This is the first of two little four-day California weekend trips to roadtest Gator to make sure she is ready for the big summer trip. There will be another four-day, Northern California trip in May.

Let’s start with this cute and cheery sign in Orcutt:

This nifty sign in Santa Maria has, yes, a fun saguaro but also corrugated plastic (fiberglass?) panels and stick-on letters which are getting really rare now. Usually, the letters fall off and these guys get replaced with flat, backlit plastic panels.

This rusty-crusty sign is in Fresno:

Another long-neglected sign in Fresno:

If you didn’t know by now, the Big Star Motel sign in Fresno:

… had its neon and bulbs removed and was repainted last year:

This sign is in Visalia. I’m puzzled by what the bottom panel read:

I believe this sign in Bakersfield was painted earlier this year:

I’m a big fan of train cars converted to restaurants (loads of them at my website). Here’s one in Half Moon Bay:

Let’s close this post with a welcome arch sign in Castroville (Gator on the left says “hi” – and Orbit poses on the dash):

Back real soon with more.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs