother and planning for evacuation.

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Cute little crowns and ballies at Crown Drug in Hoquiam:

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A cheery sign considering the subject matter -- from Longview:

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These abandoned gas storage tanks are from Long Beach. They probably won't be here much longer as they are behind a closed 76 station.

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Lastly, a neon sign from Astoria. Not all that much graphically, and I'm not sure how old it is, but it's still very pretty.

Day 20: Tacoma and Thereabouts

2008-08-19T23:26:00.000-07:00

Much of the day was spent in Tacoma where I got lots of good stuff. I kept thinking that I didn't have enough blog material so I kept shooting oddball stuff. Turns out that I have more than I probably should post in the interests of sanity and getting some rest.

Some rain here and there but luckily most of it held off til just after dark. The dogs got to play in a variety of places: dirt, sand, and grass lots. I need to find a big, well-fenced dog park somewhere (i.e., make the time to research ones in upcoming Oregon) because Grem is not getting enough exercise. Nik is spoiled rotten with swimming every day. Fixie wishes we were home already. Grip has been very cranky (not enough sleep).

I'm hoping to wrap up Washington tomorrow. I was ahead of schedule until Seattle but now pretty much where I should be. Nearly the halfway mark at over 8,000 miles so far. I don't know how many thousands of photos. Gas has been a little cheaper in the past couple days ($3.84 vs. $4-something). So I'm not sure if there has been a nationwide drop or if western Washington is just cheaper than the eastern half.

This was probably a former motel in Tacoma, now apartments. I love the rockwork. I saw some other similarly used rock so it must be a regional thing.

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This castle-like building is from Tacoma. I'd love to know what it was originally used for. Was it just a house, or a hotel or for another commercial use? There was a bay-like building to the right but the castle seems too big to have been an office.

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It's nice to see these Travelodge signs reused -- especially when they keep the plastic ballies. This is in Tacoma:

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Time for some junk food. I hit the Brown & Haley outlet store which is in a cute little round mid-century building next to their factory. They are the famous producers of Almond Roca but the Mountain Bar was their first creation.
https://www.brown-haley.com/ourstory.php

Cherry is not really my flavor so I can only give this a B-. They were out of the peanut butter which would have been my first pick,.

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The Almond Roca now comes in four other flavors. This should come in handy during the later long haul interstate stretches of the trip when I can use all the excitement I can get.

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Ranko's Corner Drug Store in Tacoma has a spectacularly original exterior -- as well as these neat interiors features as well. A nice wooden phone booth (sign said the phone was out of order though) and a fully-functioning post office. And a great sign over the drug counter. There were some old photos and it seems this place might have had a soda fountain/lunch counter at one time. But I think there was a previous location so I'm not sure. The exterior photos of the store are at my agilitynut Flickr stream here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/2779885063/

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I refuse to start a new section at my website as I'm already overwhelmed with what I'm working on now. But perhaps I'll start a Flickr group for Civic Fountains. Here are a couple that caught my eye. A nice brutal concrete one in Tacoma (note the Woolworth in the background on the right):

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and another in Bremerton. This one was a tribute to a guy associated with the Lion's Club:

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Washington has had a lot of old-school traffic signals. I'm particulary fond of their metal "Crosswalk" signs. They look like giant cowbells and are often very dented up from trucks passing underneath. The signs look pretty old to me (flaking paint). I'll keep an eye out for a later photo. Here's a nice example of some of the hanging lights:

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I've been seeing a lot of these topiary pine trees in Washington. They are so classically 1950s to my eye. This two were at a cleaners. Does anyone know what they are called?

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This Shriners' sign is from Tacoma. I don't think I've seen a plastic fez sign before:

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Bremerton had several of these trompe l'oeil murals downtown. One was a desert scene, this one a pine forest:

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In downtown Olympia, on the lawn right next to the Capitol Building, is a great double-sided totem pole from 1940. Here are a couple details:

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The Golden Gavel Motel in Olympia now has a more mundane name. However, they kept much of the old plastic sign and this wonderful little sculpture:

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One more photo before I hit the road. Suddenly, the rain has stopped and the sun is out. This is one of those nice old street clocks -- but I've never seen one as elegant as this with lamps. There is also glass on all four sides so you can see the inner workings:

Day 19: Seattle and Southward

2008-08-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

There were still quite a few time-consuming stops in Seattle that took up much of the day. Traffic was definitely better, especially downtown. But stops west and east of the city proved more complicated with zigzag-ing inefficient routes. Although things were very well planned out, it still took way more time than anticipated. The weather was not my friend either. For the first time on this trip, it rained. Not torrential enough to stop shooting. But it did make for dull compositions, grey backgrounds, and calling it a night a couple hours early. Better luck tomorrow.

One thing that surprised me about Seattle was the number of hills. There were some roller coaster drops where you had to keep your brakes on all the way down. In fact, I recall a street named appropriately Nob Hill (like San Francisco) in a neighborhood I was happy to only have a couple stops in. The views and houses were nice but I'm not into white knuckle driving. There were also lots of irritating hills where you were at a 45 degree and had to stop for a stop sign. Then you have to rev the engine back up to get beyond it and get going again (usually with scary oncoming traffic).

The dogs got to play at Alki Beach (West Seattle) in the drizzle. No, it wasn't legal but nobody seemed to notice. I think we were concealed by the concrete seawall. I love it when the dogs shake off and get sand all over the van. To me, seeing sand in the crevices and carpeting for a few days is just a memento of the good times we've had.

Here's a nifty dragon in Chinatown:

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This sign was in West Seattle. The moon is three-dimensional.

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Uh, something happened when I popped out of the van to take photos of something for a few minutes. I'm not sure who is responsible - most likely Grem who will eat just about anything. Must have been a drop of something that smelled good and then she just continued to eat up an important part below Seattle. Luckily, my printed maps were enough to get me through this area but it would have been easier with a better highway map.

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For a plastic sign, this one in Seatac has a lot of pizzazz:

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I really, really wanted to see the Rocket gas sign in Des Moines. Unfortunately, the Butler Bar & Grill where it was displayed is closed on Mondays. So I tried and tried but this is the best I could get through the window:

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I went to Maple Valley to check out the Lake Wilderness Lodge which had a great mid-century building. I took a bunch of shots but the place is too big to really carry well into photos. Very often that's the case with great Art Deco buildings: too big to photo well. On the way back to the highway, I noticed these two fun places across the street from each other. The Maple Valley Library is probably a contemporary construction -- although maybe it could be midcentury. Wonderful sloped roof with visible wood from the exterior -- and equally great view of the trees from the inside. This person has some more photos of the place:
http://flickr.com/photos/kcls/sets/72157604370059682/

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And lastly, the Maple Valley Community Center across the street has this fun fence.

Day 18: Seattle

2008-08-17T22:36:00.000-07:00

It was a frustrating and exhausting day. Tons of traffic -- worst than L.A. or anywhere than I can think of. Getting across town is tricky with Aurora and I-5 creating all kinds of dead ends. One way streets. I hadn't expected any of it since usually Sunday is a good day to city downtown areas. Usually they are ghost towns but it sure was hopping in Seattle. Something called Hempfest was also going on which I think compounded the volumes of cars and people. Anything near or around the Space Needle was a nightmare. I still have a short list of stuff to do downtown but hopefully the closed roads will be open.

I took the dogs to a dog park south of downtown, Dr. Jose Rizal park. It turned out to be pretty skanky. I didn't see any dogs -- just homeless people. There are homeless people all over Seattle unlike any place I've ever been. I had heard about Seattle's teen runaways -- so maybe they have just grown up? Most of them seemed to be middle-aged and many appeared under the influence of something. Vast parks in the city where they have taken up uninterruped residence. At the dog park, one woman was topless and using the dog fountain to bathe. But I threw Nik's ball for awhile and kept a close eye on Grem since the fencing seemed suspect. I think Fix and Grip were a little creeped out by the place, too. Yeah, great views of the City but... Here are some reviews which I hadn't read before going here:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/dr-jose-rizal-park-seattle

On with the photos! Here's a nice detail on the side of MOHAI (the Musuem of History and Industry):

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A strange little bit of sculpture in Fremont. I don't know if this corner with moonscape benches, a galactic sidewalk, and these orb-y things were affiliated with the Asteroid Cafe which is now gone. Are there any locals that can fill me in?

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I'm usually not a fan of "retro" (new stuff made to look old) but I really liked the signage at this vet's office:

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More strange artwork in Ballard -- anybody out there know more about it?

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Downtown, there was a jewelry store with this giant retro billboard. Note how the hand projects from the wall. I assume the ring sign is old and just updated a little.

