OK then — found my second wind.  On with today’s photos from Bakersfield.  Let’s start with a little streamline building:

 

and some signs:

 

 

The Tower Motel has three signs:

 

The lettering here is pretty skewed to one side — inexperienced signmaker?

 

 

Had to do it.  Note Sparkle’s brand new rear bumper — just got it done Friday (after she was blasted from behind in Atlantic City several weeks ago).  Didn’t cost me anything…. but time.

 

 

This old Shell sign is at a petroleum company:

 

 

Random mid-century modern fun:

 

Some more streamline:

 

I’m pretty sure this is relatively new:

 

 

There are a couple of neon signs at the Mexicali — but I think this plastic saguaro is the best:

 

 

A former IHOP — with a rare pretty-much-intact sign:

 

 

Odd barn building / bail bonds combo.  Maybe adapted from another use?  Maybe “The Bail Barn” originally?

 

 

Streamers & shadows:

 

 

At least three Jolly Cones in town.  But this is the only one with the fun sign:

 

And to pay my respects — and it was HOT today.  A half & half.  Sparkle blurred in the background which conceals her worst feature — that nose job she got in New Mexico, thanks to me.  I asked the guy at Maaco how much it would be to paint that  bumper — only $250.  So maybe when .  I get a job… and an apartment… I’ll splurge on that.

 

 

Fun disco skaters — Skateland.  Huge rooftop sign.  Shameless self-promotion –>  I wrote about this sign, among others, in a Skating Signs feature for the SCA (Society for Commercial Archeology) — it’s not listed on the site yet, but it’s Volume 29 #2 (Fall 2011):
http://sca-roadside.org/sca-journals-store

 

 

A swap meet dino:

 

 

On to Taft — which like Bakersfield — is big oil country:

 

 

From Maricopa.  The neon reads “Open” below the 76 sign — but the station is very much closed:

Ran out of sun in Fillmore — just enough to get this shot of “Ernie’s Auto” (a former station):

 

OK — I’m back at the job hunting this week — but I might grab you a few more shots next weekend.  But no big or far trips planned at this point.  If you’ve got a job, count your blessings!  I’ve been witnessing lots of folks who have a far worse situation than mine.

 

I decided to take a break from the job hunting this weekend.  Actually, only officially started this week since I had a lot of odds & ends to deal with first.  I went up to visit my mother who lives near Lake Isabella.  Hadn’t seen her since 2008.

Here are a few random Ventura shots first since that’s where I’ve been doing the hunting.  The marquee from the former Mayfair Theatre sits in an empty lot.  I have no idea who owns it or what the plans are for it.  The theatre was demolished in 2004:
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2328

Here’s what the sign looked like in later years when it housed the Pussycat Theatre (an “adult” movie theatre):
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=mayfair&catpagesize=25&ProductID=25082

Note the cool box office and the cheese holes above the marquee in the link above.  A damned shame that it was destroyed.

Sorry, I didn’t write down the name of this liquor store:

On Ventura Avenue — most likely a repurposed sign.  This is a mobile home park:

OK — now on to the trip — Lake Isabella is in Kern County:

A massive sign — but especially in Lake Isabella:

THE coffee shop in town.  Yes, we had breakfast here.  Decent.  Note the extension arrow:

Two or three of these “Dam Korner”s in town — but this one has the nice sign:

From Son-Rise Espresso.  An inventive iced latte creation from trash cans:

Arlie’s Club is about as fancy as the signs get here.  And one of the very few lit at night:

My mom with the lake in the background.  She’s 4′ 9″ or so – and I’m a towering 5′.  So for once I shoot downwards on somebody!

The lake in which the dogs, naturally, had a lot of romping time.  I’ll spare you shots of the dogs since they got so much air-time in the last post.  Maybe this is what lakes on Mars look like:

The prettiest night-time signs in town — at the Isabella Motel:

I made the most of my return home — with full day of sun to shoot stuff in Bakersfield.  I’ll get you some shots from there tomorrow night.

First off — thank you all SO much for your good wishes and positive energy during this “transition”.  It has really helped put things in perspective and take a bit of the stress off knowing that so many of you are pulling for me.  I’m trying to focus on the opportunity of the situation.

