I took advantage of the three-day Memorial Day weekend and got out of California for a bit.  I was up until midnight shooting neon in Vegas so I didn’t do any blogging or Flickring afterwards.  Then, after 100 degree plus heat all day on Sunday, I was absolutely drained & didn’t do my “homework” then either.  Monday, even though I left for home early in the day, I was stuck in traffic for 7 hours.  That did me in.  So, I’ve pretty much decided to start doing the Flickr & blog thing from home on future trips from now on.  Sure, it doesn’t have the excitement of “day-of” uploading — but it would really be nice to sleep & possibly meet some folks while I’m on the road.

Anyway — let’s get rolling since I have to catch up on three days of picture-taking.  Saturday was crappy-grey most of the day.  I’ve plucked some photos for this post which were not as dismal as the rest.  Luckily, Sunday and Monday were gorgeous full sun to make up for it.

This super tall sign is visible from the interstate in Yermo, CA — but points to nothing:

 

The long abandoned Roadrunner’s Retreat is located in the middle of nowhere desert in East Amboy.  There are still a couple of signs & buildings left.  I don’t know if there was a motel component at one time.

The cafe is in the background of this former gas station:

 

This one is from Boulder City, NV.  It was previously Nevada Drug — now a realtor down below.  But it appears they restored and are keeping the sign.  Here’s an older photo of the sign:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/vegasvic/7808108000

 

This sign is in Henderson, NV.  It’s massive — maybe 25 feet tall.  I saw another one of this same style in Vegas but it was maybe half the size:

 

Also from Henderson.  Love the Wild West font style:

 

From Jean, NV.  I don’t know if this awesome sign is “authentic” or a reproduction.  Great either way:

 

On to Vegas now for the rest of this post.  A fun modern sign:

 

Another great modern sign at a big beer distributor.  Huge — at least 30 feet tall:

 

One more modern sign (not to worry — lots of vintage stuff tomorrow).  Huge & great animation.

Here’s a quickie video I shot of this sign:

 
I’ll get a post with some Sunday photos up tomorrow.  In the meantime, there are other photos from today over at Flickr here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

dj

Finally — here’s the post for Sunday’s adventures.  Life — and work — got in the way.

Let’s start off in Manteca with what appears to be a former Best Western Motel sign.  The crown sign is above the plastic sign for the Taqueria Nayarit.  It would seem the sign has always been here from the motel-looking buildings behind the restaurant.  Here’s what the sign would have looked like originally before the bulbs were removed and it was repainted:
http://www.agilitynut.com/12/5/spbw.jpg

 

Back to Stockton for some more shooting.  This was originally the Stockton Motor Lodge:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/edge_and_corner_wear/10061094455/

The sign’s been altered a bit but the building still has the original colors and rocks:

 

In the heart of downtown.  Black vitrolite glass tile facade and a neon sign.  I’m betting the window design was a little more glamorous originally:

 

From another flower shop downtown:

 

This sign is at the attached cocktail lounge of the Americana Inn:

 

This sign was previously painted a rusty-brown.  I’m betting it was a brown wood grain paint job originally:

 

And on to Sacramento.  This sign is perched above what is now Sim’s Diner:

 

A funky building and sign.  I’ll shoot just about any donut sign.  If you’re crazy about them, too, I have a big section about them at my website here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/sca/donuts.html

The woman in the window ducked down when I raised my camera:

 

I was saddened to discover that the Orange Freeze, established in 1946,  has now become a fried chicken place.  At least the building is still there.   Here’s my photo of the place from 2008:

And now:

 

The fun A&A Carpet sign.  Note the little plastic signs below shaped like rolls of carpet:

 

A pretty plastic sign:

 

This Fox & Goose sculpture is installed in front of the Fox & Goose Public House (pub style bar & restaurant).  It was created by Dick Ratcliff and installed here around 2011.