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Some more stuff from downtown. A modern sign -- finally, a companion for all those classic 1950s diving women signs:

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This business is from 1890 -- and I'm pretty sure that's when this stained glass (or is it leaded glass?) was created. The bulb sign above looks pretty old as well.

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And lastly, certainly, way too old for the website but another incredible old Richardsonian style building:

Day 17: Vancouver, BC to Seattle, WA

2008-08-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, I finished up with the Canada list. Lots of neon signs and a few other things. Here's one neon sign in Vancouover that won't make it to the website. I thought it was pretty neat and reminded me of those "head shops" from long ago. The sign was lit the night before:

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This building in Vancouver had an incredible arched entrance:

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I had a couple other stops in Canada -- an incredible carousel in Burnaby and what turned out to be only a so-so Streamline Moderne building in New Westminster. Then, I was all set to get going in Seattle. But the border crossing was horrendous. It was at least two hours mid-day Saturday. A woman at a convenience store just over the border, finally, said it is sometimes five or six hours. I really don't get what was taking so long. For me, it was a couple quick quenstions and barely a glance at my dogs' paperwork and my passport. I did take this one photo while waiting in line -- a lot of reflection off the paperwork on my dash -- but I'll include it anyway.

This guy was doing a booming business working the line of cars. He had two stacked coolers filled with water and ice cream. He passed out laminated poster-sized signs to cars filled with families to make their choices.

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Once we finally got to Seattle, I only had a couple hours of shoting time left. Nothing bloggy during that time. Then we went to a dog park in Seattle to round out the day. It was huge with good fencing and a beach. Some decent-sized waves on Lake Washington and Nik wowed the crowds with his fearlessness for da ballie. But away from the water, Nik and Grem were way too occupied by whatever critters were on the other sides of the fencing. Grem found a hole at one point and luckily I retrieved her pretty quickly before she took off. But then she was obsessed with digging at the base of the fencing and nearly dug through a couple times. Too stressful for me. Everybody got lots of exercise which was good after being stuck in the van way longer than normal. Here's a link to what you'll find at Magnuson Park's off-leash dog area:
http://www.explorerdog.com/offleash/magnuson.htm

Day 16: Washington to Vancouver, BC

2008-08-15T23:17:00.000-07:00

It was slow-going north of Seattle. Lots of traffic, some road detours and big distances between stuff. I went to see a lot of mid-century stuff that I had on my list from various sources but most of them were not quite appealing enough for me so I didn't shoot them. I hope I don't regret it some day.

One such place was the Bellevue Botanical Gardens Visitor Center (aka the Shorts House) which was built in 1956. While it doesn't look like much from the outside, I really liked the inside which had a lot of skylights and glass.

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While I was at the Gardens, I came upon some other things including these odd rock sculptures:

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and this neat flowing fountain:

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I forgot to include this photo yesterday of a postcard that I bought. It shows the packing label for Snookum. See my agilitynut Flickr photo & video to the Wenatchee sign:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/2764075253/

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I went to Snohomish (though the signs say Maltby) to shoot a giant coffee cup. Just behind it was a complex with a restaurant and antique/gift shops. There were some really neat signs including this killer Colonel Sanders weathervane:

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Here's a fun sign for a store in Lynnwood called "Wide Shoes Only". My feet are a little on the wide side so I'm sympathetic. They called them "surfer feet" where I grew up in Southern California. Seems going around barefoot all the time encourages the feet to grow wider.

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I've never heard of or seen a Gull gas station before. I assume this was a very small local chain (or maybe it was just this one station in Burlington for all I know):

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I had heard that there was a restored Shell gas station in Langley, BC. I asked around quite a bit when I got to town and no one had heard of it. Then I spotted a bunch of restored English sports cars and figured someone there might know. Sure enough, one guy drew me a map and I was on my way. Turns out, it wasn't a restored station at all but rather a replica of one in a residential neighborhood. I couldn't really get close enough to "Memory Lane" to take more photos of it without walking right up the driveway and I was already arousing the suspicions of neighbors. So I left it at this since it was getting dark anyway and I had a lot of other stops to make. I couldn't tell if this building was used as a house or just a massive garage for the guy's collection.

Day 15: Central Washington to Seattle

2008-08-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

Today, I covered stuff from Yakima to Issaquah -- two great Native American names. The terrain was once again pretty rugged until we got to the Wenatchee mountains. Then there were forests of pine trees - finally! We're approaching the 9,000 mile mark and not even halfway through this trip. My credit card bill is going to be scary. Gas has been $3.99 - $4.09 per gallon lately.

I forgot to include this photo from yesterday. I don't know how old this KFC building is but I haven't seen one like it in ages. It's probably the same vintage (1970s?) as all those mansard roofed McDonald's that are still everywhere. This is from Richland, WA:

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Another rarity -- a still operating Color Tile store in Yakima:

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This building in Yakima intrigued me. I don't know what it was originally used for but there were also a couple similarly designed smaller buildings in back that make me think this was a restaurant and motel complex at one time. Although I suppose it could have just been a shopping village. Regardless, very pretty roofs and details:

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Here's a unique and densely decorated house in Ellensburg known as Dick and Jane's Spot. 10,000 bottle caps and reflectors went into it and there are pieces from 40 different artists:
http://www.reflectorart.com/spot/index.html

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I hope they never repaint this old building:

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This marquee sign stood in the middle of nowhere in Quincy. It probably advertised for a drive-in or a movie theatre or possibly even a shopping center. All that's there now behind it is pavement, trucks and scruffy vegetation.

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In the late afternoon, we went to a legitimate and wonderful dog park in Redmond. The dogs had a blast. Though Nik is limping a bit now on his front right leg from wiping out a few times while running on soft dirt yesterday. Marymoor Park has 35 acres of off-leash trails through meadows and lots of river access. It claims to be the largest dog park in the state. I found out afterwards that it has free wi-fi, too. Here's a map that gives you a sense of the park's size and organization:
http://www.soda.org/map.html

I'm probably going to continue posting to this blog in the morning rather than when I'm fried at night. My memory might be a bit more blurred but my sentence structure should be better.

Day 14: Eastern & Central Washington

2008-08-14T00:27:00.001-07:00

Another perfectly wonderful day. Many, many miles -- most of it farmland and more desolate looking areas. Parts of it reminded me of central California with the rolling, grass-less hills and desert heat. There were lots of jaggedy rock faces mixed in with big lakes.

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The dogs got lots of running, sniffing and water time. The wake in the foreground here was created by Nik chasing down his ballie which is just ahead of him to his right (bright orange).

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And here's a shot of Grem who's swimming back from retrieving some Goldfish crackers:

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In Grand Coulee, there was a great bit of roadside folk art. There are about 100 whirligigs made from all kinds of stuff.

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The Bamboo Shoot restaurant in Ephrata had a nice sign and interesting building:

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Also in Ephrata, I couldn't resist shooting this restored car. I've always loved the name "Duster" -- maybe I'll name my next van after this. Lime green is also one of my favorite colors.

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Loved the name of this supermarket in Ritzville:

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And lastly, I noticed this at the Howard Amon Park playground in Richland, WA. This climb-able rock with hand-holds sure seems a little high-risk to me give our liability-obsessed culture. Even though there is mulch below, the kids could still land pretty hard or bang themselves on the rock on way down. Some idiots might even try jumping off the top or pushing a pal off. The big climb-able fishes that I was there to shoot for the website were made of concrete. I could easily see kids doinking their heads on them pretty hard while goofing around.

Days 12 & 13: Idaho, Oregon & Washington

2008-08-11T23:37:00.000-07:00

I'm trying desperately to catch-up with my postings here. So desperate in fact, that I'm getting a late start in shoting to do this before it becomes hopeless. All it took was one night of socializing to throw things completely off track.

Despite falling behind on the blog, I'm now officially a day and a half ahead of schedule. Things have really been going smoothly. I've had two oil changes so that means more than 6,000 miles thus far. The weather has been perfect for picture-taking. I've been keeping the dogs entertained & well-exercised. Nik and Grem actually look fitter than when we're home -- if that's possible.

I finished up with Idaho for a bit and crossed over to Oregon. The landscape continued to be a vast sea of yellow (wheat?). Now that I'm in eastern Washington, things have gotten somewhat greener and I'm seeing pine trees. There have been lots of cute towns in the past couple days that I would really have liked to explore. But this trip has to be pretty superficial -- mostly just banging through some main streets and the things on my list.