Sorry it’s taken a few days to update you about our whereabouts and whatabouts.  I’ve been waiting for a sunny day so I could take some photos for ya.  A lot of fog here — but still pretty much paradise. Yes, we arrived safely, in record time.  The cab of that U-Haul truck was much smaller than any of us were used to.  Much barking and misery for nearly 3,000 miles.  The movers came Monday morning and loaded up the U-Haul.  I got the super’s seal of approval on the cleanliness of the apartment.  Then, off to U-Haul to put Sparkle on the trailer behind the truck.  While waiting for that event, some impatient New Yorker raced into the parking lot and took out my truck’s passenger mirror, arm and all, with his U-Haul truck.  So I had to wait for that to be replaced.  I finally got going in the afternoon.   I paced off the length of us — from the nose of the truck to the end of the trailer:  33 feet.  Therefore, no roadside photo-taking along the way.  But here was one gas-up in Pennsylvania after some rain:

I spent Monday night in Columbus, OH (538 mi); Tuesday night in Tulsa, OK (816 mi); Wednesday night in Gallup, NM; arrived L.A. area afternoon Thursday (731 miles).  So, three days of driving.  And not soon enough! Some stats for those of you that like that sort of thing — or for those of you considering a cross-country move.  It ain’t cheap!!  I could not have done it at any other point in my life other than now with my investment banking days’ package.  I’m gonna be making a fraction of those wages now I think.

UHaul truck & trailer, insurance:  $4,022 (based on the distance)
Tolls:  $139 (you pay by the axle; $54 for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge alone)
Gas:  $1,362
Movers in Brooklyn:  $300
Mover in California (all my worldly goods now in a U-Haul storage bin):  $60
Grand total:  about $6,000 (not counting that there will be another move from the storage bin to wherever I settle)

Oh, and the week of the move, Sparkle’s transmission went — another $2,000.  I’m told her engine is shipshape.  So, hopefully she’ll carry us about for many years to come.  She deserves to spend her golden years in the California sun.  As do the five of us!!  The dogs have been to the beach at least twice per day — and then off to some park or another daily as well.  They’re quite digging this place.

I’m focusing on Ventura right now as my potential settling spot.  It was my birthplace and home for roughly the first 20 years of my life.  It took all this time to truly appreciate its wondrous-ness.  Gorgeous plants, palms, flowers everywhere.  Mid-century buildings everywhere.  And even a handful of sweet neon signs.  A lengthy beach and laid-back parks for the dogs to romp.  Perfect weather pretty much year-round.  No traffic or parking hassles.  Courteous people.  What more could you ask for?  Culture, restaurants, nightlife — oh, I don’t need any of that.  But I suppose they have that here, too.

So, I’ll do my damned-est to find a decent-ish job and some little ramshackle apartment here that’ll take four dogs.  Waiting for a tailor to hem my interview “costume”.  He said it’d take a week — but I begged him down to five days.  He’d be out of business in NYC at that pace!   Job hunting sucks but I’ll try to be patient.  I have time and money in my favor at this point.  I’m sure wages would be better in L.A.  And my skill set would be better appreciated there.  But I would rather be more broke and more relaxed at this point in my life.  Pre-retirement is how I’m looking at it.  When Social Security kicks in 10 or so years from now — I’ll be back on the road with a vengeance and no deadlines to get back home.  Wherever that is.  In the meantime, I assume I’ll have weekend trips to document for ya.

On with the photos then — and there are lots of them!!  Today (Sunday), finally, the fog and clouds broke up at noon and I made a mad dash shooting all around town.  Ventura — by the way the “tur” is pronounced like “turnip”.  Out-of-towners say Ven-tooo-ra.  The place is also known as the Poinsettia City (named after those red Christmas flowers which do grow here).  And which, if I remember correctly, locals call “pon-zet’-a” not “poin-set’-i-a”.

Purple flowers — no idea of the name:

 

The best example of Polynesian / tiki style architecture in town:  the Tonga Apartments:

 

Some mid-century buildings and details.  This one has those hanging ball lamps and stairs just visible thru the glass at the left — and a neat sun screen on the right:

A metal screen:

 

Cantilever roof and awning — this is actually the tailor which is holding my interview clothes hostage for a few days:

 

The Mission Bell Motel — I’m uploading some night shots of the signs to Flickr tonight.  If I remember correctly, my parents and I used to eat at the little building on the right which is now an ice cream place.  I don’t remember the food but I do remember getting these free peanut butter flavored candies (instead of mints) on the way out the door.  Maybe they were Mary Janes or Abba-Zabba or something else.  Note the neon bell on the chimney:

Note another bell on the building next door at the left.  Also those hideaway car ports for each motel room.  And what amazing shrubbery!

I think this was the Loop’s restaurant for the motel next door (photos at Flickr tonight).  But maybe not.  That plastic ball & the plastic sign seem pretty vintage.  Another metal screen:

150 foot tall palm trees — or so they seem:

 

A seemingly infinite variety of palm trees and exotic shrubbery around town:

 

Five Points is an intersection with a convergence of five streets.  I believe this was the same business here when I was growing up.  But maybe that is a repurposed Union 76 gas station sign:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrew-turnbull/6182161571/

 

I believe this was the hospital I was born in.  I can’t check since my birth certificate and worldly possessions are off in storage in Los Angeles right now.  The Community Memorial Hospital — undergoing some additions — so this view might not be for long:

 

And this building across the street which looks like this one has been updated a bit.  But I believe the swiss cheese holes are original:

Some more examples of holes and screens:

Fleur-de-lis details:

Sweet:

 

I have no idea — Martian-like fruit and sweet-smelling white flowers:

 

Most of the neon looks intact — must check on this one at night:

Screen-y passageway:

Just another palm & purple combo.  I believe that’s bougainvillea:

Some species of banana plant.  You can see a banana cluster just above the center if you look closely:

 

I don’t know what you’d call this style — Prairie Polynesian?

