By “trey”, I mean three — as in tri-state (WV, PA and OH — although we were only in the latter for a tiny bit) — and also day three.  And, grey, well — another tediously, solidly cloudy day.  When it wasn’t raining, then it was just a darker grey.  I’m bummed.  But it’s raining in Albuquerque right now as well — so maybe it’s good I’m still here.   But I’m giving impatient thought to just flooring it tomorrow, driving west til the sun comes out, somewhere.   Although the forecast looks good for right here tomorrow.

No embarrassing mishaps to report.  Mom is getting a bit testy with all the barking.  Nik has gotten a little spoiled early in this trip and expects that he’s getting out every stop where there’s grass visible.  He ate a lot of goose poop today which gave me even more to yell about.   Grip starts barking around 4pm now demanding dinner (which should be more like 6pm).  I think with her loss of sight, she’s lost her sense of time.  Grem barks just about all day.  And Fix is the good girl — who only barks when the other ones do (“they started it!”).

So let’s begin with some intentional monochrome — a black and white building — to get you in the mood for today’s photos.  An Art Deco building in the Elm Grove section of Wheeling, WV.   Looks like a former bank to me.  There appear to be holes below the Board of Ed letters where a previous sign would have been:

 

I shot lots of round mid-century buildings today — I’ll spare you.  But here’s one in Wheeling.  Pink panels, blue panels, green panels… I love them all:

 

More Wheeling.  Now, had this been a sunny day, this magnificent sign would be appearing over at my agilitynut Flickr account tonight.  But, alas,  it’s sadly condemned to the rusty, crusty, dreary selections of my blog:

 

Now, I never complain (ha!) but this one really pisses me off.  Bad enough that they’ve covered the original Kresge facade — but this cheapo lithograph covering is a joke.  Completely blurry — like they planned the resolution for something one-fourth of the size — and then just blew it up all the way like “good enough, no one will notice, looks better than it did”.  Gawd.   It looks so much worse in person.  I guess they thought they were hiding an eyesore — but THIS is the real eyesore now.

And what’s been covered up:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34878756@N04/3867845692/

 

OK, so covering things up is nothing new.  Here’s a sixties/seventies example.  And maybe it’s just now that this has that kitschy fun look to us now that it’s treasured (at least by folks like me).  But still.  Really.  If printed computer graphics are the way of the future and all craftsmanship is dead, do we have more downtowns soon to looks like super-trashed Disney Main Streets — all vinyl tarped crap?

 

On a less serious note.  Still Wheeling until I say otherwise.  These guys (puppets? masks?) stare down from the second floor.  Half cute / half creepy:

 

Shall we vote if this is a beauty or an eyesore?  I personally love it — all this and that.  1970s?  I particularly love the beam with the hanging lamp.

 

On to Weirton, WV.  This 1947 All Saints Orthodox Church has been gussied up with stainless.  I assume post-1947.  Almost diner-y, no?

 

Pittsburgh, finally.  Gotta be a modern sign — but wonderful nevertheless.  At Niki’s Pizza.  Which reminds me, the topic of my next SCA article is pizza chef signs.  That issue should be out any day now.  Shameless plug for the organization and publications.  If you’re into this roadside stuff — you wanta / gotta join.
http://www.sca-roadside.org/

 

This sign at Lucky’s Tavern has not been so lucky.  I don’t know what bar it originally advertised for — but good god, some lousy patch work here.  And I guess left unattended, those holes fill with water and the bottom gets rusty and eaten out like this.  Might make a good advertisement for all those vintage sign owners out there to keep their signs in good shape.  Like those anti-smoking ads — don’t let this happen to your sign!

 

Here’s a heartbreaker.  Abandoned since forever.  The New Granada Theatre.  More about the place here:
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/16495

 

Another modern sign — but pretty cute.  The torch flashes on and off.  Unfortunately, the face wasn’t lit on either side:

 

On to Clairton for another flame sign.  I do have a thing for them — another SCA theme article coming up most likely (are you reading this Doug?).  The torch was out on both sides here.  I don’t get the message:

And this cute guy is over the door:

 

Alright then — an early night here (11 pm).  I’ll catch up on the sleep I missed last night.  And then make some big decision in the morning at sunrise — stay & shoot — or scoot off to the Midwest someplace.

Hopefully, after today’s photos here and over at Flickr, you’ll understand my compulsion to finish up my West Virginia list before eventually heading westward.  Maybe it’ll moved up on your list of states to explore.  Make sure you have good brakes and tires though — they don’t call it the Mountain State for nothing.