Baker City, OR was one such town -- interesting old buildings and probably great signs just around corners that I didn't have time to go down. Lots of references (historical markers & business names) in Oregon to the Oregon Trail and Lewis & Clark. Here's a nice motel in Baker City:

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and the inexplicable crown sign over the Oregon Trail Cleaners:

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Here's more from Baker City -- a turn-of-the-century looking, still-operating stationery store:

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A great building -- the identification up top says "Marble Works":

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A Masonic Temple globe sign. Sometimes this sun is not a good thing -- the glare on the white globes washed out the detail & means it won't make it to the website:

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Here are some more artsy figures. These people are from Melody Mufflers in Walla Walla, WA. I only shot some of them. They were really fun and well done:

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Yesterday, we were mostly in Spokane and then in the afternoon scooted over to ID for some "must sees". Here's another little behind the scenes look at what goes into these trips. The stack of printed maps and lists I brought with me was about two feet tall. Each state or section is binder clipped and cities with multiple stops are paper clipped. The less thinking and organizing I have to do while traveling the better. Sometimes my maps are simple -- just one place with enough road detail to get me there easily from the interstate or the previous place:

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Other times, major cities especially, the stops are laid out on a single page so it's easy to visualize and navigate. It might seem hard to read but I just focus on the dots to knock things out in the most efficient way, working in the direction of the next page's stop(s).

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There's also "the list" (info about the places, the address, and other notes) which is organized geographically as well. It keeps me on track when I'm baffled by my own handwriting or order on these maps. Here's a done page with notes that will go back into the computer file when I get home and help me write the descriptions for stuff when I'm inserting these places at the website.

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Back to the real photos. Here's a place in Spokane that surely must have had a neat pagoda tiled roof at one time:

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A neat mid-century building in Spokane -- the International Union of Operating Engineers:

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There were some fancy tree grates in downtown Spokane. I don't think we have these back in New York City:

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Also downtown Spokane, there were these neat busts of local important men and women:

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Let's wrap up with three signs from Spokane. Although this teriyaki sign is just a plastic thing, there are so many shapes and I find its busy-ness appealing. I bet the top spun at one time.

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An old, towering Safeway sign. The new Safeway is further south with modern signage while this one hangs on. It's probably awaiting repainting by another business.

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This crunched sign is on the lot of Spokane Boys (a garden supply & produce place). It looks like this sign has been hit more than a few times by passing trucks. The middle, rectangular part must have rotated. I wish I could have gotten a better shot of it but it was rush hour and I was taking my life in my hands balancing on the median strip. Washingtonians aren't used to jaywalkers and it causes all kinds of worry.

Day 11: More Idaho

2008-08-10T22:47:00.001-07:00

Tonight, I had the good fortune to get together with fellow Flickr-ite (Roadsidepictures) that I hadn't met before. What was supposed to be a half hour break, turned into a fun all-nighter -- so this blog posting is a day late.

I got a lot done in Idaho. The predetermined stops mostly hugged the interstate, with a couple of time-consuming exceptions. The weather, once again, was hot but otherwise perfect. At night a cool breeze came in and it was really a lovely relief.

For years, I had wanted to see dinosaur in Bliss, ID (a photo of it over at the agilitynut Flickr account). He stands next to this rock & gift shop which looks like it's been closed for years.

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Across the street, the Oxbow Cafe is also now closed. According to Roadsidepictures, there was a food poisoning incident and that did them in.

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Still standing next to the former restaurant, there is a smaller dinosaur. After taking my photos of him, I noticed that he seemed to be smiling at Sparkle & the kids. The rock shop is visible in the background with the bigger dinosaur at the far right.

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Next to the boarded up Oxbow, there's a gas station still hanging on. These storage tanks are located behind it:

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In Boise, I noticed this Jack in the Box. I've never seen one like it before. I don't know if it's a new style or just something uniquely created for this location.

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One of Fixie's endearing habits is letting me know when she needs petting by waving at me. She only ever does this in the van. It's a very slow motion wave coupled with a desperate expression.

Day 10: Montana to Idaho

2008-08-09T22:12:00.000-07:00

I covered a lot of ground today -- so much so that I'm now ahead of schedule. I even made decent inroads into the Idaho list. There was incredibly varied terrain from Montana to Idaho: mountains, pine trees, jagged rock formations, rivers -- everything from lush forest to dry desert-looking sections. Idaho looked dry but was just as humid as back home in NYC. It was around 90 degrees everywhere we went.

The dogs got to run and swim in a bunch of spots. Nik scratched and bruised his underside and legs pretty bad hopping around in the rocky streams chasing his ball. I'll have to be more careful about where we play in the water. The dogs have developed a new fascination for gopher holes which seem to be everywhere. Luckily, they haven't found any actual gophers yet.

Livingston, MT is a cute little town with a lot to look at. There were lots of old painted wall signs as well as great neon signs.

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Interesting architecture of all eras in Livingston as well. Here's a possible gas station in the foreground with more painted wall signs above:

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Also in town, one of these nifty plastic Coca-Cola signs with the "floating" shapes (I don't know how else to describe it). There must have been some sort of restaurant here previously or else the current tenant installed the sign here and changed the name on it.

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This one also from Livingston. I've seen these car washes around lately -- they must have been a regional chain:

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I stocked up on road snacks for diversions on the long stretches of driving. I was surprised to find the Elvis version of Reese's peanut butter cups this far north. The Spud was positively gross. Maybe it only sells to tourists like me. The marshmallow consistency was bland and icky. It went straight to the dogs after two bites. They thought it was great.

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Here's one of the things Nik does to entertain himself on the long, boring stretches of highway. He hunts for stuff in the van and then presents it to me on my shoulder. It's amazing what he can balance there. It's his way of asking me to THROW IT! and start a manic retrieving game. I use the headrests in the back seat as my goal post (yes, at 75 mph). If I score, it means he sometimes has to dig around for awhile as the thrown object might have gone under something or gotten stuck. This is what remains of a Diet Coke cap.

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This handyman sign appeared at a hardware store in Ashton, ID. I guess the psychedelic background is a wood pattern?

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Idaho has great neon signs everywhere -- some beautifully preserved and others nicely weathered. This one is from Rigby, where I assume there is no subway.

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I'd heard of Blue Bell gas stations, but this was the first one (and so far the only one) I've seen myself:

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And lastly from today's grab bag -- a shot from Pocatello's Union Pacific train station. Though train stations are not something I usually shoot, this one had a lot of nice details including these nice shields:

Day 9: South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana

2008-08-08T22:38:00.001-07:00

Today was a killer behind the wheel -- an insane amount of miles and stops. BUT I got back on schedule! One unforeseen complication: I ran smack into Bike Week. The big annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis had motorcycles spilling out all over southeast South Dakota. Extra traffic, extra noise, extra barking.

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I hope now that I'm into Montana -- and it's officially the weekend -- that the bikers are all settled in Sturgis now.

Since most of the driving was interstate, I don't have a lot to offer here. Usually this blog gets the mediocre and strange -- not much of either today. However, here are a few not good enough for primetime (the website):

I really love these guys - at a tire store in Rapid City, SD:

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These non-functional, stylized teepees were at at least two rest areas in South Dakota:

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The design of this sign in Sheridan, WY is not all that special but the animation was terrific. The chasing bulbs worked and "MOTEL" flashed/sparkled on and off with a red outline.

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So that bring us to tonight's "trail's end" but fear not -- there will be plenty more blog postings laden with photos when I get into Idaho and Oregon and get off the interstate. If you're still hungry for more photos, don't forget my agilitynut flickr stream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Once I get through Billings, MT tomorrow, it will be entirely new territory for me until San Francisco. Very exciting -- and there should be lots of quirky stuff for the blog.

Doggie report: they mostly got sandy, sagebrushy stops today. I did find a grassy area at Storybook Island and Nik got kids to throw his ball for about 20 minutes. He loves to involve strangers. Fixie got lots of lovin' in with the kids as well (she loves people more than anything). The other two dogs aren't interested in people at all and would rather hunt for food (Grip) and critters (Grem).

Day 8: More South Dakota

2008-08-07T22:10:00.000-07:00

I think I'm nearly back on schedule after today's marathon. Managed to get pretty much across the entire state while indulging my inner child with a loop way up to the north (Aberdeen, etc.). I had always wanted to see Storybook Land and, there, now I have. There was supposed to be a Twistee Treat there as well but, according to the locals, it's been demolished.

I saw a heck of a lot of rolling fields, hay bales, cattle, lakes... a real test of stamina with lots of miles between destinations. Thank god for Sirius satellite radio and gas station coffee. And no speeding tickets (yet). I've been trying to keep it between 75 and 80 (posted speed limit is 70mph on I-90 and the highways). Gas lately has been going for $3.43 to $3.89. I know I've driven close to 4,000 miles so far since I had the oil changed back in Duluth. I'm a fanatic about changing the oil every 3,000 miles. The cost of gas is all going on the credit card so that should be a shocker bill to come home to.

The weather has been perfect for most of the trip (blue skies & puffy white clouds). But it's gotten hotter. After a few days with highs in the 80s, it's back around 90 now.