 

Dolled-up Victorian?  Or maybe never was Victorian to begin with:

 

A detail from a former garage:

 

More palms:

 

These guys I know from my childhood.  The flowers close up tight at night to stay warm.  Can’t remember the name:

 

A terrific spot for the dogs — Arroyo Verde Park.  There are trails in the background — but everyone says there are rattlesnakes — so we’ll pass.  That’s Nik running on the right:

Grem running, too:

 

And the seniors, Grip & Fix, engaged in more sedate activities — could that be a gopher hole?

Family photo:

 

More freaky but beautiful trees:

Century plant — I think:

 

No idea — but incredible:

 

Downtown — not sure how vintage.  Must have been a name change — those “lounge” letters are so scrunched:

 

Super nifty Morris Minor woodie:

 

A couple Deco buildings from the Avenue (Ventura Avenue):

 

Lots of oil derricks on land and on the sea in Ventura — and yet the gas prices are amazingly high in SoCal:  $4.50-ish right now:

 

Lunch at Lalo’s:

Corn burritos — which I couldn’t even find on the menu.  Fried corn tortillas rolled up & stuffed with refried beans — about 4 or 5 of them under the lettuce, cheeses, tomatos, guac & sour cream.  Super, very HOT sauce.  A meal for under $5 — and A+.

 

The view of the beach & downtown looking towards Oxnard from The Cross (aka Grant Park):

 

And speaking of beach — more shots of the kids:

Nearly blind Nik using his nose to find his ball in the foam:

Double trouble:

Gremlin — enough trouble by herself — cuter than hell, no?

Beating the foam:

 

Grip — can’t see a thing but surely knows an ocean when she hears and smells one:

Her overly rewarded, default jumping trick — she’s flying!

 

Fixie — sun and sand in her eyes.  She likes the beach.  I think.

 

I’ve seen more glorious beach sunsets — but here’s what we got tonight:

 

Wish me luck — the job hunting begins on Wednesday — and it might take a while.  Weeks?  Hopefully, not months.  I’ll keep you posted.  And your good vibes and prayers are welcome!

Don’t forget to check out the other photos from today over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

 

Big, big changes here.  For the good I hope.  Eventually.

After 25+ years of working for various investment banks, and 16 years at my current job, the wheel finally landed on my number a couple of weeks ago.  After six or seven rounds of layoffs in the past few years, it was finally my turn.  Most likely, I got picked this time because of all my time off.  Which I was entitled to — but  it made me “nonconforming” in the new management’s eyes.  Anyhow, the “package” is generous.  About a year’s pay (though Uncle Sam will take about half).  And I’ll get regular paychecks through the end of the year.  So, I don’t need to panic financially.  It’s the perfect time to make some big changes.  Lousy economy, lousy job market, all over the country.  Except maybe North Dakota — and I don’t want to move there.  I’ve never been a fan of cold weather.

After a lot of reflection, I’m heading back where I came from 32 years ago:  Southern California.  I have a mother back there that might need my help one of these years soon.  And you can’t beat the weather.  And there are loads of places for the doggies to romp — mountains, lakes, and beaches.  I’ve got no idea where or what I’ll be doing just yet.   The choices make your head hurt:  something that has meaning but pays lousy — or office work which pays better but has no meaning.

This cross-country move is more terrifying than it is exciting at the moment.  It’s very hard saying goodbye to friends and my beloved park and apartment.   But by a year from now, I’ll have a nice little routine going.  The days of the five-week roadtrips are most likely over for now.  But I’ll be able to sneak off on weekends now and then.  And I’d hope there’ll be a week or two of vacation time per year.  Eventually, when I retire, I hope to resume with some mega trips — maybe even longer than five weeks — with no rush to get back to work!  But for now, I have enough photos for the website from this year’s trips to keep me busy for at least a year.  Also, I’ve got lists of all sorts of things at the site that need updating. So, it might be a good time to hit the travel pause button and catch up.