I tried to use this as a photo-opportunity with the dogs but the sun wasn’t helpful and the bronze was hot.  Fix, the light brown striped dog, is now more than 14 years old.  She is SO over these photo-taking sessions and would clearly rather be napping:

 

The Capitol Bowl in West Sacramento got rid of its nice neon sign a few years ago.  I believe it was due to pressure from the city to get rid of “unsightly” signs during a big redevelopment push:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tspauld/25557965/

The building at that time was fairly drab but it had a little neon as well:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tspauld/47523220/

But I guess the city approved of this new design — with neon letters and a giant pin.  I guess vintage is ugly — but retro is fine?  I really don’t get it.  Depressing.

 

But let’s move on — to Walnut Grove:

And one last shot from a gas-up on the way home at a Sinclair station in Lodi.  You don’t see many Sinclair stations OR Sinclair dinosaurs in California.  In fact, the only dinosaur that I can think of is at a shoe store in San Francisco.  Photos & info about these statues at my website here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/dinos/sinclair.html

The next mini roadtrip will be Memorial Day weekend when the dogs and I will be heading to Vegas.  In the meantime, don’t forget about the sampling of photos I’ve posted over at Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/activity

And if you haven’t been to my website in a while, you might want to pay a visit to see the tons of stuff to the various California sections (and throughout the other sections which aren’t broken down by state) in the past year and a half.

Happy trails,

dj

OK — time to play catch-up!  Normally, I post to this blog when I’m on the road.  But this time, I was busy Saturday night getting lots of neon-at-night shots.  After cropping and tweaking, just as I was ready to post after midnight, my internet connection got glitchy.  I took it as a cue to get some rest.  Just as well — Sunday was a killer.  I got loads of shooting in.  After wrapping up the Stockton area, I moved on to Sacramento and got half of that list done.  Then it was time for the five hour drive home.  Ugh.  So, I’ll get this post in now and, hopefully, the other one later tonight or tomorrow.

I started the day in Exeter.  I’ve shot other Frosty King locations in Central California — but none of them have had this male-symbol sign.

Just a few years ago, the place had a cuter metal walk-up canopy:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jessiekeller/5008755821/

This is a little more modern & drab — but spotless and probably draws in more customers:

 

On to Fresno for a few more things that I needed to reshoot in better light.  Here was a sign I never noticed before.   A tree forced this arty shot.  Note the two-part animated neon arrow on the left.  It was lit in 2008 but I don’t know if it still is these days:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tspauld/406510213/

 

Another Fresno sign that I’d not seen before.  I assumed that this was an adapted sign.  But now I’m not so sure.  From poking around on-line, I found that Jensen & Pilegard, which has been around since 1937, promoted their business as a seeds & feeds place.  So, the neon chicken might make sense:

 

A quick “hi” from two of my companions.  Grem had a busy morning chasing two cats  — much to my chagrin.  Nik is her ever tolerant bean bag chair:

 

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of repurposed Winchell’s Donut House signs here in California.  However, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of the buildings with this roof feature intact.  I believe this puts it at early 1970s.  I think the color scheme has always been this perky yellow:

 

On to Turlock.  This is now a furniture store but the sign has apparently been moved around to the side of the building:

 

From Riverbank — a cute wooden Chinese take-out container sign:

 

From Oakdale.  This sign at Gillman’s Frosties sure seems like it would scare away the customers rather than entice them!  I guess those striations on the burger are meant to represent steam?

 

Also in Oakdale — the H-B Saloon which is next door to the Cowboy Museum.  I assume these letters are meant to represent a “H-Bar-B” cattle brand.  Whether that was a fictitious name or a real one, I don’t know.

 

Up into the hills for a bit — this one from San Andreas:

 

From Plymouth — land of many vineyards.  This Doggie Diner head is at the Vino Noceto Winery.  It’s been there for years and was refurbished about a year and a half ago.  I wanted to get some shots of the kids with him.  But I was a bit hesitant after the cat-chasing escapade earlier in the day.  During a nice little park run, Grem & Griz took off after a couple of cats and disappeared out of sight.  Griz (dog #1 on left) came back pretty much right away.  But Grem (dog #2) was missing about 5 long minutes and came back with a short-lived limp.  Also, during my posing for this photo, there were elegantly dressed wine & cheese tasters less than 20 feet away and I didn’t want things to go awry.  So, I left the leashes on and made it quick.