The poor deprived dogs got only a couple big runs today. They snooze really well when I'm on the Interstate -- waking up only to bark manic-ly when they hear motorcycles. The proximity to Sturgis, SD and the warm weather has brought out the bikers in far too great a quantity for my sanity's sake. But it helps keep me awake.

I got a lot of good stuff for the website and the agilitynut flickr photos but not much for here. I had so many last night that I'll try not to feel too guilty about it. And maybe I can get to bed before 2am tonight.

These figures in Elkton were created by Lyle Telcamp. There were lots more scattered around this field and more down the road. Fun stuff!

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Here's something I've never seen or heard of before: McDonald's signs with sequins. This one was in town in Brookings. And there was another one on I=29 at the Watertown exit.

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And lastly, this one's a bit blurry which downgrades it from the website to this blog. This sign was in Mitchell -- I love the shape of the boot and the way it's position on top of the sign.

Day 7: Minnesota & South Dakota

2008-08-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

I'm now running about a day behind schedule. I underestimated the number of things on my list for Southeast MN and didn't make it into SD until around 5pm. So, tomorrow I really have to make up some time. Though I'll be watching out for troopers since they got me for speeding the last time I was here in SD.

There were lots of non-roadside diversions today. I took lots of photos that will never make it to my website -- and many that won't make it here either. Here's one odd little place -- Gnome Park in Dawson, MN. There are about 20 or so gnome statues -- some alone, some in little scenes. I particularly like the photographer.

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It's been awhile since I talked about food at this blog. Mostly because it's been unremarkable thus far because I've been getting by exclusively on stuff I brought from home. But I ventured into a supermarket to stock up on a few things yesterday. Not really worth reporting or photo-ing: cheese, oranges, bananas, cookies... I thought I might get some Wheat Thins or Triscuits and headed for the cracker aisle. I'm really out of touch with suburbia because I was overwhelmed by the options. There must have been 10 kinds of both brands. I finally opted for this combo: Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil. It's proven a good choice. By themselves, they are a bit too salty but they have a nice kick. Really good with cheese.

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How about a little behind the scenes van tour. Here's the "fridge" which resides in the passenger wheel well where I can keep an eye on it. I used to keep the coolers in the back but Nik figured out how to bang his paw on the button to open them. When I first got Grem, she spent several determined days scratching and gnawing on them but has finally given up. The little blue cooler usually holds the stuff that needs to be on ice (cheese, yogurt, chocolate, meaty dog treats, etc.). The bigger red cooler holds the Diet Coke -- my life blood. That's "Larry the Laptop" charging next to the coolers.

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And here's the "pantry". It may look like a dog crate to you -- but this is where I keep the less perishable stuff and the open bag of dog food. Only on very rare occasions does it get used as dog crate.

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The other dog food bags are in the very back of the van barricaded by plastic boxes. I keep an ear out if I hear any digging back there. Nik manages to bust into the plastic boxes quite frequently to get to his toys. He proudly brings them to me immediately hoping I'll throw-it! throw-it!. But usually he only gets a "thank you buddy!" and the toy goes away and the box gets shut. He pouts like a little kid.

This guy on his tractor was driving down the main street in the little town of Kerkhoven, MN while I was there. It reminded me of that country song about the wife hiding the husband's keys to keep him home at night but he just drives into town in his John Deere. Or those stories about people driving their tractors around when they're drunk because they didn't think it counted the same as a car. Anyway, I'm sure this guy was just running an errand. It seemed like such a cool thing to do but the thing was louder than a motorcycle.

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A glorious bit of juxtaposition here. A hearing aid store - that explains the giant ear. But, oh, that tile, the flowers and that odd bank-like window.

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As much as I plan these trips, sometimes I have a bad address -- or no address -- and I have to rely on the kindness and knowledge of the locals. This usually works out fine in the smaller towns. Especially in this case where I had cleverly printed a photo of a place in Willmar, MN that I was looking for before the trip. I showed the print-out to a few passersby and they didn't recognize it. But then one guy did and he drew me this little map -- ain't it sweet? I should really save all these trip artifacts and create shadow boxes with them or something.

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I was distracted by a lot of statues/sculptures today. I'm mostly attracted to the animals, of course.

A metal mule in Pipestone, MN:

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There are a bunch of sculptures in downtown Sioux Falls, SD. These are just a few:

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And lastly, I went to see the Porter Sculpture Park in Montrose, SD. Here are some other photos & info about the place:
http://flickr.com/photos/detourart/sets/72157606547783074/
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/4427

It was nearly sunset and I think I was the last tourist for the day. The "greeter" said it was fine if I let the dogs loose to run and go see the statues. Fix and Grip are no problem but I had to worry about the other wildlife-crazed beasts. Nik stayed busy with his Chuck-it ball throwing it for himself pretty much the whole time. I kept Grem on-leash while I was taking pictures and nervously unhooked her when I could pay close attention. Lately, she's been staying pretty close as it seems Cheddar cheese is her weakness. But God forbid anything should move out there in those vast fields and I knew I'd be in trouble. Luckily, nothing bad happened. On the way out, I realized the greeter was the artist himself and we chatted for awhile about various topics. An incredily nice and interesting guy and the artwork is really fantastic. The place is right off I-90 so you really must stop if you're ever headed that way. Wayne keeps a little guest book for everyone to sign with "The Most Important Thing You Know." People signed things like "Never give up." What say you all?

Day 6: Still More Minnesota

2008-08-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

I didn't get as far as I'd hoped today but I got lots of great photos so it's all good. I should be able to get back on schedule in the next day or two. Most of South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana in the next few days is going to be straight highway miles. Maybe some driving at night to get through the distance as well. So don't panic if I skip a day of blogging to get through it.

No doggie parks, no beaches. The poor things had to make do with plain old grassy fields and retrieving games. They are pretty fried but will catch up on their sleep on the interstates coming up. Nik and Grem are still going ballistic (screaming and bouncing) at every motorcycle or dog that they see. The two senior dogs are really over it.

I stopped at the Franconia Sculpture Park (in Franconia):
http://www.franconia.org/

I went there to see the giant silver men -- which are pretty faded now but still impressive. Here are a couple other pieces that were on display:

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"The Drive-in" in Taylors Falls has a Frostop Mug sign and is located right next to a modern but nice-looking miniature golf place. I can't vouch for the food since it wasn't open but it really looks like a place worth supporting:

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You know you're in the North Country when you see billboards like this:

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I'd never been to Duluth before so that was fun. One thing that puzzled me in the Canal Park section was this water fountain. It's built in a busy location and really part of the sidewalk. I don't think it was purely decorative but meant to be used. Although I didn't see anyone walking through it. Maybe it's for kids to play in? Very strange.

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Here's a fun sculpture also from the Canal Park section:

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I had in my notes that there was a Red Goose Shoe sign at Grandma's Restaurant in Duluth so I was eager to see and shoot it. They have three locations around town:
http://www.grandmasrestaurants.com/

So, obsessive-compulsive that I am, I went to all three of them. No Red Goose Shoe signs at any of them. But there were lots of other neat signs (vintage and repros) at all three restaurants. Here are some examples:

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The third location that I went to did have this Red Goose statue which would have been displayed in the window. This is the closest that I could come up with on this bona fide wild goose chase:

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Canal Park is big on signs -- lots of old painted wall signs like this one:

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and there are lots of modern neon signs as well. I have never seen a neon Subway sign before:

Day 5: More Minnesota

2008-08-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

Most of the day was spent in the Twin Cities. The day started grey but got sunny and hot quickly enough. Got tons of photos. I finally got to see two statues that have been on my list for years: the Beach Dude and the Snowman (photos over at the Flickr account). There were some really nice and interesting gas stations and midcentury churches. I shoot an awful lot of churches for an atheist. Here are a couple that won't make the cut for the website.

This is the Beth El Synagogue in Minneapolis. The silvery side faces a major highway and then changes shape as you drive by it. I don't know if there have been any accidents as a result but I know my attention to the road was not good.
http://www.bethelsynagogue.org/about/index.shtml

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And this is St. Peter's Lutheran in Edina -- smaller scale and more elegantly simple than the synagogue:
http://www.stpetersedina.org/

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Downtown Minneapolis has lots of skywalks which link buildings together - a convenient necessity during those long winters. It's sure hard to imagine how cold it gets here at this time of year.

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Also in downtown Minneapolis: this one puzzles me. Were these water fountains originally or only for certain times of the year? Is this just for summer that they grow these prairie grasses to as an eco-friendly gesture? Or is this an art piece?