So, I’m almost done with WV.  Ran out of daylight in Wheeling where I’ve parked hard-working little Sparkle for the night.  Just some Northern Panhandle (that skinny piece on top) to go — and then over to Pittsburgh area for a bit and then onward to Ohio.  Finally.  The big exciting-est news (you might have noticed at Flickr) — SUN today.  All day.

And one humbling 15 minute episode.  I spotted an unexpected nice canopy gas station to shoot in Harrisville.  Pulled over on the shoulder — thought I’d be fine with two wheels on pavement and two in the grass.  But, uh-uh.  Although Sparkle’s all-wheel drive, I could tell right away we were in trouble.  I gently tried reverse and forward a bit.  No dice.  It was like quicksand.  After a few minutes, Sparkle’s left rear tire was off the ground.  I wanted to get a photo for you — but I was too chicken to get back in the van to get the camera.  So then the race was on by every macho guy in town to get me out.  A trooper directed traffic while a good-old-boy in a monster truck pulled me back out just the way I went in.  Done.  So strange.  I was only maybe a foot in the grass from the pavement but that was enough.

OK then — lots of photos — and I got a late start tonight.  Already 12:30am so let’s get to it.

Starting with Morgantown.  This appears to be a former gas station dressed up castle style:

 

From Fairmont.  Still open.  From the company’s website, it sounds & looks like this sign is from 1936:

This two-fer — also in Fairmont:

 

A dome home in Quiet Dell (gotta love  name):

 

From Grafton — sun makes all the difference don’t it?

 

From Clarksburg.  A not so special mid-century bank.  Although the marble at the lower level is nice….

 

BUT…  the most exquisite vinyl (?) tiles above:

 

Also Clarksburg:

 

More Clarksburg.  Your vitrolite facade du jour — this time with the sign built into the glass:  Note the detail at the tops of the windows also:

 

Yes, more Clarksburg.  Theatre-like sign originally read “Palace Furniture”.  The store is long-gone now.  Surely there was neon or bulbs.  Note the double ladders that were used for maintenance:

 

Still Clarksburg.  Need I say that this drive-in is closed?  I love the extra long arrow, with the crunch:

 

OK, last two from Clarksburg — a nice bit of terra cotta at the downtown post office:

 

The Dairy Queen in Shinnston.  What made me hit the brakes was the DQ “lips” weathervane.    I’ve only seen a couple of others like this:
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/dq4.html

But what seemed especially novel to me was this backside.  A second level balcony?  Can one rent out the top floor of DQs?  Is this just a private lounge for employees?  Was it — or is it still — open to customers?  So many questions — but so little time.  I was racing the sun to get to Parkersburg so I couldn’t stop & ask what the deal was.

 

Final photo for the night — from Ohio (I was spilling over to Ohio for a bit en route to Wheeling).  This is in Sardis.  Nearly dark but I still had to shoot this one.  Obviously from the island, it was a gas station at some point.  Sadly, vacant now.  I like how it nearly conceals the attached house behind.

 

1:20 am.  That’s a wrap.

The dogs, yes, must get some shots of them soon.  In the meantime, for those of you starving to see them, you do know they have a section over there at my site?
http://www.agilitynut.com/4gde.html

Food.  I’ve been eating really boring & healthy lately.  But I will break down soon and get some ice cream — and yes, some pie, somewhere.  Not to worry.

I hope you all brought a lot of snacks and comfortable clothes.  This is gonna be one long roadtrip.  I think 39 days straight is a record for me.  Although the focus of this trip will be on New Mexico and Arizona, it’s gonna be awhile before we get there.  I have a lot of stops in other states on the way.  Starting with this first mission which is to finish up the West Virginia stuff that I didn’t get to last month.

So, today was lots of PA & a bit of WV & MD.  Hopefully, tomorrow I can bang through the remainder of the WV stuff and some Pittsburgh area stuff.  Today was frustrating weatherwise.  Although, the rain didn’t start until 6:30 (which cut the shooting off an hour early), it was 99.9% grey from start to finish.  Grey variations — from annoying to horrible.  But if forecasters are right — there’ll be sun tomorrow.