Photos & info about these Doggie Diner signs/heads at the bottom of my webpage here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/critters/dogs2.html

 

On to Lodi — this classy Art Deco number is from the former Imperial Hotel:

 

And now on to Stockton for the remainder of this post.  This pair of signs are at the same location:

 

The Hotel Fair is not the kind of hotel that you’d want to stay at.  Apparently, low income housing.  Downtown Stockton is pretty rough — but I’m quite comfortable in the worst of places.  That’s where the good stuff is that hasn’t been overrun with new businesses and development:

 

More downtown signs:

 

A swell car wash sign west of downtown:

 

The Lincoln Center shopping center sign (yes, the Lincoln Highway runs through Stockton).  I took a quickie video of this sign so that you can see the revolving sign.  It has neon on this side and scintillating bulbs on the other side.  Here’s my Flickr photo of the bulb side with the YouTube video link on the right:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/14122078073/

 

Okay, that’s a wrap for right now.  Don’t forget some of my other photos at Flickr from Saturday:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

I’ll start working on Sunday’s photos tonight and hopefully get that post up real soon.

dj

This was just a one-day trip but I got loads of good photos.  I got a little night-neon shooting in on Friday & Saturday night before zipping home.  Nik’s eye pressure checked out fine.  We’ll be back in three months for another $48 15-second test.  More outrageous prices:  the cost of gas here is now $4.20 a gallon — for the cheap stuff!

Let’s start with a couple shots from Friday night.  Here’s Al’s Bar in San Gabriel:

 

From Santa Monica:

 

Stalling for the vet appointment Saturday morning — time for some signs from nearby Los Angeles:

 

Here are a few other signs I’ve passed dozens of times near the vet’s office but never shot.  These beer mugs must have been mass-produced. There was another one just like it in Daggett, CA (gone now):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/route66_aout-sept2010/5581616363/

I’m betting all three of these signs were installed at different times.  The bigger sign appears to be the oldest with those Art Deco style corners.  It surely had neon and a far nicer paint job originally:

 

Another oldie with nice jiggity edges — and a great freestanding arrow.  I’ve got a Flickr group for these neon “extensions” that you might enjoy perusing:
https://www.flickr.com/groups/neonextensions

Although it’s been repainted countless times, you can still make out the “ripple tin” panels that were used to build it.  [clicking on photos at my blog makes them bigger]  As Paddy Rowell of Flexlume Signs explained to me awhile back, the crimping was not just a decorative thing.  The sign maker could use a lighter metal since the crimping strengthened it.  Paint also stuck to the crimped panels better than flat ones.

 

A sun-bleached oldie from Gardena:

The non-sunny side shows the colors better:

A fun sign on the side of the building.  Missing some plastic but those neon notes are incredible, no?

 

Also in Gardena — Majestic Lighting.  This crown is wonderfully curved and I think the M might be (or was) backlit.  How appropriate for a lighting place!

 

It’s hard to work around these towering palm trees in California sometimes!  The Don is in Wilmington:

 

The Maya Shoe Repair is in Santa Monica:

More signs in the wonderful storefront.  The interior is incredibly vintage as well:

 

Front yard adornment in Lakewood.  I don’t know the story — but it appears to be carved from the former tree.  Apparently, meant to be Venus de Milo — but kind of an alien-like face:

 

Yes, in Norwalk:

 

Some bad news — the Dal Rae replaced their neon with backlit plastic earlier this year.   They also rebuilt the parking sign with all plastic in-the-style-of the original (ugh).  Here’s one of my photos from 2012:

And now:

 

Over to San Bernardino (it was a busy day!!).  What can I say – I’ve used the word “wonderful” too many times in this post already:

 

I finally shot this place that I’ve been passing — my namesake, after all:

 

I timed the end of the day to shoot the neon signs at Universal Studios CityWalk at dusk.  I’ve shot them during the day before and was able to negotiate with the parking attendant for a 20 minute freebie at curbside.  But the attendant there last night gave me no mercy and it cost me $10.  But I can finally check it off my list.  The vintage signs will all be uploaded to my website.  I also posted a few to Flickr just now.  But to close out this blog, I’ll give you one of the many modern signs (or at least I think it is!).  Is this racist or sexist or just fun?  Too bad the “SA” was out but the animation is fun.  I took a quickie video for you (turn your head sideways – sorry! – and turn your volume off!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYIxlNTC2kg&feature=youtu.be

 

More photos from this trip over at Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

 

The dogs and I will be back on the road in a couple of weeks.  Back up to the Stockton area.