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The Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis has the nicest manhole covers I've ever seen:

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I parked the van in a parking garage downtown for about 20 minutes because there were no spots and I needed to shoot a few things indoors and on the pedestrian mall. It was one of those spiral type garages that I love and I risked getting rear-ended to get this shot. I love to drive just a teensy bit too fast on these to hear that echo-y tire squeal.

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When I returned, I discovered that the dogs had busted into the cooler to get the cheese curds. Gone -- just a ripped up plastic bag as evidence. I don't know if it was just one dog that reaped the profits or if it was a family affair. I should find out soon as there are also some roasted cashews missing.

And if that wasn't the highpoint of their day, Cleary Lake was. An incredible dog park with 28 acres just for off-leash romping. A big pond, mowed trails & big unmowed fields if your dogs like to deer-hop like mine do. Fenced but a determined little dog could get out (luckily mine didn't). Fun, fun, fun. There are lots of other big, fenced dog parks around Minneapolis & I wish we could have sampled them all.
http://www.ecoanimal.com/dogfun/minnesota.html

Here's a really nice painted wall sign in downtown Minneapolis:

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I went to Como Town in St. Paul to shoot the old kiddie rides. While there, I noticed these bumper cars. I've never modern ones like this before:

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When you're a kid, there's just nothing as much fun as driving your own car. Although these kids were way too highly supervised by khaki-wearing employees:

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Speaking of driving -- very late here-- and I have a lot of it to do tomorrow. Time to call it a night.

Day 4: Southeast Minnesota

2008-08-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

I covered a lot of miles today although it was not as productive as yesterday. Road construction had me driving all over the place for various detours. Unfortunately, none of these extraneous unplanned routes provided anything photo-worthy. As my list dictated, I shot a lot of theatres and gas stations today.

We went to a really nice dog park in Mankato today. It's just across the street from the sole-remaining Happy Chef restaurant with a giant statue. Although there wasn't a pond for the dogs to cool off in, there was a hose & kiddie pool. There were two really big fenced areas so we sampled them both. However, one had some pretty wide spacing to the fencing and tempting woodsy areas just beyond it so I didn't chance that one for long. Grem could easily have fit through it. I guess not a lot people take their small dogs to dog parks -- or else the designers don't own small dogs.

The weather was pretty grey today so my photos didn't have the same punch. I've been blessed a lot of sun on this trip. Still very warm during the day (around 90) but I won't complain since it's been over 100 in Dallas/Phoenix/etc. for about five days. I chose this time of year for this trip since I wanted to avoid rain in the Pacific Northwest. Here's hoping.

Now on to the photos --

This sweet guy is on the plastic sign at Barney's Drive-in in Waseca:

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In downtown Waseca, a nice facade and sign at Barden's Bar:
http://www.bardensbar.com/

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A purchase from Bongards Creameries with their giant cow in the background. I forgot that I'm not fond of cheese curds, a popular regional snack. These will probably wind up being dog treats. If you haven't had them, they are a bit on the sour side, probably lower in fat than regular cheese. Kind of a strange rubbery texture. Here's more about them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_curds

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Another nice sign and storefront: Janousek's Cafe in Hutchinson. Unfortunately, this place is now vacant. There's a nice long counter inside with stools. I sure hope it can come back as another restaurant.

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How about one more old storefront in Hutchinson? Although the sign here is nicely maintained, there is only neon on one side.

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These have to be the prettiest license plates I have ever seen:

Day 3: The Dells to Albert Lea, MN

2008-08-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

A very fun and productive day. Most of the day was in southeastern Minnesota. As it turned out, just about everything on my list was statuary of some sort: fiberglass people, cement people, even carousel figures might qualify I suppose. Only a few signs and buildings here and there. Lots of miles. Lots of cornfields. And another late night here at the "office" getting stuff uploaded. On with the show --

Everywhere in Wisconsin and Minnesota there are these plastic beer signs. I sure don't remember seeing so many in the Northeast.

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I went to LARK Toys in Kellogg, MN to see their modern but incredible carousel. They have a big display of vintage toys.

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LARK also has as other purchase-able toys including these modern and repro kiddie cars (is that what you call them?). Do people really spend over $300 on these things to watch their kids slam them into trees? Or are they just for display? I'm including the New York police car even if it's blurry as a tribute to my "home town". Yes, it really does say that silly stuff on the real cars (CPR: Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect):

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In Nelson, WI, I came across this fireworks stand. I've never seen one quite as elegant or open-air as this:

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A cute sign at the Gingerbread House Bakery in Rochester, MN:

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A nice fountain in Rochester -- at 80+ degrees, it was tempting to jump in:

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Also in Rochester: Tangerine Gifts has a nice modern sign. Even though it's LED tubing instead of neon, hey, it's better than some plain lettered piece of plastic.

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One more in Rochester -- Gone Fishing has this giant bug on the roof. They say he's from the mid-1990s.

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This cheerful wood carving is south of Rochester on the lawn of a farmhouse. It reads "Because I Love These Things" around the top.

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The kids got their kicks in big grassy fields today. Just as well we lay off the water for a couple days as Nik is completely obsessed with it right now. Any time he sees or smells a lake or a river, he goes berzerk (screaming). He's got Grem doing it now, too. This is not good in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

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In case you're wondering what that thing is around Gremlin's neck -- it's a "Spray Commander". I've learned in the eight months since I adopted her that she's "a runner". When she takes off, she probably wouldn't think of me until a week from next Tuesday. After too many scary incidents near roads and a terrifying chase across the desert, I gave in to purchasing this device about four months ago. "Come" really means come -- it's a matter of life and death with her. The thing emits a little spray (citronella or scentless) that startles the dog out of whatever he/she is doing. The remote control give me about a 100' range - which isn't a lot with a fast dog like her so I have to really pay attention. They say these are way more effective and humane than shock collars. All I know is, she has more fun and freedom with this than the long line. She'll probably always have to wear this cinderblock around her neck when she's off-leash since she is obsessed with wildlife and exploring the universe.

Day 2: Chicago to The Dells

2008-08-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

A very fruitful and exhausting day. The dogs got another romp at the beach in Chicago. Then later in the day, they got a good chunk of time to play at a river. Thank goodness the AC in the van is working great as it was again around 90 today. I try to use the AC sparingly since I hear you get better gas mileage by not using it. Gas prices have gone up since the Spring trip. The cheapest I've seen was as a Flying J in PA at $3.43; the most expensive in downtown Chicago $4.53. I'm sure I'll see worse as California had the highest in the Spring.

I had far more on my list for Illinois than I realized so that ate up most of the day. I should be able to finish the Wisconsin stuff in the morning though and I'm pretty much right on schedule or slightly ahead. Took tons of photos today & am starting to get back in the groove though I'm still exhausted from no sleep the night before last. So let's get to the photos --

This building in Chicago is so ugly, it's cute:

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If wood shingles are your thing, how about this geodesic dome covered with the stuff in Freeport, IL. It's used as an accounting office strangely enough:

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I kept seeing these things in Chicago and wondering what the heck they were. They are perched way up on top of poles and have ugly masses of wires attached. I figured they must be some pull the lever & call the police sort of thing (flashing blue lights at top) -- but I never saw any lever type boxes or anything to go with them. I'd love to know what the deal is:

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A cool-looking candy store in McHenry, IL. I don't know if that's what it always was. The tip of the building's pointy tower has some dripping chocolate sauce:

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A beautiful old silo, west of Marengo, IL (might be Garden Prairie, IL):

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Way out in Illinois farmland (I saw a LOT of corn today) -- this odd sign. Blurry but I'll include it anyway. I'm not even sure what it means. And the salesman seems to be posed in a Jesus-y sort of way.

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This motel in Baraboo is apparently endorsed by Gumby:

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A couple great (but not great enough for the website) cleaners signs in Baraboo, WI.

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And lastly, this bus was parked in Baraboo, WI:

Day 1: NYC to Chicago

2008-07-31T22:01:00.001-07:00

Today was a killer physically. Worked until 2am, left home 3am, and drove all day & am here doing this now at 1am. So pardon me if I'm incoherent. Arrived in Chicago late afternoon & got to a few things on my list. More importantly, got the dogs some well-deserved exercise after being cooped up all day. Here are a couple crude videos of them in action at Montrose Beach -- a fantastic, huge, off-leash area right on Lake Michigan downtown:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidenut/2720982227/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidenut/2720982217/

The weather was hot (high in the 90s) and overcast until I got to Chicago. And then it got very dark and started to rain. Not great for taking pictures. So I could only get a few things done before we hit the beach.