Before moving on to the photos, I should give the yadda-yadda to the newcomers.  Yes, it’s just me on these trips — with my rambunctious pack of four little dogs.  I only post here at the blog & Flickr as “agilitynut” when I’m on the road (different photos both places).  So you are getting as near to virtual as I can make it.   And the writing is done late, late at night when I’m exhausted — so you have to pardon some bad grammar and babbling.  Fixing when I get home would be cheating!  The idea of this blog is a documentation of what goes into the gathering of photos (trials & tribulations, joys & disappointments) for my website (RoadsideArchitecture.com).  What goes to Flickr & this blog is just a smidgen of what you’ll find there — all organized, researched, etc.

The photos here at the blog are all clickable (you click on them and you get a larger size).  These blog photos also appear at Flickr under the roadsidenut account — for folks that don’t like to read (ha!) or for searching by key words, sets by state and all that.

OK then — that’s out of the way.  Enough chatter!  On to today’s offerings.

Let’s start in Harrisburg, PA.  This one’s been a “reshoot in sun” on my list for a long time.  Maybe sun next time.  This one spins & says M&Z on the other side.

The Subway Cafe opened in 1948 and this sign appears to be from then.  I don’t think there is or was ever a subway in Harrisburg so I can’t explain the origin of the name.  Their website shows sequentially lit lettering but I don’t know if that’s really still the case.  There is one night photo at Flickr from 2010 which shows the sign fully lit.
http://www.subwaycafepizza.com/

 

Here’s another brown porcelain enamel sign — and also from 1948.  Hmm, same sign company?  Same owner?  This one is at the Pep Grill.  There’s an article about the place being put up for auction last summer — but the bar was definitely open today:
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/08/pep_grill_in_harrisburg_open_s.html

 

This one’s been on my to-see list for a while.  Tinyworld  in Shippensburg, PA.   Very sweet, adorable, small-scale, handmade buildings.  Maybe a couple dozen.  Here’s more about the place:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11165

While the article mentions the cats — it doesn’t mention the peacocks strolling about — which make my dogs bonkers.  On a scale of 1 to 10 — they’re an 11.   Screaming, jumping, pandemonium in the van.   And very careful exit / entry by me.  If Nik or Grem got out, there would be peacock bloodshed I’m sure of it.   What is it?  Do they think birds should not BE that big?

That’s a little Texaco station on the right:

No sign of a train at this mini depot but there must’ve been one at one time:

 

Moving on to Chambersburg, PA.  A sweet (okay, I overuse the word) painted wood sign.  Maybe six feet tall:

 

Sun for this one in Fannettsburg, PA.   No sign of the motel that I could see:

 

I’m always hoping for a miracle with this place in Chambersburg, PA.   The Snak Shak drive-in from 1951, long closed.   I fantasize that there will be car hops hopping and obnoxious 1950s music blaring when I come round the bend.  But no.  It just looks grimmer and grimmer.   Paging Lincoln Highway Association before it’s too late.  Right now, a used car dealer seems to be operating on the lot.

 

Some good news.  The Muffler Man at the Scottyland Campground in Rockwood, PA has gotten some TLC and paint since I shot him eight years ago:

He’s also got a very deep tan now:

 

From Cumberland, MD.  That red vitrolite on top might indicate that this was a Newberry’s or Kresge or some other five and dime.  There’s actually a lot of vitrolite downtown here.   I really liked the curved corner entrance on this one:

 

Last one for the night.  Also Cumberland.  I’m a sucker for those metal awnings.

 

So, there you have it for Day #1.  Don’t forget to check out the other photos over at Flickr if you haven’t already:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Normal order of things if you’re interested:
8 pm-ish: answer emails & comments; crop & tweak a couple dozen photos
11 pm-ish:  upload to Flickr; more emails & comments
1 am-ish:  publish blog post (as it gets late in the trip and I get more exhausted, I finish & publish blog post in the morning)

Photos of dogs & pie later in the trip.  Any other special requests?

OK — some sleep and back to the routine.  For the stat-minded, here’s a breakdown from this mini WV trip:  four days — 2,414 miles — maybe one-third of that death-defying hairpin turns in the mountains.  $591 on gas.  I never keep track of food & hotel costs.  About 600 photos — 98% of them for the website, the other 2% appeared here at the blog.

I took Sparkle directly to my mechanic.  The code was something like a mass intake something or other.  The exact name has fallen out of my brain.  But basically, something to do with mixing gas and air.  Also need some oil line something or others (I noticed a few drops of oil leaking once in a while) and a couple of engine mounts (I noticed a little vibration at stops).  So, about $1400 or so.  But I intend to keep Sparkle going for at least a couple more years.  My mechanic says everything else looks perfect — engine, transmission, all the big pieces (and the little ones).

 

Back to the trip — day 4 started in Gilbert.  Here’s a geodesic dome church from there.  The Promise Christian Fellowship and foggy mountains:

 

The sun, ever so briefly, and a former Burger Chef in Kenova.  Now a Stewart’s Original Hot Dogs.  More about the Burger Chef chain if you’re interested:
http://agilitynut.com/eateries/bchef.html

 

From Huntington — Wright’s Men’s Store — still in business:

 

From Milton — the Blenko Glass Visitor Center, built in 1966.  I didn’t have time to check out the museum inside.  Incredible glass pieces and you can watch them being produced.  The video on the lower left at this page shows a bit of that:
http://www.blenko.com/Photo_Album.php

 

Also in Huntington — I love these big Sunoco signs….

… this station also had an unusual concrete building.  Never seen one like this before.  Some of it might be updated (the pushed-out window on the left; maybe the brick glass) but I’m still intrigued by it:

 

The light ran out in Parkersburg.  Here’s a nice Masonic Temple sign to close out the batch:

 

And so, back to life here in the Big City.  Here’s the view of Manhattan from my gym next door to my apartment.  Lots of sun here today just to torture me about the grey I had on my trip.  Some of you might spot the Chrysler Building, the Citicorp Center Building (now Citigroup), and the Williamsburg Bridge if you click to the larger view:

 

The next “real” trip starts in just over four weeks:  April 26 – June 1.  The dogs and I will be taking on west Texas, New Mexico and Arizona — with some stops in other states to & from.  As usual, I’ll be blogging and posting to Flickr nightly.  So I hope you’ll enjoy tagging along.

In case you missed them, I posted a handful of photos each night during this trip over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Or, if you just discovered this blog, you might want to check out my website which is the reason for all these obsessive trips:
http://www.agilitynut.com/roadside.html

Today was a rough one — but worth sticking it out through the gloominess and downpours.  I’m glad I didn’t bail for home.  The day began with alternating rain and fog and clouds.  So if grey is your favorite color, you’re going to love this post.

I was inspired by primemover88’s photo from 1991… http://www.flickr.com/photos/10520947@N08/3997877249/ … to see if the building still existed.  I came close to not going since Rainelle was so far into nowhere and not leading me to other things on my list.  But I figured the pouring rain… and Rainelle… it was meant to be.

Sure enough, the building was still there:

Just as I finished taking photos, the owner popped outside to see what I was up to.  He showed me this old postcard which was taken around the time the station was built (circa 1937):

Note the tower and detail above the door that were gone by the time of primemover’s photo.  The owner told me stories of the lunch room (on the right behind the pumps) — and just out of the frame at right – a bus station building that’s gone now.  He said that there were heated underground pipes that extended over the whole lot in front of the station that kept it free from snow.  The building is for sale now and I’m really hoping it finds a use soon.

Here’s a fun one from Alderson.  In case you don’t instantly know what that “sculpture” is…

… Stuart’s other sign should help you:

A distressed Deco building in Ronceverte:

The Beer and Eat Tavern in Lewisburg:

Time for a break from all this roadside overload?

 

A pitstop in the Monongahela National Forest.  If you haven’t been introduced before — here are my four roadies, left to right:  Fix, Gremlin, Sputnik & Gripper.  Yes, there a huge part of every roadtrip.

A few outtakes which more accurately show their distinct personalities.  Fix is always ready for a nap and Grem always ready for a hunt:

Nik is the wacko; Grip is the wise old owl.  Grip’s faraway look is because she’s blind — and listening to my every word:

 

Nik is addicted to running and balls.  Here he’s doing laps while Sparkle airs out:

 

Grip has been overly rewarded (treats) for her jumping trick.  Seems every time I turn around, there she is boing-ing away.  And of course, I have to reward some more.

 

Here Grem is digging her way to China in search of some critter beneath the ground.  Which is far better than trying to run away to China (too many heart-stopping episodes on earlier roadtrips that some of you may recall):

 

and Fixie waiting for us in the van.  “It’s cold and damp — I’ll just wait right here.  You guys go ahead.”

 

In the afternoon, the skies turned blue.  But of course, deep in the mountains, I was near nothing photo-worthy for a couple of hours.  And by the time I got to my “subjects”, there wasn’t much daylight left.  I have no idea about tomorrow’s weather.  What does 50% chance of rain mean?  It means they haven’t a clue.

