From the map, it looks like we barely got anywhere today. But I banged out about as many stops as usual despite lots of traffic and really shitty road signs. The weather was cooler (highs upper 70s) and I’m happy report GA still believes in 20 oz. Diet Cokes. The dogs got their jollies on corporate lawns and soon-to-be-developed vacant lots.

I started the day off by backing Sparkle into a truck at a gas station. I was maybe doing 3mph when I heard a little thunk. The truck was fine but I had managed to precisely hit my hatch lock button against some metal protrusion on the truck. So much for those handy Dutch doors providing access to the fully stocked supply room of dog toys & emergency gear for the rest of this trip. I can get to the stuff from the inside but it’s a real pain. To get the door(s) functional again when I get home, I imagine it’ll cost $1,000+ to bang things out and replace the latch/lock. Maybe they’ll have to replace the whole upper door! That’s twice now that I’ve done a stupid backing maneuver on these roadtrips (the previous one had us at a 45 degree angle in a ditch but luckily no harm done). I’m completely paranoid now about backing up. It’s good to have these little incidents to remind us how soft metal is and how vulnerable we are in these fast-moving spaceships of ours.

On with the photos… This little guy in Cartersville helped cheer me up a bit.

Another cute guy at High Tech Transmissions in Marietta. You can’t see his cape in this photo.

Let’s pause for a moment to pay respect to possibly the tiniest commercial structures ever made: the Fotomat booth. There must’ve been thousands of them scattered around the country in the 1960s and 1970s. Now, I bet less than 100 remain. The survivors sometimes get reused as key shops, shoe repairs, etc. This one, in Cartersville, appears to have been a taxi stand in its last incarnation.

Another dying breed here in the South is the Dixie gas station. This one in Dallas looks like it’s been closed for years. I’m not sure if there are any still operating at this point.

I guess I’ve got a theme going today — what about these phone booths?  I haven’t seen any like this lately (from Athens):

This is something I haven’t seen before:  a Dairy Queen logo rooftop weathervane.  I’m familiar with DQ’s Little Miss weathervanes which are incredibly rare — but this one in Athens really surprised me. Has anyone else seen them before?  I assume there must’ve been Dairy Queen lettering on it originally.  I wonder if the little flags always looked like this or were something more.

Although this looks like it’s from somewhere out in rural America, it’s actually in downtown Atlanta!  Lots to look at here.

And I send this photo out to my friend in NYC who are getting yet another snowstorm tonight I understand.  And to my friends in Minnesota and Michigan that have had it way worse than we have this year.  Spring IS on the way.  My first magnolia sighting of the year in Atlanta.