Ever have one of those days where everything goes right?  Me neither!  But it was pretty damned close today.  99% sun, AC to keep us meat locker cool despite upper 90s outside, lots of planned and unplanned subjects to shoot, happy & healthy dogs…

I’ve been to Nebraska several times before — and done a fairly thorough job, so I thought.  But I’m always adding more stuff to my list from my research and it all added up to quite a lot of stops yesterday and today.  Tomorrow, I should be able to wrap up and get to Colorado.  About a day and a half ahead of schedule!  Which always makes me nervous that something will go wrong.  But let’s not jinx my good fortune.

It’s nearly 1am — and I have tons of photos for you.  The day started in Lincoln.  Here’s a nice mid-century building that I hadn’t noticed before.  Love the little fins and the asymmetrical use of glass:

 

 

A “classic” rooster in Lincoln.  If you can’t get enough of them either — I have dozens more at my website:
http://www.agilitynut.com/critters/birdschick.html

 

 

A couple of signs from Lincoln — the metal on this one appears to be brand new — probably a replica of an older sign:

 

 

And an oldie — though maybe the plastic part was a later substitution.  And even the text doesn’t quite fill the space right and the panel shows signs of patching.  So probably a different name originally.

 

 

Moving on to York.  I’m thinking neon originally — and then a very nice refurbishing job after removing it.  This one’s monster big so I give the owner credit for fixing instead of replacing with a junky plastic sign:

 

 

Don’t you love happy endings?  I’ve stopped by the Shady Bend in Grand Island for years.  The long-vacant building was surrounded with weeds.  I peered in the dirty windows to imagine what must have been.  It just seemed doomed to crumble eventually.  Then, I read that someone actually bought and fixed up the place.  Now, the weeds are gone and it’s a very nice little restaurant.  More info here:
http://brianbutko.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/shady-bend-station-restored-and-back-in-business/

 

The entrance area features original cabinets — the restaurant is to the right:

 

 

More from Grand Island:

 

 

And another success story.  The Grand Theatre in Grand Island is being restored:
http://www.theindependent.com/news/local/a-theater-of-restored-grandeur/article_6aa3c030-b450-11e1-a5dd-001a4bcf887a.html

I had read that Tim Dunn, the master of vitrolite, was going to be restoring the facade.  So… when I pulled up and saw the two cranes, I suspected one of the guys must be him.

 

 

Sure enough — I was flattered that Tim came down to meet me when I hollered up at him.  Some of you may recall my blog coverage a couple of months ago of the restored Quarrier Diner in Charleston, WV.  Yep, Tim worked on that:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/7009908007/

and the Ritz Theatre in Talladega, AL:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/1736463705/

and countless other theatres, storefronts, and interiors.  Here’s his website with links to info & photos of some of his other projects:
http://www.vitrolitespecialist.com/

 

 

 

And here’s a shot of the new replica sign with the cranes down for the matinee:

 

 

It seems about half of the Sinclair stations in Nebraska have the dinosaurs on their roofs.  The stations seem so modern that I suspect these statues are still being produced:

 

 

 

 

One more from Grand Island — the Antlers Motel:

 

 

From Hastings:

 

 

From Minden — Harold Warp’s Pioneer Village.  I finally stopped & went INTO this place rather than just shooting the sign/building and scurrying on.   There was an old carousel there that I needed to shoot for the website.  The building might look car showroom-y — but it was actually built for the museum.

 

 

There are collections of all sorts — entire buildings moved here, guns, victrolas, printing presses, you name it:
http://www.pioneervillage.org/

Definitely worth the $13 or so.   Lots of old cars — dating all the way back from classic 1950s/1960s to Model Ts or As. But the one that stopped me dead in my tracks was this Amphicar.  I’ve never seen one in real life before — it seemed so small and adorable.  They were built to be driven on land and water.  Here’s more about them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphicar

 

Note the propellers in back:

 

 

And I never knew there was a Valentine diner here.  It was originally installed in Kearney, NE in 1947.  It was moved here in 1953:

 

 

One more from Pioneer Village:  this truly neat sign:

 

 

Lest you forget about my roadtripping buddies — time for a swim in the Platte River in Kearney.  Gremmie motors towards a floating biscuit chunk:

 

 

Fixie tells me how she feels:

 

 

Grippie with lots of spring in her step — 15 and blind and doesn’t give a damn:

 

 

Meanwhile, Nik’s out there, nearly blind himself, totally missing the toy that is inches from his head.  Luckily, he knows right/left, come/back so I can direct him to the target:

 

 

The new vision challenge has not diminished his obsession with retrieving one bit:

 

 

On to Gothenburg — I guess this qualifies as a scaffold sign even though it’s not on a rooftop:

 

 

From McCook — I practically stood on Sparkle’s roof for this one — and still couldn’t get the entire bottle in the shot:

 

 

And finally, a photo-op from Gothenburg.    Note the “Headin’ West” which is appropriate for this trip — and the days yet to come (nearly four more weeks to go folks!):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s a wrap.  Hope you enjoyed this deluxe post.  I can’t promise this many photos every night.   I know I have to shoot some gooey desserts or some kind of food for you.  Any other special requests?

 

Yes — quite a busy and beautiful day.  Gorgeous skies all day long.  Pretty white clouds that never blocked the sun long enough to mess with my lighting.  Temps in the mid-80s — which feels like nothing when you’re used to 100.  Only put the A/C on a tiny bit in the afternoon.  Sparkle is running like a champ.  Got all my Iowa stuff done & got through the Omaha list.  Back on schedule despite the whole A/C fiasco back in Illinois.  Planning on arriving in Colorado on Monday — or sooner.

Grip and Fixie both have a little diarrhea — maybe from the heat yesterday or from some funky water source they were wading/eating in.  I’ll try to be more careful with my swimming choices.  A couple of “accidents” in the van while I was interstate driving.  Glad I had my giant spray bottles of Fantastic & Febreze on hand.  But I think I might need something stronger for these situations.

On to the Iowa stuff.  From Des Moines.  This is actually a much longer sign — but this is the only part of the sign that could be shot on the sunny side this morning:

 

 

More Des Moines — the French Way Cleaners building:

 

 

And this sign in Des Moines — how could I have never seen or heard of this Plaza Lanes sign before?  It’s absolutely incredible.  Unfortunately, impossible to shoot in the morning.  Here’s the non-sunny side from today.  Yes, rather like the Sheridan Lanes sign in Tulsa — but far bigger and spans much of the roof.  I don’t know if it’s still lit and has animated rolling bowling balls & crashing pins.  Really a gigantic work of art.

 

 

From the sunny side —  a couple of detail shots from far, far away.  The clarity is decent considering that (thanks, Dee!):

 

 

Three signs from Boone, IA:

 

 

This one features a leaky faucet — don’t know if the neon still works.  If you like plumbing & faucet signs, I have this little page:
http://www.agilitynut.com/sca/plumbing.html

 

 

From Harlan, IA:

 

 

Detail of the sign:

 

 

A few shots from Woodbine, IA.  This drug store still in business — since 1916:

 

 

Last time I was here it was POURING rain, for HOURS — so my photo of this sign was terrible.  Glad I got a do-over in the sun.  I’m assuming this is a modern sign — but maybe not:

 

 

 

One more from Woodbine — a detail from the Dairy Sweet sign:

 

This giant sign is from Logan, IA.  The sunny side of the sign was mostly missing — like it had been ripped away in a storm.  Sparkle makes a cameo appearance:

 

 

A rusty crusty from Missouri Valley, IA.  The bottom reads “Clean N Comfy”:

 

 

Across the river and into Nebraska.  From Omaha — this, er um, very masculine sign:

 

 

And last one for the night — from Omaha.  Not sure if it was a car lot or a used car lot associated with this sign originally.  Love him.  How can you look at him and not feel thoroughly happy?

 

 

OK, come on back tomorrow for lots more Nebraska.  And don’t forget — lots more purty photos over at Flickr every night:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

So, I think I must have lost my mind last night.  This morning I was still on edge from Sparkle’s perceived bucking (misfiring) in the wee hours of the morning when I drove around a bit.  I even called a Chevy dealer service tech this morning at 7:30 am to get his opinion — even though I’d been driving for an hour with no problems.  With no symptoms or check engine light, he said no point in bringing it in.  I think it must have just been little bumps on the road.  It happened to me before in Iowa once.  My blood drained out of me when it happened about twenty times in a half hour and I took it to a dealer.  The tech drove it around & couldn’t find anything.  So I drove him around and would say “THAT!” and he’d say “WHAT?” — multiple times.  It was frustrating — but hilarious in retrospect.  So today, 13 hours of driving and not a sneeze from Sparkle.   Yes, I’m delirious with paranoia.  Must be it.  Maybe more sleep tonight will calm my nerves.