More dreariness.  From Northfork — the Algoma Coal and Coke Company Store from the 1940s.  Later a health clinic, but now abandoned.  On the National Register… but not looking good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algoma_Coal_and_Coke_Company_Store

 

And so, the other downer of the day.  In the late afternoon, Sparkle’s “check engine” light came on.  Well, that’s why I’m doing this test trip — to work out any kinks, right?  The blood drained from my body since I was deep in the mountains.  But 98% of West Virginia seems to be deep in the mountains and nowhere.  Nothing I could do but hold my breath.  After about an hour, I reached civilization.  But civilization does you no good when it’s 4pm on a Saturday and there are no mechanics open.  And I didn’t notice any Sears or Firestones or those other handy weekend alternatives anywhere.  What can you do, but just keep a-going.

And just what does “check engine soon” mean — like in the next ten minutes — or like next week sometime?

But everything seems absolutely fine and normal.  No change in sound, feel, power – nothing.  Temperature gauge normal.  I checked the oil — perfectly fine.  So I’ve driven for several hundred miles and maybe four hours now — nothing.  I’m thinking it could be what happened before:  bad gas (I have a full tank) — or some false alarm thing.  I’ll be on the lookout for a garage of any sort tomorrow.  Surely, Huntington must have a Firestone-y place open (off to Google search after this blog post) on a Sunday, maybe.  Or else I’ll just have to grip that steering wheel and drive us back to Brooklyn with that damned light staring at me tomorrow night.

Which brings us to the end-of-trip reminder.  Since I’ll be interstate-ing it back to NYC after tomorrow’s shooting, I won’t be uploading/posting to Flickr or the blog until I get home on Monday.  Or more likely Tuesday.  I’ll shoot a quickie post on Monday morning just to let you know that we survived whatever mechanical crap has developed and have landed safely back home.

Let’s close with this sign which is appropriately what I need right now after a full day of gloomy skies and car-stress.  I’ll give you two versions since I’ve exhausted my decision-making skills for the day.  I’m usually a tight cropper — but you all would probably prefer #2 which is more in context.  Nighty-night…

Another great day in the under-rated state of West Virginia.  Many hours of pure driving between cities & shooting.  And I fear this might be the last I see of the sun.  Weather forecasts for the whole state are non-stop rain, hour after hour, for the entire weekend.  Uh oh.  It’s raining as I write this at 11pm.  So…  I might be heading back to Brooklyn early if that’s how it seems in the morning.  Maybe I’ll give it a few hours at least before hitting the interstate.

Highs in the upper 80s — so much for spring.  I found lots of water for the dogs to play in.  Fast moving rivers so I carefully choose the shallowest and safest spots.   I haven’t turned the A/C on yet.  Partly worried that there will be something wrong with it (again) and partly just trying to give hard-working Sparkle some slack.  I’ll have to test that A/C though before venturing off to the Southwest next month.

Let’s start with Webster Springs.  No restaurant, no hotel… but there’s still this sign:

 

From Cowen — this place is now known as the Hilltop Diner.  I’m glad they left the sign alone:

 

It was a big day for vitrolite (i.e., glass tile facades).  This storefront in Richwood.  The glass reflects the blooming tree across the street.  The sad sign in the window was a “thanks loyal customers for many years…” sort of thing and identified this as a former J.C. Penney store.

 

On to Charleston where I spent a good chunk of the day.  The clouds rolled in around 3pm but at least I got a lot done before that.

I’m happy to report that this place is still in business:

 

On to one of my fave places in town — yepper not only vitrolite exterior…

 

… but loads more inside.  This entire menu board-y structure — all faced with the stuff:

 

Terrazzo floor — with this lone bulls-eye detail in roughly the center of the room:

 

Around the corner on a side street, more shiny glass — cream (flesh?) and black; and to the left — black & white:

 

Another favorite stop when I’m in town — the Peanut Shoppe — a former Planters Peanut store.  A great little video about the place:
http://www.wchstv.com/traveling/2007/twv070816.shtml

The peanut roaster (still in use):

 

And my bag ‘o Mixed Nuts — sold to me by “Debbie” in the video —

 

I’ve got a bunch of Planters Peanut shops at this page if you’re interested:
http://agilitynut.com/eateries/nuts.html

 

Let’s move on to Beckley where I’m calling it a night.