Happy Easter!

Debra Jane

 

Just a quick “hi” to let you know about a neat little gallery thingie in Los Angeles for all you fans of bowling buildings & signs.  The opening was tonight and I toughed out the crazy rush hour weekend-getaway traffic to get my butt down there.  I didn’t have my “real” camera with me — but I took a few photos with my phone.  I lost my iPhone a couple of weeks ago and I don’t know how to use this new hotshot Samsung phone.  But I did what I could — after a glass of wine which lowered my techie capabilities even further.

I didn’t write down the facts of where things came from — so consider this as just “flavor” of the event and show:

Reproductions of matchbooks with bowling alley advertising:

The crowd.  At least two roadside “celebs” in this photo:  Chris Nicols (back to camera) who was the show’s curator — and Charles Phoenix (facing right):

 

Here are the details about the show if you’re interested or think you can make it.  It runs through May 11:
http://aplusd.org/exhibitions-future/bowlarama

and more:

http://www.lamag.com/laculture/culturefilesblog/2014/04/02/slide-show-bowlarama-at-the-architecture-and-design-museum

 

I’ll be back blogging next weekend with some L.A. area shooting.

dj

 

A killer drive home last night.  Four and a half hours after shooting like mad all day.  But we’re home and safe and I made it through work today.  All is well.  And the weather yesterday was full sun — giving me nearly 12 hours to shoot.  I did so well that we’ll be able to tackle Stockton and thereabouts next time.  But that won’t be til May.  In the meantime, I have loads of photos from this trip to add to the website.

I’m still wiped out — so let’s move straight to the photos.  From Gustine:

 

From Dos Palos — established, I believe, in 1966:

 

The Valley Bowl in Madera:

 

From Firebaugh:

 

Time for a little tribute to my traveling buds.   For you newcomers, my four dogs are present for each and every one of my roadtrips.  They are much calmer on Day #2.  Except for Gremlin (at the window) who’s always looking for something worthy of ear-piercing barking.  That’s Nik (Sputnik) and Fix in the foreground:

Griz (Griswold) has hopped on the dash a few times while I’m driving — like here.  It’s not a habit that I’m encouraging!  I think he’s just looking for sun-bathing opportunities.  Since this is not really a comfy place for that, I assume the practice will fade:

Since he’s so backlit in that photo, here’s a better shot of his face:

 

Onward!  From Madera — El Molino Mexican Imports (most likely not the original business name):

 

The top of the Cornaggia’s Bakery sign in Chowchilla.  From the plugged holes and amateurish paint job, this sign might have been really nice in the past.  Still cute enough now though:

 

The Century Bowl in Merced.   The bowling alley is long boarded up.   The “coming soon” illustration on the sign at the right shows a KFC, a gas station, a 24-hour restaurant — but not this gigantic sign.  Shoot it now, folks:

 

Also from Merced:

 

You may recall the Slumber Motel sign from Saturday night’s post.   Here’s the dayshot showing the atomic sign topper.  It was probably outlined with neon and flashed sequentially:

 

From Modesto — the Fraternal Order of Eagles Hall — with some very cool “mission style” architecture.  I don’t know if it was built for the Eagles:

 

Also Modesto — a repurposed Shakey’s sign:

Lastly, from Lathrop — this UFO has crash-landed on the roof of the Tower Mart gas station where I filled up for the long journey home:

 

The next mini roadtrip will be in two weeks.  It’ll be just a little jaunt to the L.A. area since I have an eye doc exam for Nik in Culver City.  I’ll be blogging again then.  Don’t forget to check out the other sampling of photos from this weekend over at Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Til then — happy Spring!

dj & the dogs

 

Not quite April in Paris — but good enough for me!  I’m pretty much done with SoCal trips — although there will still be some L.A. area stuff now & then because of Nik’s eyeball checkups.  We’re moving on to the Central Valley for a bit.  Then it’ll be back to Bay Area weekends for a while.   I’m gradually chipping away at northern California but it takes times since I can only get away weekends for now.