Weather not so perfect.  Magnificent at times — but then grey at least 75% of the day.  I’m just happy to be shooting again and don’t care so much about perfect backdrops and reflections.  At least finally making progress towards Colorado.  Didn’t make it out of Illinois til about 5pm but the Iowa list is very short and I should bang through it tomorrow and get into Nebraska.

The dogs got real lakes and rivers today — not the man-made stuff like yesterday.  In the upper 80s — a real break from the 100s!  Grippie, blind as she is, managed to find dead fish bones AND some kind of small horseshoe crab to much on.

Only 11:30 but I’m beat.  Let’s get to it.

From Kewanee, IL in the grey & gloomy.  Apparently, this sign had neon and spinning blades originally:

 

 

Moving on to much later in the day — in Milan, IL:

 

 

From Rock Island, IL.  A local told me that this was originally “The Cavern” a bar.  The door led to stairs to the bar below ground.   It has been there since at least the 1970s and was green as long as he could remember.  It’s no longer in use.  There’s a bar next door but the buildings are not connected.

 

 

From Moline, IL.  This was a windmill at one time.  Beyond that, I don’t know:

 

 

From Rock Island.  Tree problems with this one — the best angle I could get:

 

 

A modern sign — but worthy of inclusion.  From Bud’s Skyline Inn in Moline, IL:

 

 

Lagomarcino’s in Moline — since 1908.  Some history:
http://www.lagomarcinos.com/history.php

There had just been a killer 10-minute rainstorm before these photos.  This side of the block lost power.  Lagomarcino’s was closed because of that — but the folks were nice enough to let me in to shoot a few photos.  The  woman I spoke with said these storms & power losses happen about three times a year.

 

 

And last subject for the night — from Muscatine, IA:

 

 

Alright — in bed now at midnight — yippee!   Iowa & hopefully Nebraska for you tomorrow night.

 

Farewell Firestone and Orland Park!!  I was there 7 am and outta there by 8.  Seems the “doghouse” (the big box in the middle console where the access to everything mechanical is) was not put back right.  You score again guys!   So, since it wasn’t tight,  the noise & hot air was coming at me after yesterday’s “repair”.  I told my saga to Firestone “Consumer Repairs” today — a very nice guy who actually apologized and was very compassionate.  There’s a chance, sounds like a good one, that I’ll get reimbursed for the $788 A/C repair bill back in Albuquerque since that’s where this mess began and was first botched.  I should know within 48 hours.

The weather was cooperative as well today.  I got 12 hours of shooting in — for the most part in the sun.  It was a killer: 104 degrees or so.  The only times I let the kids romp was at water sources.  I found two big lakes at deserted corporate parks.  I sometimes worry about chemical treatments — but when I see birds, frogs and fish all frolicking — I figure we’re okay.  I only stay about 15 minutes because I figure beyond that is time enough to be noticed and have the cops arrive.

It’s already past 1 am because I wanted to be properly positioned for tomorrow’s last leg of Illinois.  If things run smoothly the rest of the trip, I still have another big chunk of Chicago area to come on the way home.  But I’m calculating that we should be in Iowa by noon at the latest tomorrow.

So let’s roll with the pictures.  From Forest Park — only 77 — but it was around 9 am… before it got “red hot”:

 

 

Back in Chicago — the hands have fallen off this temperature clock.  A one-time spinner with the other side having a time clock.  There must’ve been something else to this sign to the right of “Bakery”:

 

 

More Chicago.  Extra points for the bulbs — extra points for the house shape:

 

 

Usually these plastic food signs are so unappetizing — this one’s rather nicely done:

 

 

This one’s a real downer.  The 50 foot tall Kiddieland sign was once a thing of pure glory and delight:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlmiller/2716870783/sizes/o/in/photostream/

and a night shot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilovecoffeeyesido/4131459816/

 

When the amusement park closed in 2009, the sign was put up for sale.  Eventually, it was donated to the Melrose Park Historical Society.  They vowed to restore and reinstall it someplace.  Well, they have, sort of.  But, it’s a real heartbreaker.  Volunteers for the group worked on the sign — removing the neon and patching things up & repainting themselves.  They meant well.  But the results are nothing short of tragic.  The detail on the figures is gone.  The neon on the “Kiddieland” part of the sign was replaced with little cheapie bulbs.  The pole looks to be PVC pipe.  And the top of the sign is missing entirely.

Originally, the boy and girl had neon on only one side of the sign so the figures would appear to be chasing each other around the revolving pole.