I have a long list of stuff to shoot in NYC that I never got around to or desperately need reshooting for the website.  But with planning & packing & some crappy weather, I only managed to sneak off for a few hours yesterday to get about a dozen stops in.  Let’s start the photos with one from Crown Heights — the neighborhood east of mine.  Considering my big move and all, the business is appropriately named “New Life”…  A neat frieze with a dragon — heads on both ends:

A Park Slope (Brooklyn) icon.  I’ve been eating at Mr. Falafel on and off for more than 20 years.  This guy’s been standing in front of the restaurant since well before that.  And given the neighborhood’s transformation (old mom & pops replaced with chains) in the past few years, it’s a miracle the restaurant and statue are still there:

One of the very few and nicest of the neon signs that remain in the neighborhood:

Some nice mosaics in downtown Brooklyn (both on the front of the same building):

A survivor in Brooklyn Heights — very few neon signs there either:

From the Brooklyn waterfront — the Brooklyn Bridge.  The tallest building in the distance is the new, nearly finished World Trade Center:

From pretty much the same spot — the Manhattan Bridge and the Williamsburg Bridge in the distance:

The big new building near me.  Basketball stadium, concerts, etc.  Most of us locals agree it’s a monstrosity.  A friend likens it to a junk pile.  The finish was designed to look like rust.  The neat thing is the advertising screen in that hole (where it shows “tickets now” in this photo).  It’s constantly changing and animated and BRIGHT and will certainly cause accidents.  I’ve never understood why cities prohibit neon but this sort of thing is fine.

A survivor much further down Flatbush Avenue:

Over to Manhattan for a little bit.  I don’t think where I’m heading will have many buildings like this.  The Cary Building, downtown:

One of my faves downtown –

the floor at the entry:

the relief at the entry:

So, moving day is tomorrow — Monday.  I’ll grab you a couple photos from the road.  No sightseeing though — all interstate.  I’ll be hauling a big rig:  a 14 foot UHaul with Sparkle on a trailer behind.  She’ll just be a passenger for this journey — and she damn well deserves it.  The dogs will be crammed in the cab with me.  I should land in SoCal probably Friday-ish.  And then you might not hear from me for a while while I sort everything out.  Not to worry!  I’m not the suicidal sort and I have a nice cushion to find the right job & place to live.  A big adventure, a new chapter, a blank slate.  It’s a big mountain to climb right now — but I’ll get to the top for the great view soon enough — and share the photos with you.

I posted a few more NYC photos over at Flickr just now if you’re eager for more:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

This was just a quickie trip — so no map or stats.   I didn’t get to half the stuff on my lists so I may find a way to finish up in October.  I didn’t even touch the Maryland packet, didn’t get to the Amish Man statue in Delaware that’s been restored, etc., etc.  And it’s killing me.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous.  But the traffic was already a disaster anywhere near I-95 by mid-afternoon.  So I turned tail and headed north to home a little early.

Let’s start with this horsie in Abington, PA.  I don’t know if he started out as a classic, mass-produced fiberglass horse and was just patched over and over — or if he’s always looked this funky.  He has no tail at all:

 

 

From Hatboro — I’ve been admiring this building for years — and happy to report it hasn’t changed a bit:

 

 

From Feasterville-Trevose.  One of just a few oldies north of Philly on the old Lincoln Highway:

 

 

From King of Prussia:  a rather elegant Arby’s re-use.  There’s another Arby’s gone Starbucks in Albuquerque.  I don’t know of any others — but there are possibly more:

 

 

From Broomall.  That appears to be a former amusement park kiddie train.  Even with the engine removed, that’s gotta be heavy:

 

It’s a model train store — but there are two of these giant toy soldiers — or are they Nutcrackers? — in front of the building.  Maybe there was another toy store here before?

 

 

Finally, on into Delaware.  From Wilmington.  I love the little neon diamonds on the right.  Yes, the store is still open:

 

 

An incredible bit of typography from Wilmington:

 

 

From New Castle.  A typically cluttered former Phillips 66 gas station lot.  In the sun, it’s almost a forgiveable shot.  The slanty bays on the left which you can’t quite see.  These gas stations are popular used car lots — and skanky repair shops.  A few of them have gotten lucky and now house coffee shops, fast food restaurants, or ice cream stands.

 

 

Also New Castle.  I’m finally getting around to reshooting these “restored” (replicas?) signs.  They look lovely at night:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26731037@N07/5197632982/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26731037@N07/5197032429/

But this one has been de-Deco-fied — my photo from around 2001:

and now:

 

 

 

So, that’s a wrap.  Maybe I’ll pick up where I left off in October.  If you don’t want to miss it, you can become a “follower” of this blog or a “follower” at Twitter (roadsidenut).  I usually tweet the night before I take off.   I don’t do Facebook (HATE it).  But I usually post a quick note or link to the Society for Commercial Archeology Facebook page at the beginning of a trip.

