The dogs and I are back on the road again this weekend.  A full day of glorious sun — the forecasters are promising more tomorrow.  Started shooting today in Morro Bay — where the dogs got a good run at a fantastic more-or-less legal dog beach.  I think it’s three miles long and a really wide packed sand beach.  Yeah, I know, shoulda brought the camera.

Lots of photos to share — let’s start with this one in Morro Bay.  These plastic oval Foster’s signs are even rarer than their earlier neon cousins.  More about Foster’s Freeze and lots of photos at my site here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/fosters.html

 

A couple of other great signs from Morro Bay:

 

Back inland for a bit.  This drug store in Soledad has one of those nice navy and orange neon Rexall signs:

It also has a nice under-canopy plastic sign:

And Rexall door pulls (that’s Sparkle’s reflection).  More Rexall signs from all over the country at my section here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/signs/rex.html

 

On to Salinas —

And the “star” of the Star Center — the neon is apparently still lit at night:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85853333@N00/8421214616/

 

One more from Salinas:

 

From Hollister:

 

From Morgan Hill – a former Sno-White Drive-in.   The sign and building have been adapted.  More examples of these signs and building (and a photo of what this Morgan Hill sign looked like originally) at my site here:

http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/cadi2.html

 

Also in Morgan Hill.  I have no idea how old this Punch statue is — probably not very — but I thought he was pretty neat.  He is located in front of a cigar store.  I think he would have held a cigar box in his right hand.  I have no idea what that indentation in his belly is about.  Evidently, there’s a history to these statues — an oldie here:
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/4279104

 

Some neat freestanding letters in Gilroy:

 

And just last weekend, I posted a Sofspra car wash sign from Encinitas here at this blog — declaring that I thought it was the last one of its kind.  Well, today, I bumped into this one in Watsonville.  So, that makes two:

This location has more intact looking stalls than the one in Encinitas:

 

This building was just across the street.  An indecipherable name on the sign.  I have no idea if this was the original occupant or if there were any others like this:

 

One more from Watsonville.  This rooftop sign is at the long-closed Cabrillo Lanes:

 

Let’s close out with another mystery — this one from Aptos.  Just north of the Sno-White Drive-in is this mid-century beauty.  It now houses the Ambrosia Indian Bistro (I was hungry and tempted — but opted for onion rings at the Sno-White).  I don’t know if that triangulated glass is original (most likely not).

Surely, this giant spoon sign in front of the place must provide a clue as to the original business name:

That’s it for today.   The dogs and I have settled in Santa Cruz for the night.  Some shooting here in the morning and then working our way up to San Jose, Redwood City and thereabouts.  A long journey home and then back to work on Monday.  I’ll post this weekend’s wrap-up then.  Until then, here are some more photos from today over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

dj