 

 

What’s left of the sign today in the Melrose Park Library parking lot.  Flat and lifeless.  All the blood’s been sucked out:

 

 

Here’s a surviving sign in Melrose Park — even lit during the day:

 

 

I went to check on the Little Miss in Aurora — it had been a few years.  I held my breath — yep, still there!!

 

A little washed out from the sun — but still a fine specimen.  Still a bit of her weathervane left.  More about these signs towards the bottom of this page:
http://agilitynut.com/eateries/dq4.html

 

 

And since it was 100+, I had to show some support.  Rather than shooting in the sun, I chose to pose this shot on the fifty-year-old stainless window counter.   I went with a Blizzard instead of my standard Peanut Buster Parfait.  What a mistake.  It was tasty but so filling I haven’t eaten anything else since and I feel like I’ve gained five pounds.  And that was a small.  I think there was something smaller like a mini or a kids — which I would recommend instead.  How do people even eat the bigger sizes?  This was from their chocoholic menu — something called Candy Shop with little miniature candies in it.  Very cutting edge — this flavor just came out this month:
http://www.dairyqueen.com/us-en/eats-and-treats/blizzard-of-the-month/

 

 

From Morrison — the only thing left of this drive-in theatre is the sign:

 

 

A happy Dutch fella in Fulton:

 

 

And last one for the night.  Sometimes in my relentless attempt to squeeze as much as I can into a day, I have finish up with some crappy washed out photos.  Even though this one will be un-useable for my website really, I can share it with you here.  This is a former Studebaker dealership in Mendota.  That’s the moon over there on the left.  No photoshop-ing here — just my usual autosetting with the flash:

 

 

Tomorrow big plans for Iowa.  But…. in the course of writing this post, I did some driving around and have experienced several startling “bucks” from Sparkle.  From experience, I think this misfire could be a spark plug or wire — or some sensor.  Which means I might have more annoying downtime very soon.  Crap.  A recurring nightmare.  I just had all the wires replaced in El Paso a couple of months ago.  There’s also the possibility that it could be cheapie gas.  I had just filled up tonight with some gas from Casey’s which said in big letters how much ethanol or whatever.  But I have used that stuff before with no side effects.  So I’m not sure if I should stick to big cities for a while in case I need to dive into a dealership.  Or whether I need to get the “check engine” light first and just need to follow my list as if nothing is happening.  Too big a decision for 2am.  I probably just need to drive a bit in the morning & see how minor or major this thing is.  Stay tuned…

There are worse places to be stuck.  Far worse weather to be stuck in.  I’m sure you all have your own horror stories.  And I don’t really want to rant every day here at this blog.  Not really what you came here for.  But it’s the dark side of being out here on the road.  So, let’s get this tale out of the way.  (Rant ahead — extra photos for compensation)

The day started dark & dismal — after enough storms for power outages and downed trees last night.  Fine with me to have crappy weather since I was foolishly thinking I was going get the A/C fixed up and be on my way.  I showed up at the Firestone at 10:30 so they could start disassembling Sparkle for the AC hose.  They called at 11 when the part didn’t arrive.  It would be there at 3pm, they promised.  So I not so happily went on my way.  Got some shooting done, thank god, and back to my new home base at 3.  Finally, around 6, they said it was done.  I went to drive off, didn’t even get to test the A/C because by the time I got a block down the road, it sounded like a jet engine in the passenger seat.  Jesus.

Turned around immediately and back to the shop — “oh, the mechanic just left”.  Does anyone roadtest their work before they give it to the customer anymore?  This happens to me at home as well with my own mechanic — makes me NUTS!!  So the only mechanic left was some young guy I guess that specializes in oil changes or maybe tire rotation.  And the guy at the counter who’d been dealing with me all day was not apologetic in the least.  Saying stuff like “it happens”.  Firestone headquarters will be getting a call from me tomorrow for what it’s worth.  Maybe they’ll give me a coupon of some sort for 5% off my next $1000 purchase?

So — not only do I have this LOUD sound blasting at me — but without the AC on, the fans (which are not turned on) are blowing HOT air at me.  Making the 95 temps inside Sparkle more like 120.  Nice.  So, back to the shop tomorrow at 7am when there will supposedly be two, count ’em two, real mechanics on-hand.  Please, say a prayer that I can get out of that godforsaken place by noon.  These half days and quarter days of shooting are killing me.  I ought to mention that while the dogs and I tried to cope in the waiting area all. freaking. day — it was sunny out.

