When I looked at the maps & lists this morning, I realized there was still a whole bunch of stuff north and northeast of Dallas that I couldn’t live without.  With that all done, finally, tomorrow will be a big Dallas marathon.  Glorious & spectacular sun and mild temperatures all day.  Quick romps on grass for the dogs.  Didn’t see any streams or water today.  Except for that big lake on I-30 Northeast of Dallas that we crossed over again which made Nik & Grem nuts.  Noses in the air, synchronized screaming, to no avail.  Sorry guys, nowhere to pull over.  Sparkle chugging along perfectly.

Posted an extra big batch over at Flickr just now & have another big blog batch.  So since it’s after midnight, let’s get to it.  The day started ever so briefly in Dallas where I encountered this mega McDonald’s.  I guess that’s a giant Happy Meal Box?  And the giant Ronald was kinda creepy:

 

A neat Hacienda-ized former Whataburger in Carrollton.  Vacant now:

 

As far as modern neon signs go, this one’s pretty neat.  In Frisco:

 

A couple signs from McKinney.  This Masonic sign was clearly lit from inside — maybe it still is:

I never get tired of these navy porcelain signs:

 

This one’s from Anna — the stand is still open:

 

From Sherman:

 

From Denison.  This Art Deco sign must’ve had some nice colors originally.  The name might be the same since the letters seem to match up with the former neon tubing holes:

 

Sky blue on a blue sky.  From Paris, TX:

The biz’s ad on the side of the building plus a rare Texaco ghost sign:

Paris Junior College has a dragon mascot.  This guy sure seemed goofy looking.  Don’t sports teams usually aim for threatening looking mascots?

 

Miller’s Drugs in Cooper.  Weird marbled patina.  I have no idea what the original paint job was like on this Art Deco gem.  Sometimes specks or marbling was used on painted signs – so it’s possible this might not be as bizarre as it seems:

 

Maybe a clothing store originally?  From Sulphur Springs:

 

From Greenville.  Now not so dreamy — the rooms are all boarded up:

 

The last couple hours of shooting, a moon (here on the right) was posing in the background in a lot of my shots (e.g., see Miller’s sign above as well).  This neat building and sign are in Greenville:

 

That’s a wrap for the night.  I hope this weather holds for the megashoot tomorrow in Dallas.