Just a couple photos for the blog for today & then I'm hitting the hay. These two neat signs are not neat enough for the website and the agilitynut flickr account but I'm glad to have this venue for them. Both were "stumbles" (not on my list but things I stumbled upon) in Oak Forest, IL:

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We'll hit Montrose Beach one more time in the morning and then I'll finish up a few things here in Chicago before moving on to Wisconsin. Here was the sunset on the river. Some dogs visible in the water -- people on-shore are unknown to me. The water was incredibly warm. Usually there are pretty big waves which don't phase Nik but the water was calm today.

Day 45: the Journey Home to Brooklyn

2008-04-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

All good things must come to an end. I aborted the trip a couple days early because of the snow in Colorado & the Midwest. I can take decent photos in the rain but snow makes for ridiculous white blobs that ruin the image. Just as well, lots of stuff to deal with back at work before I return to my Real Job (nothing to do with this roadside stuff).

Reflecting on the math of this six-week trip: we covered 16,304 miles and it cost about $5,000 -- the bulk of that was gas (~ $3700) plus some "hidden fees":

one speeding in school zone ticket in NM ($63)
one speeding ticket in Houston, TX ($200)
one seatbelt ticket in L.A. ($93)
one parking ticket in downtown L.A. ($70)
one parking ticket in Pasadena, CA ($37)
[these expenses were cheap and so worth it considering the number of stop signs I rolled through, the illegal U-turns I made, the speed limits I ignored, the stop & shoot double parking/hydant parking violations, etc.]

And considering the amount of photos (about 6,000), the memories, good times had by me and the dogs = priceless!

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Now to catch up on a few photos that I took on the way home. The weather was brutal and I was exhausted from the stress of driving in the snow and quite eager to get home. I understand it's still snowing in Denver and raining in the Midwest. So I'm thrilled to be home in the sun and relative warmth. The dogs were positively gleeful to be back running in their familiar park this morning.

Going back in time... to the April 9th when my flash drive bit the dust (thanks Nik). Here's a place in Duchesne, UT that was known as the Bottle Hollow Resort. Some interesting and sad ruins of a mid-century motel and gas station.

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Here's proof of the awfulness that befell me during the last couple days of the trip:

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Sparkle was anything but sparkling. Some interesting hubcab formations:

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A dip in a hot spring (there were lots of them around) sure seemed like a good idea:

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My last sustaining bit of road junk food from a Safeway. There were fewer marshmallows than the label implied. It was pretty much all cream (can't complain) with mostly bits of coconut & pineapple. I'm not sure about the pistachios -- but the product was this lovely shade of green. Hey, it's the small pleasures in life that get us through the hard stuff. Happy to be home & I hope you'll join the dogs & I again this Summer when we will head off on another marathon trip to the Pacific Northwest.

Day 44: Julesberg, CO to La Salle, IL

2008-04-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

Not much to report -- nothing but interstate today. 750 miles worth. Some rain and high winds but nothing terrible. Hopefully, with an anticipated early start and good weather, we'll be home late tomorrow night. Just a mere 850 miles to go. Then I'll post those remaining photos here on Sunday morning with the final posting for this trip. It's COLD here near Chicago and we're all eager to be home where I hear it's in the 60s.

Day 43: Grand Junction to Julesberg

2008-04-10T18:47:00.001-07:00

We've hit some awful weather here in Colorado. It made yesterday's ordeal look tame. We got a little break once we got over the Rockies and into Denver. So we went to Boulder for a little bit before darkness. Just long enough to shoot a couple things and get a romp in at the East Boulder Dog Park. After the stress of the snow, it was fun to just get out of the van, throw balls and get muddy. According to the Weather Channel on Sirius, the Midwest is getting hit hard with snow -- not to mention tornados in Iowa. So I drove to Julesberg until it got scary again and called it a night. I only took a few photos for the website and the blog since I barely got off I-70. The rest of the trip will be all interstate. So I will probably just wait until I get home to post the rest of the photos here and at Flickr. I'd like to get us home a tad early (this weekend) with just stops for gas, coffee, peeing, and brief naps. But I won't be stupid with this weather. Onward!

Day 42: Salt Lake City to Grand Junction, CO

2008-04-10T06:18:00.000-07:00

The day started out in a civilized fashion as I had the chance to get together with another Flickr buddy that I had never met. I had breakfast with arts_enthusiast at a great little place, Lamb's Coffee Shop, in downtown Salt Lake City.

When I left SLC, the weather got really ugly: grey, rain, sleet, snow. Somehow, I covered a lot of ground and got decent photos for the most part. The early evening trek across some mountains in CO was truly scary. All for the love of dinosaurs! What looked like a straight line on the map was actually a big climb and tight turns. No cell phone service in that area and hardly any other cars on the road. I'm relieved that it's time to scurry home as there will probably not be any more of this off the beaten path nonsense. When I planned this trip, I thought the bad weather would be over and it would be safe to hit this part of the country in April. Now I know better!

A cute sign in Salt Lake City. I saw another sign later with the same design for a Ute Car Wash. The design below the Indian's head with the "A" indicates that this is a reworked Sofspra car wash chain sign:
http://www.roadsidepeek.com/roadusa/southwest/california/socal/sandiego/autosd/carwashsd/index.htm

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I'm a big Diet Coke drinker -- but normally not THIS big. A gas station convenience store was having a special and the liter bottles were cheaper than the normal 20 oounce size. So I bought a couple of those instead. It was a comfort to know that if I were to break down in the boonies, at least I had an adequate supply of DC on hand.

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I went to check out the International Peace Gardens in SLC, having heard that there were mini landmarks. I love small-scale, identifiable buildings. There was a small metal Eiffel Tower but it wasn't really enough for me. There were a couple neat things anyway -- and the adjacent empty park made for some good running for the dogs.

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The Holiday Lanes in Heber City had a nice mid-century touch:

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Unfortunately, a mini disaster has struck. The rest of the blog photos that I had prepared for this post were on what was left of my flash drive (the one that Grem had chewed up previously). Nik in his boisterous persistence of trying to get my attention, has snapped it in two with his busy feet. So I will have to finish this up later. To be continued...

Day 41: Fallon, NV to Salt Lake City, UT

2008-04-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

A lot of long interstate stretches through Nevada today. Interrupted every hour or so with itty bitty towns with handfuls of neon signs. I seemed to be one of only a few cars on the interstate for awhile which seemed eerie. Then when I got near Imlay, it started snowing pretty hard and I figured that might be the reason why. For all I knew, the storm of the century was on its way. But luckily the snow passed and there were only flurries here and there. But it was a grey day. And dull. Thank goodness for satellite radio.

So not that many photos taken. Which means an early night for me. I could use one! Tomorrow, I'll be busy snapping away again as I have some SLC stops and lots of other Utah stuff to get to.

This was my world for about 12 hours today. Makes you want to yawn now doesn't it? Actually, there was some variation. As I got closer to UT, the mountains got bigger and the snow got thicker and lower.

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Entertainment must be hard to find in Lovelock. Here's a modified Jaguar:

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This sad relic is in Winnemucca. I love saying that name.

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Another forlorn gas station. I don't recall seeing such a nice gas station sign before. I imagine it was neon originally. This one in Elko:

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My evening was capped with a rendez-vous with a fellow Flickr-er. I met up with samwibatt for a brew here in SLC. When I can, I try to squeeze in visits with strangers that I have met on-line and seem to have simpatico with. I might get together with another internet pal tomorrow morning though I hate to give up shooting time during the day.

Day 40: Truckee, CA to Fallon, NV

2008-04-08T00:30:00.000-07:00

It was cold in Truckee (30s?) when we left and headed over some mountains into Lake Tahoe. I found this spot at a public park on the water to let the dogs run & sniff. The water obviously too cold for Nik to swim. The lake was emerald in color but it doesn't show in this photo.

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After some picture-taking there, we headed over more mountains into the desert for stops in Minden and Carson City. Then it was on to Reno which is an incredible city if you're into neon signs. Lots of other fun stuff as well. This casino pedestrian overpass is amusingly grandiose:

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This casino signage looks like it might have been designed by a 14-year-old girl:

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I've seen a couple other Jack LaLanne statues on this trip but I believe all the fitness centers have different names now:

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This water store/vend-o-mat has a modern but nice sign. I've never seen a whole row of water machines before. Is there something wrong with the water supply in Reno or is it just cheaper to buy from machines?

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A cute sign detail at a motel in Reno:

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Signature Landscapes in Reno has a couple nice sculptural pieces:

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A wedding chapel in Reno:

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Lots of classic motels still around in Reno:

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This one has a great wedding cake office entrance. The Farris Motel was built in 1949.

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I have never seen a Hamm's sign before. This one was 3-D with the foam as the part with the highest relief.