The day started in Arvin (just south of Bakersfield) which was depressingly smothered in clouds.  Even more depressing was the number of stray dogs — many limping around on three legs.  A pair of skittish Chihuahuas.  Heartbreaking.

What brought me to Arvin — this guy — who’s been on my list for years.  I’ll be back on a sunnier day.  Very few of these statues outside of Michigan — more about them at my website here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/caesars.html

Also in Arvin:  a fairly huge gas station sign — most likely not the original design:

 

The weather wasn’t much better in Bakersfield.  Here’s an interesting round building which is now skanky apartments.  I’m assuming a motel complex originally.  Maybe an upstairs restaurant?  Beware of the dog indeed — a grey Pit Bull lower right giving us all the hairy eyeball — and my silly, wimpo terriers inside the van egging him on with their nutso barking:

 

On to Coalinga — sun at last!

 

Still in Coalinga — a former Sno-White Drive-in.  A re-purposed sign but the building was nothing special.  More examples of the chain at my site here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/casno.html

 

One more from sunny Coalinga:

 

A couple of signs from Lemoore:

 

This one says in broken English “mufflers” but I’m thinking maybe a Chevrolet or Pontiac sign originally.  I’m too tired to check on designs right now:

 

Two from Reedley — a closed bar:

and a vacant shoe store.  Note the Red Goose logo which would have looked like this originally:
http://www.agilitynut.com/10/4/redgoose.jpg

 

From Orange Cove — which was delightfully fragrant with orange groves in bloom.  Unfortunately, this theatre has gone the way of far too many others.  Maybe if we all pray hard enough, this building will be turned back into a theatre?

 

On to fabulous Fresno.  A skeleton of a sign.  I like the semi-sputnik with bulbs on top.  And the puffy clouds always help.

 

Repainted drably and denuded of neon but still some dignity left:

 

This one has to be 1920s-ish with its little rope-y border & most likely opal glass “Beauty Shop” letters.  It would have been a hanging, two-sided sign.  You can still see the wire rings on top of the panels which would have supported it.  And the other side of the sign is flat against the building now.  Am I imagining lavender-colored tubing?

 

Surely, the yellow piece must have been painted transmission-like:

 

This stash of vintage signs is at Commercial Neon Inc.  I had to shoot through the fence from pretty far back.  But some of you may recognize Me-N-Ed’s Pizza, Cedar Lanes and other Fresno signs.    The Ronnie’s Midway Market sign is also here:

 

After a long drive in the pines near Yosemite to shoot some signs & bear statues, we called it a day in Merced where there are many lovely things to shoot at night.  I decided to treat myself to dinner-to-go at Marie’s and help foot their electric bill:

I knew it was meant to be when I saw a cigar store Indian right by the door.  I’ve had a bit of an obsession with these statues lately and have added loads of them to my lists for all over the country:

A cute interior with lots of 7up signs since the neon 7up sign is right next to the restaurant (see my Flickr photos from tonight):

Here’s my chow — two cheese enchiladas.  I have to be honest and say it was on the bland side.  Maybe they toned it down for the gringa?  But I’m sure if you dine in, you can ask for it spicy.   Still, I have a happy tummy & the dogs were delighted to share & lick the container when I was done.

 

Fantastic font, no?  Major police activity going on here — I literally jumped out of the van, shot & scurried back inside.  Not fast enough though — a policeman pointed a flashlight inside my van & made a face at me as I drove off and sort of waved.  Sheesh.

And appropriately, this is what I’ll be doing shortly:

Lots more shooting tomorrow.  Merced by day, Madera & lesser towns.  I’ll post the wrap-up on Monday or Tuesday.  Meanwhile, here are some other goodies which I posted from today at Flickr tonight:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

dj & the dogs

 

Alrighty then.  So here is a sampling of Sunday’s photos from this weekend’s driving & shooting marathon.  One of the reasons that I got to bed so late on Saturday & got into this mess of being behind on blog posts is this little sidetrip to El Centro.  It’s about two hours from San Diego.  So, rather than wasting four hours roundtrip, I thought it wise to drive there at night and only waste half the daylight shooting time.