If you want some more photos from this trip, don’t forget I post different ones to Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

The dogs & I are safely home.  I’ll try to get this mini trip’s final post to you tomorrow or worst case Tuesday.  Work and all that catchin’-up stuff tomorrow.   Feels like I’ve been gone much longer than four days.

I was all gung-ho to get some shooting done in Philadelphia today since the sun was out and smiling right away.  The threat of rain in the afternoon had me extra antsy (it didn’t come til evening).  But then stuff got in the way — some good, some bad.  Though not too bad.  I noticed a tire low on air.  Took Sparkle over to a nearby Firestone where we got fixed up (a nail) for free since I cleverly bought “road hazard service” at some point.  But it was a real methodical shop which took nearly an hour to do proper procedures (estimate paperwork, paper on the floor mat & plastic around the seat and steering wheel, closing paperwork, etc).  So I was stuck for another hour in New Jersey.

One last shot before crossing the river — from Mount Ephraim.  Probably not a paint store originally.  Bays next to it make me think it was a car dealership or car-related sort of business.  Note the groovy triangulated front windows as well:

 

On to Philadelphia — one of several sports statues from the 1970s at Citizens Bank Park:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/2545970217/

 

And then on to today’s main event.  I had an early morning “date” with Len Davidson who lives in Philadelphia.  Neon collector, restorer, artist, historian.  And nice guy.  He’s also the author of “Vintage Neon” — a must have book for anyone that loves neon signs.  Pricey — but photo-rich and worth every penny since you’ll keep it on your shelf the rest of your life:
http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Neon-Schiffer-Reference-Book/dp/0764308572/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1348367434&sr=8-2&keywords=vintage+neon+davidson

Len gave me a little tour of some things in his personal collection.  Embossed porcelain letters.  These signs were mass-produced.  Here’s one in Jefferson, TX with the glass and neon intact:
http://www.agilitynut.com/11/4/pittsp.jpg

A panel from a Howard Johnson’s restaurant — the Lamplighter sign:

A super neat small “box” sign:

Breath-taking:

Classic & wonderful:

And then, there he is!  In Sparkle’s passenger seat.  Len took a ride around downtown with us for a bit — pointing out some things that I might have missed.  The dogs were mostly good.  Gremlin saw lots of dogs and motorcycles to bark at — which must have amused and irritated Len a bit.  If so, he never let on.  But, thankfully, it was hot and the dogs were tired and nobody jumped all over the guy.  Even though, technically, he was in THEIR seat.

 

So that was mighty fun.  And an honor to finally meet the guy I’ve read about for decades.  Even though it set my schedule back — way, way back.  Sometimes, you just have to go with the flow.  And be polite and patient.  And not carry on like the frenzied fiend that you really are — making every day a race against time.

 

So let’s get back to the Philly photos.  A random and beautiful Art Deco detail:

 

A cute Dutch boy holding —  a tire?  Maybe a garage:

 

A pit stop at Shane’s Candies — sorry, I didn’t buy anything!  My will against sugar these days is mighty strong.  And I already had my sweet for this trip (that frozen custard a couple of days back).  But mostly a stop to document the major exterior change.  This photo from 2009:

 

But a change in ownership in 2010 — and now the facade is blue and the signs are gone.  OK — at least the look is the same — and they left the stained glass alone — and even more of it is visible.  But still, I’m bummed:

The Wedgewood Blue now continues to the inside (also previously green):

It does look pretty nice and tidy and fancy though.  And it smelled strongly of chocolate mint truffles or something when I walked in.  But I resisted.  The gorgeous register:

 

A random Deco building detail:

 

And a nice car showroom that I finally got in the sun:

 

Just one more photo for this post.  The Masonic Temple downtown has an Egyptian Room.  And I have a growing appreciation for the Egyptian Revival style and all.  But you can only see it on the tour.  The tour is about 45 mins and cheap at $8.  But 45 mins. is a lot for me to give up on a sunny day and one already shrunken by socializing.  Here’s what we missed:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ohlenna/3058963531/

So, mental note the next time I’m in Philly on a crappy, rainy day, I’ll have something to look forward to — and shoot for you.  I did shoot this Sphinx, one of a pair, in the lobby:

 

Tomorrow, some stuff surrounding Philly — and then down to Delaware.  I doubt I’ll get to anything on the Maryland list before I have to skedaddle home.

Fantastic weather, no accidents, snoozing dogs, and tons of photos.  The sun was good from the start so I stayed a bit longer in Wildwood than planned.  I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to reshoot lots of stuff that I’ve shot before in perfect sun.  I also gave the dogs a good, long, hour-long session on the beach there which really helped keep the chaos and barking down today.

I had hoped to start on the Philadelphia stuff by afternoon — but things took longer than planned.  So I raced around like made the last couple hours to finish my NJ list.  Now I’m feeling the pain (exhausted).  The sun runs out at around 6:15 pm on this trip.  My summer trip in Colorado & Wyoming, I could shoot til about 8 pm.  So that’s affecting my progress as well.