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And lastly, a hand-painted sign at a mattress store:

Day 39: Sacramento to Truckee

2008-04-06T23:32:00.001-07:00

The stuff in Sacramento took up most of the day. Then we headed on to smaller cities northeast of there, starting the push towards home. It was a shocker heading over the Sierra Nevadas (Donner Pass, no less!) and seeing snow and having to wear a jacket. The weather forecast for the cross-country drive home this week is not good. Lots of rain, maybe some snow here and there. Granted, I'll be on I-80 most of the time. Maybe I should've stayed in CA and done the Bay Area after all and then done a killer drive home. Or maybe I'll just get back a couple days early if the weather's not conducive for taking pictures. Not the end of the world since I have a lot to deal with back home.

Anyway -- lots of blog photos from today. Let's start with this neat beekeeping store in Sacramento:

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A cool spaceship sculpture at a space-themed children's playground called "Universal Universe" in Sacramento:

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In the afternoon, we checked out another dog park in Sacramento. Here's a photo of the one in Granite Park. Decently big and secure chain link fencing than so I felt comfortable with Grem off-leash. Also kiddie pools which Nik really appreciated with his manic ball-chasing.

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Fix and Nik spent most of the day in the front seat together while Grip and Grem alternated between my lap and the back of the van. I think everybody will be relieved with the long interstate hauling back home so they can get some solid rest.

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An adapted Pioneer Chicken sign -- here's what they normally look like:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmewuji/892511/

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I don't recall ever seeing a Canada Dry sign before:

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An adapted hamburger drive-in sign. The place is now vacant again so chances are good that this burger will get painted over by the next business.

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Lots of these signs in Sacramento. I've never seen prices assigned like this in any other city:

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This produce stand was closed in Loomis or I definitely would've gotten some goodies. Honestly, I do eat more than junk food! The sign might have been neon originally -- hard to tell. I'm sure this painting is recent -- but still very nice.

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And lastly, a trailer dealer in Auburn was selling these cute little trailers. Available in white, yellow or camo, if you prefer. There was also this igloo-ish structure. I imagine it's purchase-able -- but for what, I'm not sure. There was no bottom.

Day 38: Turlock to Sacramento

2008-04-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

It's been really fun exploring the Central Valley the past couple days. I have never been to these towns nor seen the old Route 99 treasures that still exist. Sadly, most of these classic motel neon signs seem pretty much doomed since they have been cut off by intensive highway improvements. They might be "improvements" for motorists, but it means these old businesses are now on hard-to-get-to frontage roads.

This old market in French Camp, with great Eskimo Pie signage, appears to be long closed. I contemplated for a moment quitting my day job and "adopting" this building, turning it into a cafe, the big back property into a dog park and....

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Here's a sweet sign from Stockton:

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This Egyptian Revival building in Stockton was once the Dawson Storage Warehouse. It's pretty obscured by trees now and has been stripped of some details.

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And yet a third heartbreak... this neat old ice cream shop in Lodi. Maybe it's not closed after all. The hours on the door said Mon-Fri 10:30am - 12pm. So that means only open 1 1/2 hours per day? Maybe they serve breakfast food only -- and ice cream to crazy people like myself who can eat ice cream any time day or night. But wouldn't weekends be busier? I'm mystified. Anyway, the building and interior had nice glazed brick, old wood cabinets, cute tables/counters and a visible kitchen production area.

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Speaking of food... it's time to share one of my favorite road snacks for those late afternoons when I don't have time for a real meal while I'm chasing down stuff on my list as the sun is setting. There are many brands out there but they all seem to taste the same. Peachie-Os are peach-flavored gummy candy -- but not as chewy as your typical gummy bears. Crazy mix of sweet and tart -- and they taste like peaches. Three of my dogs will eat them. Grem just swallows (she eats dirt and leaves with glee, so she's not choosy). Nik bobs his head up and down and makes faces. Grip holds it in her mouth for a moment, motionless, and then overdramatizes the chewing aspect. And Fix -- no WAY will she eat the stuff. At least one of the five of us has sense!

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The dogs got ample exercise today. We revisited the giant mall-to-be field in Turlock first thing. Then in the afternoon, we visited Partner Park in Sacramento(cityofsacramento.org/parksandrecreation/parks/dogpark1.htm). It was a decent size with lots of trees. The bars seemed a little narrow and I gave it a little thought. Then when Nik's ball went through them at one point -- and he followed with a little squeeze -- I immediately scooped up Grem as if to prevent her from seeing what just happened. I kept her busy the rest of the time retrieving balls in the center of the park. I guess most dog parks were designed with your Shepherd Mix in mind and not your Chihuahua. If it were my regular park, I'd insist on chicken wire all the way around the bottom couple feet.

Scare #2 of the day, non-dog this time. While I was taking a photo of a neon sign just east of downtown Sacramento, in a really busy area, I saw this giant bird strolling around. Then he/she decided to cross the busy street (G Street?) -- "doop-de-doo, think I'll go this way". I was assisting the best I could with holding up fast moving traffic. He went into a more residential area and I figured that's about all I could do for him and wished him well. Now, was this a wild turkey? I tried to get better photos but they all came out horribly blurry. I'm not good with the camera when I'm stressed out.

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I hate speed bumps. I really detest them. In supermarket parking lots, I'll go the long way around just to avoid them. Rotaries are a much better solution for slowing traffic down -- but some streets just aren't wide enough I realize. Some speed bumps are so narrow/tall (usually in the worst neighborhoods, where I'm most inclined to be taking photos), that even at 5mph you're worried about shortening the life of your shocks or worse. Today, in Sacramento, I saw signs warning about "Undulations Ahead". Never heard them called that before. And then, this one made me chuckle -- another new name to me:

Day 37: Fresno to Turlock

2008-04-04T22:39:00.000-07:00

Fresno ended up taking up about 80% of the day. I had many things to shoot there. Still, there was no traffic, and most of the stuff was pretty close together. So I have no idea where the time went. More perfect weather. My fourth oil change of the trip -- checked the odometer. Yes, more than 12,000 miles so far and I'm still about 3,000 miles from home.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the trip was that the Forestiere Sunken Gardens in Fresno was closed when I got there in the afternoon. Seems it had been open in the morning. My hotel had been practially across the street. Damn! That was something I wanted to see for many, many years. However, I know my pictures would've probably not turned out. I have not mastered indoor/flash photography with this camera at all.
http://historicfresno.org/nrhp/forest.htm

I did find a dog park in Fresno today but little Grem found a gap under the chain link and was then FREE, free at last! The park was plenty big but, no, she had to see what was on the other side and then took off running. I'm sure this is how she ended up leaving her previous home(s). So I was hobbling the best I could on my still bad knee, all over kingdom come til she found something interesting enough to sniff/eat and I could nonchalantly snag her. Geesus.

This little devil is quite the chewer as well. Here's what she did to one of my flash drives in her spare time when I wasn't in the van. Although the plastic cover is now gone, it still works and I'm still using it -- but not for anything terribly important. She eats pens for snacks if I'm not paying attention. The ink is just delicious. This dog has a death wish!

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So, since Fresno is chock full of signs, that's what I'll be giving you for the blog today. I love these two guys (different businesses). The second of them was probably neon at one time but they've done a nice job with him nevertheless.

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I wonder if this one has been the subject of any controversy over the years?

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I did not know until now that Hopalong Cassidy is the mascot for Producers Milk. This signage is at their plant in Fresno.

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This giant sheet music for "Amazing Grace" is on the side of a church building downtown:

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This giant green thing really has me curious. It's kind of like a leaf -- but not. Does anyone know what it used to represent?

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And lastly, a giant sign that was apparently part of a motel.

Day 36: Bakersfield to Fresno

2008-04-04T06:53:00.000-07:00

The rest of the CA portion of this trip will probably be confined to the Central Valley. Hopefully, I'll get to the Bay Area this Fall. Lots of good old stuff to shoot along this corridor. I must have 60 things to shoot in Fresno alone. I must have been to these towns when I was a kid but I don't remember any of it.

Here's a nicely done advertising mural in Fresno:

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Lots of agriculture in these parts. I've been passing lots of vineyards and orange groves with sweet-smelling blossums. This bar in Lindsay had nice tile & glass and a painted sign:

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Across the street was this building with boarded-up windows concealed with artwork:

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This painted sign is from Fresno where I'll be spending a good chunk of time this morning:

Day 35: Santa Barbara to Bakersifeld

2008-04-02T22:31:00.001-07:00

The day started off dreary and then turned to rain. I've had what feels like 20 straight days of perfect weather so I really can't complain. Still, a lot of photos came out pretty marginal. Here are a couple fun signs from Pismo Beach where you can see the rain streaks:

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I can't remember the name of these flowers but we had a yellow version in my yard when I was growing up. They pretty much grow like weeds in Southern California. What I like about them is how they close up at night to stay warm. Seems awfully smart and animal-like to me.