 

And the not-to-be-missed King Tut Drive-in — which I’m happy to report was jammed full of customers:

 

And the perfect opportunity for some food porn.  I’ve been such a good girl — for the past month, 100% salads and fruit.  No sugar and no processed nothing.  Time to indulge!  This is King Tut’s banana cream pie.  All the pies made fresh daily (or so says the sign).  It looks huge in this photo but really it wasn’t all that big — but unreal good:

 

OK then  — let’s see what the weather gods give us tomorrow.

 

And don’t forget my faithful blog-followers, there’s more photos from today over at the Flickr stream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

 

Hey there!!  How have you all been?

The dogs and I have been prisoners of The City for five long months.  Time to get out & make sure all is well with Sparkle (the van) and Dee (the camera) before we head off on a 39-day trip to NM & AZ at the end of April.

So.  West Virginia has been on my list of Most Neglected States for a while now.  I’ve shot some stuff here before — but not in a long time and not in any major way.  I only have four days before I have to get back to work.  And I hear that the weather may turn nasty/rainy on Saturday & Sunday.  Which might send me home early.   But let’s make the most of what of it.

The statues in the photo above are probably immediately recognizable to most of you roadside fans.  They are installed next to Roadside America in Shartlesville, PA — and wave to motorists on I-78.  It was foggy and just barely light enough to shoot them this morning.

As usual on these trips, I got off work at 2am and hit the road at 3am.  Only two hours of sleep at a closed gas station in PA — determined to get to WV when the sun came out.  So I won’t be writing any memorable prose tonight.  Got through today on adrenaline and Sheetz coffee — tomorrow night’s when I’ll really feel the pain.

Before we dive into some of today’s photos, let me start with the usual notes for the newbies on the bus.  All the photos here at my blog are “clickable” (when you click on the them, you get a larger photo).  I post nightly during these roadtrips to both Flickr (the agilitynut account) & this blog — different photos in both places.   After cropping & tweaking some selected photos, I post to Flickr first (usually 10pm or so) and then start working on the blog (usually posting after midnight — or if I pass out, the following morning.

On to today… Foggy and grey this morning and then lots of sun.  And heat — 87 degrees or so according to the bank clocks I saw.  Loads of spring flowers and trees in bloom — white, yellow, pink purple.  Don’t blink — this is gonna be a quickie spring it seems — after the Winter That Wasn’t (thank god).

OK then — on with the show.   A few shots from Martinsburg, WV:

At first glance, I thought this might have been a former Fotomat — but the roof is wrong — and the building seems narrower to me:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidenut/5653617580/

So, I don’t know if this was a rival photo developing place or something else.  Just maybe always a hot dog place — the letters seem funky and old enough:

A two-fer:  a former gas station and a giant crab:

I don’t know what the deal is — this firefighter statue stands in front of a Goodyear Tire store in Charles Town:

The Hayfield Motel (in Hayfield, VA) —

The rooms have individual parking bays.  Perhaps, there were originally garage doors.  The roofline is a neat feature (click to enlarge):

From Shanks — this Coke sign is abandoned — no business at all below it.  Just overgrown weeds & trees —  and a ditch I almost fell in trying to get this shot.

From Moorefield — Puffenberger’s (!) Jewelry.  The sunny side of the sign looked nicer — but that clock didn’t have hands like this side:

On to Seneca Rocks — a nice painted wood sign of an Indian Maiden.  At the Indian Village Campground — which is part of Yokum’s Vacationland:
http://www.yokum.com/

And lastly — in Franklin (I think) — a couple of most-likely rentable cottages — now appearing to be full-time residences.  No smaller than my NYC apartment — I could easily live here but would like a bit more acreage for the dogs to run.

That’s it for tonight — lights out.  Hopefully, more sun tomorrow.  On the agenda:  Charleston, more mountain cities and southern WV.  Til then…

I took a little trip up to the Lake George area (Upstate New York) today to take care of an “important mission”.  While I was there, I grabbed a some photos since it was a gloriously sunny day.   We’ve been having a very mild fall so far — until last night when the temps really dropped in The City and there was snow Upstate.  The trees still have all their leaves in the Lake George area — not even peak colors yet:

The pretty contrast of snow and fall foliage made the 10 hour drive almost worth it (8 hours on the Thruway and 2 hours of NYC rush hour traffic).  The dogs got some good running in the brisk Adirondack air (38 degrees) — not at all what we’re used to yet.