On with the show — palm trees Wildwood style:

 

Many of the motels have put their palms away for the year — removing the fronds and leaving the trunks standing.  Here’s another motel with their palms still out in the off-season — and a bonus neon palm:

 

On the boardwalk – a recent addition.  I know the octopus and pirates were done by Mark Cline — famous in the fiberglass statue world for all his dinosaurs, Foamhenge and such in Natural Bridge, VA and elsewhere.  Maybe he built the whole display:

 

Inside a former Woolworth — which seems to be someone’s private collection of stuff now.  It doesn’t look like it opens to the public but I could be wrong.  So sorry for the glare.  This ice cream man sign was originally installed in Wildwood at  Schumann’s Restaurant (now gone).

There’s lots of amusement park stuff visible through the windows — this clown must have been at one of those toss-the-bean-bag type arcade games:

 

I have no explanation for this cactus in Cape May Court House.  The sign reads “Sarah’s Garden”.  But there doesn’t appear to be a business there:

 

The restoration of the Palace Depression is coming along.  Last time I was here, Jeff and Kevin were still building all the underground chambers.
http://agilitynut.com/h/palace.html

Jeff is living at the Palace full-time now.  He’ll probably continue working through October and then cut off til spring.  Jeff was describing how photographs at night show all sorts of orbs (paranormal stuff).  I love his passion about the place.

 

Last one for the night — I gotta get some sleep.  This mystery building is in Elmer.  Apparently, a little restaurant of some sort.  The house to the right is made of the same stucco-y concrete and shares the same address.  So I’d assume owned by the same person.

 

Tomorrow, I hope to get thru the Philly area stuff and some Delaware places.  The forecast says the rain should arrive around 4pm.  Somewhat cloudy maybe leading up to that.  But Sunday should be better.  So if it gets nasty, I’ll park & wait rather than head home.

Hey there!  I needed a little break from the drudgery of my real job and my website labors.  And the dogs are thrilled to be off on adventures!  Though they’ll miss all that good scavenging back home.  The park has been a bonanza of picnic scraps lately.  This will be a little four-day affair — Jersey Shore & Philadelphia-ish mostly, a little Delaware, and if time a bit of Baltimore area.

The usual applies (my faithful blog followers might want to skip this paragraph):  clicking on photos makes them bigger.  Different photos posted each night over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/
My Flickr photos & blog posts are done late at night, only while traveling.  So it’s just a sampling of the photos taken each day.  And after driving and shooting all day, my writing is not my best.  The subjects covered are the same as my website (buildings, signs & statues) — but usually the stuff here at the blog is the “junk” that won’t make it to the site.  Funky signs, oddball buildings & more random stuff like my dogs & food.  Flickr agilitynut is for the prime-time stuff which will make it to the site.

OK with that out of the way… Let’s get to today.  It was a real mixed bag of sun and grey.  Very summery warm.  With that deliciously skanky marshy smell of coastal marshy NJ.  I guess they have it elsewhere like Rhode Island but I associate it with NJ.  And love it.   The forecast is for mostly sun — Saturday might be rainy & miserable.

Stopped in Perth Amboy for this one.  It’s been on my to-shoot list for years.  Evidently a garage…

… and possibly built at the same time as the building on the left which is also identified as 1916.  Maybe a dealership?

 

Also Perth Amboy.  Slightly canted windows.  Those chunky blocks can’t be original.  And maybe some sort of tile, panel, or glass facade.  Gratefully, they kept those neon letters.

 

A sweet yet sad abandoned gas station in Toms River.  A big modern canopy from much later in front of it.  Pumps gone.  I’m not optimistic that this will survive since it’s surrounded by all kinds of new development chain stores & such.

 

I love the beachie amusement park towns in the off-season.  When everything’s shuttered and no one’s around.   And this time of year, most of them are legal for off-leashing.  And the ones that aren’t, are either deserted or no one seems to mind.  The kids got three beach romps today.  And it wasn’t enough.

A couple of shots from Seaside Heights:

Yeah, the palm is plastic – no real ones in NJ…

 

Sitting at a light in Atlantic City — then BLAM.  A woman in a Honda Civic plows into me from behind.  She must have been doing about 30.  She said her foot slipped off the brake.  Her car got a barely a scrape but poor Sparkle now has a badly mangled bumper and the Dutch doors don’t open.  The cops came to file a report.  I have her insurance info & all that.  So I’ll be getting a new, free bumper.  Again.  The same thing happened a couple of years ago in Long Island — just sitting at a light.  Is Sparkle just not big enough for people to see her?  Is white an invisible color?   Anyhow, just a hassle — nobody hurt.  And a waste of precious shooting time.