So, this was shot when there was just barely enough light in the morning.  I guess they cut back on the 31 flavors at some point.  Now, it’s a water store below the sign.

 

Here are a couple of remaining signs on one of the downtown main streets.  The businesses are gone:

 

A very sad downtown — it just have been swinging at some point.   Here are some nice window display cases:

 

A couple more signs from El Centro.  Nice little jaggedy edges.  Maybe meant to look like those homemade-ish “house for sale” signs you stick in people’s lawns?

This oldie looks like it was restored in recent years.  Those stuck-on letters are probably original:

 

Moving on to the San Diego area — this sign from National City:

 

And these signs from Chula Vista:

Broadway Liquor:

 

I don’t know how much of this neon still works.  The neon on the facade is probably relatively new (guessing 1980s or so):

 
Plastic signs are so under-rated:

 

The El Patio gives us a pole sign and a facade sign — but I don’t know if either are still lit at night:

Most likely, some neon originally:

 

A Masonic Lodge with nice canopy details and neon sign:

 

A small sign said “since 1940”:

 

Across the street from Bob’s — I’m assuming this is an Irish bar?  Too bad I couldn’t get it to yesterday for St. Patrick’s Day:

 

While many of you are still dealing with snow and cold, it was in the 80s this past weekend in San Diego.  I decided to have a Shamrock Shake from McDonald’s.  I never eat at McDonald’s — but this was a nostalgic moment.  I haven’t had one of these in more than 30 years.  I don’t even remember it being minty.  I just like the color.  And it was refreshing and filling.  They didn’t serve it with the whipped cream back.  It was just a simple paper cup:

 

And on to San Diego proper for some more signs.  This must be the result of some really cheap paint used during a “restoration”.  A shame because this is a really old sign (1920s?):

 

I’ve never been able to figure out what this place with the circus theme was originally:

The clown terrazzo apron at the entrance:

 

This two-tone green paint job on this Art Deco building is just horrible, in my opinion.  And I like green.  But wouldn’t something lighter and fluffier be better?

 

Union Station was built in 1915 — an incredible interior:

and yes, a mammoth, double-sided neon sign on the roof.  I don’t believe it’s lit at night:

 

A couple of quick shots from the Automotive Museum in Balboa Park.  A gorgeous little NSU Spider:

And this thing — which looks fairly ordinary until you look inside and under the hood:

Some details on the sign next to the car — and some more info at this link:
http://sdautomuseum.org/exhibit/louis-mattars-fabulous-car

 

Okay, I’ll leave you with one more sign.  A modern but super fun one outlined with neon — with Mr. DUI and Mr. Ticket.  Don’t forget — you can click on all my photos for enlargements:

 

And if you want even more photos from this weekend, check out the sampling I put up at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

I’ll be home for a couple of weekends (busy adding photos to the website).  Then, the dogs and I will be heading up to the Fresno area for some more shooting.

Take care,

dj

Normally, I do these Saturday roadtrip posts on Saturday night.  But this trip was so action-packed that I didn’t get settled until 11 pm.   Then, after a very busy of shooting on Sunday, I didn’t get home until 10:30 pm and then work today.  So, I’m now playing catch up.    I’ll get this post in tonight — and the other one tomorrow night.

I had a huge list and figured it would take at least two trips, possibly three to get it all done.  But with perfect weather and pushing myself, I got through the entire thing.  This means most of SoCal is officially wrapped up (except for some L.A. area stuff which I’ll get  to in conjunction with Nik eyeball checkups).  The next string of trips will focus on the Central Valley north of Fresno and the Bay Area south of San Francisco.

Let’s get to the photos — LOADS of them!  First, a couple of shots from my hometown of Ventura.  I drive by this one every night and have been meaning to shoot it.  Lots of patched & unpatched neon tubing holes.  I’m guessing this was probably not the original business name:

 

And a night photo of the Hong Kong Inn which just reopened with new owners a couple of weeks ago.  Evidently, the restaurant has also revived the “Polynesian Review” (dancers) on weekends:

 

Friday night’s destination was Oceanside.  A bummer that the Star Theatre was lit since nothing was going on there.  But I got to shoot this one before bedtime — with a nearly full moon.

 

This concession stand is at the Flower Fields in Carlsbad.  I assume it was inspired by Twistee Treat buildings:
http://www.agilitynut.com/food/twistee.html

 

More ice cream?  This is on the roof of the Oceans Ice Cream building in the Mission Bay section of San Diego:

 

Everything from here on out is from San Diego unless I say otherwise.  The Freaky Boutiki features this 3-D tiki figure on the side of its building:

There’s also a neon window sign:

 

This house (apartment?) appears to have been made from a trolley car — or at least simulates one:

 

I lived in various fourth floor “walkups” for nearly 30 years.  Not missing it at all.  I’m in a second floor apartment now which seems like nuthin.  This would be a nightmare with my four dogs:

 

I suspect from the tubing holes and the font style that this is a reworked sign.  Impossible to get a good shot during the day since it’s under billboard scaffolding.  Pretty at night though:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25849022@N08/4323455776/

 

Nik is obsessed with sleeping in caves — tight, dark corners.  In my apartment, he likes to sleep in the linen closet.  Most of the time, on roadtrips, he wedges himself in the very back of the van in a corner with some blankets.  But on this trip, he discovered what I call the “bed of nails”.  A new cave in the passenger front seat floor where he sleeps on my stash of Diet Coke bottles.  It can’t be comfortable.  Note the squashed ear on the left.

 

I love the simulated trunk on this one:

A nice mural at the same motel:

 

Two kiosks on one corner.  The one on the right appears to be a former Fotomat.  The one on the left is a flower stand with a faux thatched roof:

 

A decent Art Deco building made great with the pastel paint job:

On the side of the building, some of my favorite cacti which add even more class.  Does anyone know the names of these?

 

A former Original House of Pies (now Lil B’s Urban Eatery):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25082963@N02/2840367572

With an adapted sign:

 

This 1963 photo of JFK in a motorcade passing by Rudford’s is installed on the side of the building:

What the place looks like today:

 

Two neon signs keeping each other company.  The Stern Gym sign is protected by clear plastic panels — but the sign wasn’t lit when I was there:

The arrow on the New Life Laundry sign flashes on and off:

 

This one from Coronado — still nice even with the “Night & Day” not lit:

 

Back in San Diego for some more nighttime shooting:

 

These signs are modern but still pretty wonderful.  They decorate a shopping center.  This majorette is a nod to the Campus Drive-in sign — part of which was saved & is now located at another shopping center just down the block.  The baton on this sign also twirls:

I believe this represents the San Diego Mission:

Even more photos from Saturday at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut

And — stay tuned — some photos from Sunday here in tomorrow night’s post!

I’ve been itching to take a little two-hour trip up to Templeton to shoot a giant milk bottle which I found out about a few weeks ago.   Today’s forecast was for all-day sun and near 80 degrees — not a good day to sit at the computer.  After a few errands and a drastic haircut, I loaded up the dogs and camera and a list of stops.  Had to stop in Morro Bay for that doggie beach again.  It was just as wonderful the second time.

So, I’ve got some sign photos for you.  I do shoot other stuff on these trips (the buildings and statues) but my blog fans seem to like signs the most so that’s what I focus on here.

From Guadalupe — looks like a replica of the original jewelry store clock sign installed here in 1923.   The business is gone now.

 

Several signs from Santa Maria:

 

This drive-in in Santa Maria opened in 1960 — and is still going strong:

 

A few signs from Lompoc.  Gotta reshoot this one in the morning sometime when the sun is coming from the other direction:

Unfortunately, this IOOF sign is in a spot that probably never gets light:

I’ve shot these signs a few times — but not been lucky enough to see them in the afternoon from this side when the roof is out of the way and you can get them together:

 

Last stop in Buellton where the sun ran out.  This is the County Line Motel:

This was a good little test drive for next weekend.  Sparkle needed an ABS computer module which was a pricey $1500 and required 3 trips to the shop to get it right.  It was a relief to have no scary warning lights on the dash for a full day of driving.   Next weekend, if the forecast is sunny, the dogs and I will be heading down to San Diego.

More photos from today over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

dj