The mysterious “mission”?  It’s a long story.  To shorten, let’s just say that I’ve had a Muffler Man head in my possession for about 10 years.   When I read that the new owners were looking for The Head, I vowed to myself to return it the next time I was up that way (Lake Vanare).  I never did make it up there this year — but today was the day due to my residential downsizing (I moved last week, not far).  The Body has been repainted but the poor guy is still missing an arm and part of a foot.  Hopefully, with the Head, the owners will be further motivated to restore the statue.  The Body is wired and roped to a tree.  Here’s how it looked in 2010:

And today:

A side view which shows his missing arm and new paint job better:

Nobody was around when I arrived at the campgrounds.  So, I put The Head in a safe but obvious place.  Hopefully, the owners will be thrilled to find it.  It’s in excellent shape — exactly as it was when it was found lying by the side of the road.  He’s been a good companion but now he’s back in the forest where he belongs:

It was hard to get a good shot of it– so here’s the same head of one of his relatives over in Lake George from today:

If you’re unfamiliar with these statues, I’ve got lots of photos of them over at my site in the Giants section:
http://www.agilitynut.com/giants/main.html

And RoadsideAmerica has lots of info about them:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/muffler/

OK so let’s move on to some other subjects.  Although I’ve been to Lake George and thereabouts many times (my dog agility competition days), there were still some nice surprises.  Like this former train station:

And this Rexall drug store with orange vitrolite.  I can’t remember ever seeing this glass in orange before.  The Rexall letters appear to be a decal-type application:

I was devastated to see the Surfside on the Lake sign like this:

Just last year, it was looking spiffy:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/5006954726/
The motel’s website is still up:
http://www.surfsideonthelake.com/

and I didn’t see any “Available” or “For Sale” signs.  So maybe they are “fixing” the sign (repairing or, ugh, altering).

The Surfside is one of very few old motels left.  Thankfully, OOO’Sullivan’s looks like it’s still going strong.  I posted a photo of it here at this blog last year — but since today was much better weather, I’ll include it again:

Here are a couple less-photographed motel signs in Lake George:

I’m betting the Windsor Motel sign had ballies on top of the poles.  Lots of examples in the “Signs With Balls” group:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1091399@N21/pool/

Moving down to Saratoga Springs — the Valley Acres Garden Center.   Despite the rusty/crusty sign, the place looked to be thriving.  That top part of the sign looks like it’s been smacked a time or two by a big truck:

A closed streamline-y car dealership:

And lastly, the Saratoga Diner sign — which is apparently lit at night:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wendresma/4549924154/

I hope you enjoyed tagging along for this daytrip.  Not enough photos?  I posted a few others over at Flickr today:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

It was nice to take a break from my laptop.  I’ve been working every free moment on getting last spring’s photos up at my site — haven’t started on the summer photos yet:
http://www.agilitynut.com/whatsnew.html

I’ll try to get you some photos of my new neighborhood in the next day or two if the weather’s nice.

The slow, painful drive home continued on Sunday.  We arrived back in NYC a couple hours after Hurricane Irene’s passing.  Some downed trees in my neighborhood and lots of leaves.   NYC got off much easier than the Catskills where there are rivers cresting at about 20 feet right now.  After all the media drama, Irene was nothing more than a big rain storm here.  In the Park this morning, a few more downed trees and small lakes where there’s normally just grass.  The dogs back to their morning routine (running in the Park) — and I’ll be back to work tonight since the subways are running again.

Trip recap:  This was the most stressful trip I’ve ever taken because of all the mechanical problems.  I blame it on inept mechanics — not Sparkle.   The dealership in Grand Forks finally got it right — no more glitches after that.  For the most part, great weather.  Although it seemed we’d never even get to MN after all the early troubles in the trip, I managed to get through about 80% of my stack.  So that leaves about a week’s worth of stuff undone in WI & MN that will have to wait til a MT & WY trip, probably summer 2013.

 

Trip stats

days on the road:  36

photos for the website:  approx. 5,100

miles driven:  14,060

total spent on speeding tickets:  $205 (total of two – Ironwood & Manistique, MI; one verbal warning in WI)

total spent on gas:  $3,315

total spent on repairs:
$673 for an A/C compressor (which should be reimbursed, all or part, since the part was less than a month old)
$0 (fuel pump replaced for $995 but then reimbursed when it the fuses continued blowing)
$437 (for three frayed wires and an evaporator vent valve = the resolution of “check engine” light and fuse problem)

Expenses not kept track of:  oil changes/maintenance, motels, food, etc.