 

From Egg Harbor City.   I like how the bottle serves as an arrow:

 

On to Ocean City — where everything was locked up tight.  Including Tee Time which I was really hoping to revisit.  I shot it about 10 years ago when it was pretty derelict.  Then I was told mistakenly that it was demolished.  Then I was told it wasn’t.  Here’s a fun sign near the place which gives you an idea of the vintage wonderfulness of it:

 

And I was thrilled to see it looking well-taken care of with the figures repainted & shiny. But DAMN stuck behind chain link.  Note the Lucy the Elephant on the right (photo of the real Lucy at my Flickr stream tonight).  I will make a point of getting back here in the spring:

 

Just about the only thing not closed on the Ocean City boardwalk today — so I had to have one last summer treat.  Rather than the classic Kohr’s orange & vanilla, I went with the chocolate & peanut butter.  A+.

 

One more from Ocean City — a still operating five-and-dime store:

 

On to Wildwood.  The SCA (Society for Commercial Archeology) is having their big conference here next weekend.  And even though I’m a regular contributor to their publications, I won’t be attending.  Just didn’t work out that way — procrastinating on my part, a crazy work schedule, money, etc.   I think the deadline is past for registration.  But if you’re interested in going — maybe they can squeeze you in:
http://www.sca-roadside.org/content/conference-schedule-0

So much of Wildwood’s mid-century modern motels have been destroyed — but there’s still plenty to see and shoot.  I’ve been there at least a half-dozen times and it’s still fun for me.

 

Another shot from Laura’s Fudge (more over at Flickr tonight):

 

A modern sign — but still great:

 

One of the small but wonderful signs:

 

One of my faves:

 

I don’t think I’ve noticed the Beach Colony Motel corner at night before.   I’ve long admired it during the day:
http://www.agilitynut.com/07/5/family.jpg
The different colored lights really look nice:

 

Marvelous:

 

And one more for the night — some of the neon out — but still terrrific:

 

Tomorrow, lots more NJ and then on to Philadelphia.  I hope you’re grabbing what’s left of summer wherever you are, too.

My endless summer has finally come to an end.  Before we launch into the final batch of photos from this trip, let’s get the trip stats out of the way.

Days on the road: 37 (two days less than the spring trip)

16,397 miles — that’s what I put on Sparkle during this trip.  With the spring trip of 15,712 miles, that’s 32,109 miles this year.  Plus some little trips here and there.  She pretty much sits the rest of the year since I take the subway to work.  In fact, I only put less than 100 miles on her between the spring trip and this one.

Her odometer currently reads 335,007.   And I won’t hesitate to take her out for another marathon trip next spring.  She runs like she’s brand new.  I don’t know why Chevy stopped making these Astro Vans.  They are the VW Bugs of our generation — you can’t kill them.  I didn’t spend a dime on repairs on this trip (excluding oil changes).  There was that A/C breakdown early in the trip in Illinois.  But that doesn’t count since it was due to faulty repairs in the spring — so there as no charge.  In fact, after dealing with Firestone headquarters and the district manager back in Albuquerque, I managed to get a credit for half the original repair ($400 of the $800).  So that was nice — but nothing compensates for the two days of shooting that were lost.  However, I’m happy to report that my A/C is still working superbly.  And I absolutely needed it just about every day.

Total spent on gas:  $3,438.  That’s 21 cents per mile.  Sparkle never claimed to be energy efficient.  And there were a lot of mountains and city driving in there.

I noticed quite a discrepancy of gas prices on this trip.  In Wyoming and Colorado it was about $3.40 per gallon.  A little higher elsewhere, including Iowa even with the ethanol.  As soon as I got to northern Illinois — a huge jump to $4.10 or so.  Much cheaper on the OH and PA interstates coming home.

Speeding tickets:  One “warning” early in the trip for speed and not signaling — but otherwise no tickets!  A first — or so I thought.  Little did I know about the “surprise” waiting for me in my mailbox from Muscatine, IA.  A $100 ticket from a speed camera.  I have no recollection of seeing “speed camera” signs or a flash from the camera when it got me.  But there it is — a couple of photos of Sparkle merrily motoring along.  I woulda waved!  The ticket says I was doing 66 in a 45.  Luckily, not a “real” ticket since nothing goes on my driving record.  Supposedly.  They must make a killing with that camera.  I guess it’s the way of the future.  Soon, we won’t be able to speed anywhere and it’ll take twice as long to get anything done.  Roadtrip thrills will be fewer.  Bummer.