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The dogs got to see lots of wildlife today: ostriches, buffalo, longhorn cattle, goats, etc. But what really sent them into a tizzy was this colt or filly at the Madonna Inn. The youngster, probably only a couple weeks old, was running laps and acting like an idiot. But my dogs were acting even more idiotic. Nik does what I call pogo-ing (bouncing up and down as far as he can without hitting the roof) and barking like mad. The rest of the family always chimes in, too, and Gremlin hits decibels that will make your ears bleed. I didn't manage to get a shot of the young horse running but he's here at the center of this photo:

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These cute statues are at the Splash Cafe in San Luis Obispo. I assume they are clam people? The two shots are of the one on the ground, the other is on the roof.

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The rain finally subsided during a torturously long trek from the coast across the mountains to the Central Valley. I got to Fresno late afternoon and then headed up another mountain to visit my mother in Lake Isabella. I hadn't seen her in over ten years so it was great to finally get together.

Day 34: Oxnard to Santa Barbara

2008-04-01T23:38:00.000-07:00

It was an eerie stroll down memory lane for most of the day. Trying to remember what was where in my old hometown of Ventura. So much has changed in 28 years! I went by the house that I grew up in and it was very derelict and depressing. I even checked out a couple of my old schools. I had no memory that my elementary school was Streamline Moderne:

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or that my high school (Buena High) had Mid-Century details:

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Inside that auditorium was a cosmic lamp fixture that must've been there when I was there. Of course, we only ever entered from the side and I probably never even saw the building's legs or this thing:

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I do remember the "Orange Peel" (not sure if it's still called that) -- I guess named for its abstract shape in back. This is where they did big school announcements and the stage from which we graduated. It's in the center of the school on a big patch of grass on the "Quad" (although I never really saw what was so quad about it). The Peel wasn't painted these bright colors back then.

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Ventura also has this mid-century library which I spent a lot of time in during my youth. The photo doesn't show it well but there are freestanding letters in front. The color was a lighter blue back then. I'm glad they haven't messed with the facade.

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Perhaps the oldest business in town (1900s?) was Peirano's, across the street from the Mission on Main Street. It was still a market when I left in 1980 but, alas, is a restaurant now. I just wish they had kept their name off the original brick glass. Main Street is still an interesting mix of new businesses and thrift stores.

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In addition to the Ventura stuff, I went way out of the way to see Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village -- a place I had always wanted to see and heard a lot about growing up. It has nearly been destroyed a few times and is truly a special place that deserves some true funding and restoration. Among the bottle houses, pathways and other interesting stuff were these pretty plants, succulents known as "hen and chicks":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hens_and_chicks

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By the time I got to Santa Barbara, it was already getting dark but I think I managed to get the shots I need so I can move further northward tomorrow. In contrast to all the wealth and beauty of Santa Barbara was this "double decker" bus that sure appears to be from a different era:

Day 33: Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Westwood

2008-03-31T23:29:00.000-07:00

I really cranked today to finish up the L.A. stuff. I can't believe what I accomplished in the past few days. The rest of the trip will seem laid-back after this. No more mega cities with zillions of stops per hour. It may be less exciting, but I won't miss the traffic. I really have to really trim things from my itinerary now. Only about ten days left and about half that time will be spent on the interstates hauling it back to New York.

The dogs were prisoners most of the day as Mama was an absolute maniac and there were few places to cut them loose. Poor Nik and Grem were driven crazy by the smells and sights of the ocean as we drove up Pacific Coast Highway from Malibu to Oxnard. I will make it up to them tomorrow somehow.

Just another Streamline Moderne building on the Miracle Mile:

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And just another gorgeous apartment building in Hollywood:

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Perhaps the most famous of all story book houses (the Spadena House in Beverly Hills):

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A mid-century detail that's probably not long for this world. This was originally a waterfall with multi-colored glass pieces. It was originally a bank, now a church, and there is talk of demo-ing the place for something bigger & better.

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I haven't seen these bushes in a couple decades. At least I know what this one is! Bottle brush, for obvious reasons:

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There's really not much weird about "Hollyweird" anymore -- but at least I found this place on Melrose (technically in L.A.). The Max Azria clothes store features an art installation of tree branches shaped to look like curly hair:

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Here's a pair of nice rusty signs in Beverlywood:

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I love all the product paintings in L.A. I don't remember them back home.

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And lastly, I have to include a Sunset Blvd. billboard. This one's pretty sexist but I do love the giant bra add-ons anyway:

Days 31 & 32: The Valley, Downtown, Hollywood

2008-03-31T06:53:00.000-07:00

I think I set my own new personal record in the past two days, taking more than 400 photos for the website. I took Saturday night off from Flickr/the blog to visit an aunt and her husband that I hadn't seen in over 20 years. Then, I was too wiped out from insane amounts of city driving and getting stuff up at Flickr last night to put together anything coherent here. So, well rested!, let me get this thing done while the sun is making its way up high enough to not make orange-y photos.

The dogs have been making do with abandoned lots as there haven't been any dog parks in the heart of the city and I haven't wanted to sacrifice valuable shooting time trekking back and forth to Laurel Canyon. As soon as we finish L.A. County (today I hope!), I promise them some good long running.

I've got tons of blog-worthy photos -- where to begin? How about some buildings? One of the things I research and seek out on my roadtrips is storybook homes. You know, the Hansel & Gretel-y buildings with curvy roofs and details meant to make them look old. There's a great book about them here:
http://www.amazon.com/Storybook-Style-Americas-Whimsical-Twenties/dp/0670893854/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

and there are tons of them in L.A. that I'm not going to get to on this trip. I'm resisting starting a new section at my website. I've got all the topics I can handle already. So I don't really know what will become of these photos. Here are a couple from a neat little courtyard in/near Glendale:

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Another thing I seek out to shoot are Egyptian Revival buildings. So far I've resisted creating a section at my website for them, too. Their photos are just sitting on my hard drive for now. Here's an example of an apartment building in Hollywood:

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Here's another striking building from Hollywood. I know I have a little info in my notes somewhere but don't have the time to dig it up right now. Maybe someone else can help me identify this house while I'm off shooting:

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Here's a beautiful old building -- but what's with the shrubs?

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And here are a couple modern buildings. Actually, I'm not sure of the age on this one. It appears to be contemporary but it could be "tarted up" midcentury:

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And this one is much more impressive in person. Yes, that's no optical illusion -- the painted sides of the buildings are really shaped that way.

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Here are a couple more flowering trees that I can't identify:

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The flowers on this beauty have yellow centers:

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I've seen this in a few cities on my trip: groups of novices on Segways. I remember seeing a group of senior citizens on them in -- was it Tucson? How come you never seen experienced, fast-moving people on them? Actually, I did see a police force on them -- was it in San Diego?

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Gremlin finds L.A. endlessly fascinating. The rest of the gang waits for her to bark at the "important stuff" and then get up to check things out.

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A pit stop in downtown L.A. -- the place was actually called Famima which I found appropriate since I was famished. I believe they are a Japanese company expanding to the U.S. (http://www.famima-usa.com/) so they have lots of interesting Japanese items. I had to sample some of the ice creams. Sorry, in my haste to photo and get back to the van before getting a ticket, the upper right item is upside down.

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The root beer was nothing special and I didn't care too much for the eggy things. I had hoped they would have yellow yolks. But they were just vanilla ice cream in a kind of chewy coating. The other goodie was better: like vanilla ice cream in a waffle cone -- only shaped differently:

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I miss seeing these newsstands in Hollywood. In NYC, we just have the little street corner kiosks. But these are much more impressive -- some of the ones in downtown Hollywood are what seems like a block long. Do they exist anywhere outside of L.A.?

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This cute guy, in Glendale I think, was on the roof of an Italian restaurant:

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I wash shooting an old Mobil gas station (the super rare drum type) and the owner had a lot of these vehicles around. He serenaded me with some kind of crazy political, religious, incoherent song as I took my photos:

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I went to shoot another old gas station and a wall made of bottles (which I never did find) in/near Echo Park. There were scary, I mean SCARY, steep hills that had me peeing my pants. I'm glad Sparkle had her brakes done recently. I recommend avoiding Baxter Street at all costs. It might not look so bad in this photo (sorry about the buggy windshield) but really, it was really a white-knuckler.

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Lots of incredible painted wall murals in L.A. -- here are a couple examples:

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OK, so these guys are not "high art" but I still liked them:

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Time for some signs -- far from original condition:

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I'm not sure how old this cute guy in L.A. is. He's at a comic book store:

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And lastly, this impressive sign in the making. I thought they only used vinyl computer-generated signs on big buildings like this now. But from the scaffolding and paint-by-numbers style markings on the wall, it appears they are painting the whole thing: