It wasn’t a big day for shooting signs so I’m going to veer off course a bit in this post to include some other things that I cover at my website (statues & buildings).  But let’s start with this sign in Crestview, FL — a delicious mixed media mash-up of plastic and neon and shapes:

 

 

I diverted over the border to Florala, AL to shoot a gas station and came upon this novel column cluster.  A plaque indicated that they are all that’s left of the Covington County High School which was built in 1914 and demolished in 1963:

 

In Miramar Beach, I went looking for the World’s Largest Fishing Lure at the Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort.  Turned out it had been gone for years but I did come across this fiberglass beauty.  I believe this is a swordfish:

 

This faux lighthouse in Panama City Beach was once the little office for Beacon Golf, a mini-golf place.  It later served as a BBQ joint.  Now, it’s still well cared for and serving as an office for a scooter rental business.  If you’re into faux lighthouses, I’ve got loads of them at my website here:
http://www.roadarch.com/mim/lighthouses.html

 

 
The sadness is almost overcome by the bright paint.  This cave-like structure was built for Jungle Land in Panama City Beach in the 1960s.  There were gators, a waterfall, a fake volcano and the like.  It closed in the late 1980s and then operated as Alvin’s Magic Mountain Mall and then Alvin’s Island Tropical Department Store — basically, a gift shop with beach stuff, souvenirs, doo-dads & maybe some tiki-ish stuff.  Evidently, Alvin’s closed when Hurricane Michael hit in October 2018 and it remains closed.  I stepped over the police tape for a few shots.  No signs of damage though which leaves me worried that this building might be endangered.  Lots of building & growth in PCB right now.

 
I present the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! ship in Panama City.  It was modeled after the Titanic and built in 2006.  The ship had a more somber black & grey paint job originally.  Sometime around 2016, it got this prettier repaint:

 
The Bowlarama Lanes in Panama City remains closed after Michael.  The sign really took a hit:

 

There was lots of post-Michael devastation in Panama City.  This sign was still intact.  The letters originally had neon as evidenced in this postcard:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/edge_and_corner_wear/16464018423

 
The Sombrero Mexican Restaurant remains closed and it seems unlikely that it will reopen.  The owners found out that their insurance policy didn’t cover wind damage from hurricanes.  So, they are on their own.  The bent over rooftop sign is rather symbolic:

 
Sorry to end on a downer…  but I’ll be back soon once I get a big batch of Florida stuff at my website.  In the meantime, there are lots of more cheerful photos from Day 12 up at my Flickr account:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Happy trails,

dj & the dogs