Number of photos taken:  5,416.  About 550 of them appeared at the blog; another 500 or so appeared at the agilitynut Flickr account.  Roughly about 5,000 photos will eventually get added to the website.  That’s after I get another 5,000 from the spring trip in place.  I’ll be lucky if I can get all the photos from these two trips up by next spring.  It’s one thing to just upload photos straight from the camera as many people do.  But I crop & tweak each photo.  And then there’s the research for each subject for the descriptions which takes up the most time.

“Value” of this trip:  Overall, I’d rate this trip as fantastic.   The weather was mostly great.  I really did a great job of preparing the lists and maps so that every day was chock full of organized stops.  It was also just about perfect in terms of what was accomplish-able.  There’s nothing sadder than coming home with pages and pages of stuff you couldn’t get to.

The dogs would also rate this trip as awesome.  Lots of swimming, motorcycles to bark at, prairie dogs to chase, different terrain to explore, and extra meals due to Grippie’s screwed up timeclock (blindness? dementia?).

What’s next:  I’m done with the big trips for this year.  I do the two biggies in spring & summer when the weather is best for shooting.  Then I bust my butt the rest of the year working & paying for the trips.   There will probably be some little three day trips in the fall.

Next year, if I can still get time off from work and I get the credit card balance whacked back, I’ll be doing a spring trip to Florida and a summer trip to California.  If you want a heads-up, I send a quick tweet when I head off on big trips.  You can become one of my Twitter followers here:
https://twitter.com/roadsidenut/

So, let’s move on to the photos from Saturday’s Chicago area whirlwind.  There are more vintage signs here than anywhere else in the country, hands down.

A “skeleton” sign burning brightly during the day in Mount Prospect:

 

 

A couple of photos from Mundelein.  Clearly an adapted Rexall sign:
http://www.agilitynut.com/signs/rex.html

 

 

A nifty mid-century building.  I love the tube entrance.  Houses the Advocate Medical Group.  It was surely built before CAT scans but I can’t help but think of that.

 

 

A restaurant in Highwood:

 

 

On to Chicago proper:

 

 

I stopped to shoot the Norwood Park Auto Sales sign — and then realized, hey, what’s that off to the right:

 

Yup, a big neon collection inside:

A couple close-ups:

 

 

More Chicago signs — this one still lit and bulbs flashing during the day:

 

 

Ruby Cleaners is still open but lost the neon at some point:

 

 

Rare gold porcelain enamel — and a quirky arrow.  The neon was lit here during the day:

 

 

A massive repurposed sign — note the mailboxes lower right for scale:

 

 

This one really intrigued me.  Who knows what it looked like originally.  But it looks like a lot of hands-on altering over the years.  Some of the holes obviously held bulbs.  But other holes make me think maybe there was some internal backlighting going on.  Maybe not.  The holes are so unevenly spaced — particular on the arrow that it looks like a real D-I-Y project.  I told the guy standing there who couldn’t understand why I was shooting it that it was a “truly fantastic piece of junk”.

 

I’ve shot this twice or thrice before but today the light was finally right.

 

Closed & for sale.  Shoot this one while you can.

 

 

Architectural Artifacts on Ravenswood has been selling some neon signs lately.  They don’t go after them — but when business owners can’t or don’t want to keep their signs, they sometimes end up here.  I don’t know if any money changes hands or they are just donations.  Here’s the two vintage neon signs that were there on Saturday.  Very sad.

Here’s a photo of this one that I took in 2006 when it was still up:
http://www.agilitynut.com/06/7/kosher.jpg

 

And this sign when it was still up:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zol87/3910389524/

 

 

Back out into the sun and hope and all the good stuff that we still have to admire.  How can simple plastic letters look this good?

 

 

Stunning vitrolite:

 
Marvelous.  These eagles continue all the way around the facade:

 

 

Apparently, a local chain — but this is the only location that I know of with a stunning neon sign like this:

 

 

Iggy’s is now Bonny’s — I don’t know what the name was originally:

 

 

And as the light was waning — the reality set in.  Must drive home.  Now.  Waaaah.  This one lit nice and early just to tempt me into staying.  But no.  Chasing bulbs working also:

I got through all but about 50 Chicago stops.  Which killed me.  But I cheered myself up with the promise made while driving home that I would start next summer’s trip with finishing up that list even if it’s way out of the way.

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

Thanks for all your comments, support, praise, and enthusiasm on this trip.  It’s a real energy booster while I’m slugging it out on the road.  If you want to make a donation towards my efforts, that’s always greatly appreciated.  There’s a “Feed Sparkle” button on the upper right of my webpages — which takes you here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/donation.html

Or you can just go to PayPal and send whatever amount you want, big or small, to the agilitynut@hotmail.com account.  Or if you’re broke like me, positive feedback is always nice.  I have no idea how many people are out there following along.

Wishing you all sunny skies and trouble-free roadtrips of your own!

Debra Jane
Gripper, Fix, Sputnik & Gremlin
RoadsideArchitecture.com