Memories, good times, and photos:   more than worth every penny!   And the dogs give the trip an A+.

If you’d like to help with the costs of these trips, the website, all that… no amount is too small, my Paypal account is the same as my email:  agilitynut@hotmail.com

***************************

Now, on with the final photos from Friday.

The morning started in Marshall — so here’s a couple of shots from the big hotel which, sadly, has been boarded up for years:

 

A nice mid-century bank in town:

One more from Marshall:

This one from Ghent:

 

At Brad’s Market in Minneota:

 

 

On to South Dakota.  I went to Prairie Village in Madison to check out the steam-powered, super rare Herschell-Spillman carousel.  A madhouse there since they were having a big tractor show.  Which turned out to be pretty interesting.  One of the stars — sputtering and whirring:

I know nothing about tractors but can easily understand the obsession with them:

 

 

From Freeman:

 

 

On to Yankton — a new city for me and one of the biggest reasons for the extra miles traveling SW of Minnesota even on the last day of shooting:

 

From Beresford.  The apostrophe probably a mistake, but no matter:

 

 

On to Sioux Falls for some reshooting from previous grey trips — and a few things not noticed or shot before:

 

 

Although this Burger Time building has a 1960s/1970s look, evidently this chain was founded in Fargo, ND in 1987.  I don’t know if any of the other ND/SD locations have this rootop triangle thingie:

 

 

More from Sioux Falls.  It was in the 90s today — so ice cream sounded like a good idea.  The B&G Milkyway rooftop sign has a tilted cone like Dairy Queen and Tastee-Freez.  But I don’t think this place was built as either of those.

I went with the Peach Avalanche — which was vanilla soft-serve with some “real” peach chunks.  Sorry bout the crappy photo — wasn’t going to shoot it but changed my mind in traffic.

 

 

Back in Minnesota — from Worthington.  These customized rubber mats are very rare now I think:

And they have a nice embossed plastic sign as well:

 

 

Last one for the trip — and I think it’s a kicker.  From St. James.   Art deco borders, great colors, and best of all — the loaf on top:

So, with this trip over, I’ll get back to work on the website in a day or two.  I’m only about halfway through adding the TX & OK photos from the spring.  Hoping to catch up with these two trips’ photos this winter.  Then, it will be time to start planning the next five-weeker.  Spring 2012, the dogs and I will be headed back to western TX so I can finish what I didn’t get to this year.   Then moving on to NM and AZ.  I’ll probably sneak off for a couple quickie trips this fall or winter.

You might want to check in now and then with the “Upcoming Trips” page here at the blog or the “What’s New” page at the website if you don’t want to miss these posts.  Thanks for tagging along with us.  Your comments and praises are much appreciated and give me a real boost.  It keeps me doing posting when I really should be sleeping.  I hope my photos and chatter encourage you to shoot more, travel more, and find art and value in the rusty, crusty, funky places and things that are rapidly disappearing.

Til the next adventure,

Debra Jane
Gripper, Fixie, Sputnik & Gremlin
Sparkle & Dee

I’ve got lots of great stuff for you from Friday — much of it from SE South Dakota.  I know, I know.  The last day of the trip and what was I doing heading further west instead of east.  There was just some stuff there that I really wanted to shoot — and I knew it would be worth the additional miles.  So, after the final day of shooting on Friday, I started the interstate trek home.  A four-hour nap somewhere just shy of Wisconsin – and then back to I-90 and I-80 all day today.  It was exhausting stuff — all those night’s with little sleep really caught up to me.  The boredom of rolling hills and coffee had little impact.  I took about four quickie naps.  15 minute power naps, even with the dogs jumping around on my back, really helped a lot.  I could have arrived home tonight at 2am — but Irene has kept me away.

I followed the hurricane’s path all day today on the radio.  Earlier in the day, they were saying she would arrive in NYC around dinnertime.  But as the day wore on, the estimate ran later and later.  Now (9pm), they’re saying 7am.  It sounds like power loss is a possibility — not to mention blown out windows, floods, etc.  The mayor shut down the subway system at noon today and it won’t be resumed until Monday night.  Which means I have Monday off – yay!   When I heard that there might be tornadoes in NJ tonight, that was the clincher for me.  I’d rather not get me, a canine buddy, or hard-working Sparkle hit by a tree or power line.   I’ll just stay here in central PA and see what transpires overnight and tomorrow morning.  When it’s safe to return, I’ll get you that final batch of photos & the wrap-up post.