Thanks for listening.  On with the show.

Some of you may remember hearing about this Tin Man being taken down after a whole bunch of flak from the City (Oak Forest).  I’ve got a photo of him in storage here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/2721741148/

Well — last year, King Plumbing won the battle & got him put back up.  He looks happier than ever, doesn’t he?  Master of his domain!  It’s so nice to be KING!

 

This sign from Oak Forest.  So grey out it was almost like night:

 

Some of you may be familiar with “The Spindle” sculpture that was at Cermak Plaza in Berwyn, IL.  It was a local fixture and tourist attraction from 1989-2008.
http://www.agilitynut.com/p/carspike.jpg

When it was dismantled, the three top cars & the spindle itself were saved.  However, I doubt we’ll ever seen them again.  BUT — it looks like LKQ A-Reliable Auto Parts in Blue Island has provided us with a mini tribute anyway:

 

Also in Blue Island — sun would really have been nice…

 

This giant of a sign in Crestwood.  The place has been around since 1975.  I’m glad those rocks are there to protect this thing.

 

From Bridgeview.  I’d love to know what this sign originally promoted with those polka dots & all that.  The used car lot is empty.  Looks long empty.

 

From Chicago, officially.  Another huge one.  The width of just the “MOTEL” panel must be twenty feet wide:

 

More Chicago.  This one’s a stunner:

 

Chicago rocks in so many ways.  Maybe my favorite city.  But I could never live here because of those winters.  And I don’t really have favorite cities or states.  I like tiny towns just as much.  But anyway — back to rocks.  And something that seems unique to Chicago:

 

And also seems unique to Chicago — or at least far more abundant than any other place — those decorative glass blocks.  I’ve never seen some of these shapes before:

 

Time to add a little Art Deco to the mix.  Sad to see what’s become of these beauties.

Detail shot:

 

An odd mix of Deco & hand-painted sign-ery.  I love heroic depictions of labor — are they making a pipe for plumbing or what?

 

A sequin sign!  Or that’s what I call them anyway.  They have gotten so rare.  Used to be one in Brooklyn near me — all silver spangles that blew in the wind and nearly caused me to crash a few times while admiring.  Safely, gone now.

 

 

A detail of the “sequins” — more like dog tags I guess:

 

And a terrazzo detail from the Sequin Building (my preferred name over the Western Building):

 

And one more for the night — from Berwyn.  I love this guy’s expression.  Especially with that sunny side up yellow behind him.  It makes me think cake can fix anything.  Or at least any funky mood — like the one I had most of the day today.

 

Wish me luck tomorrow morning!  I’m fantasizing that they can fix my Turbo Jet within a couple hours and I can wrap up this Illinois chunk tomorrow and get going with Iowa.

Ooofa.  What a challenging day.  Frustrating, disappointing, infuriating.  Remember that remark about how icebox cool it was in the van yesterday?  Well, guess what.  Loyal blog followers can already see it coming.  Yup, the A/C broke again.  I’ve actually started padding these trips with two extra days for mechanical problems.

Let’s start at the beginning of the day.  Pouring rain in South Bend.  A leisurely hour napping in a parking lot while the locals dealt with scary rush hour madness.  Then, the torrents stopped and I ventured off to shoot in the grey.  I usually don’t shoot inflatables but this Godzilla at a used car lot was super cute:

 

 

And then off to wrap up the rest of Indiana — the sun came out for a little bit.  At Portage Liquor (in Portage) – this cool spinner sign.  This particular style I haven’t seen before.  Although this one doesn’t  spin anymore (broken and city would never allow it).  The owner said he had another one in blue stashed out back.  Unfortunately, the sun was directly behind the sign from every angle — so this is the best I could do.

 

 

And then in the skeeviest of skeeve neighborhoods in Gary, the dogs and I could take the heat no more.  It was only maybe 9am and already near 90.  Turned the A/C knob for relief.  Nothing.  Tried variations of on/off, front/back, low/high.  Nothing.  Tried the acceleration foot off the pedal to see if blower would kick in.  Blower the same but only hot air coming in.  Off to Illinois to the closest Firestone.  A wise move since the last time the A/C got worked on was that Firestone in Albuquerque just two months ago.

After an hour and a half there, they figured out that their freon machine was on the fritz.  So I had to go to another Firestone a few miles away.  There for another couple of hours — til the figured out it was the same part that I had replaced in ABQ:  those $800 hoses.  Turns out it was a lousy installation and there was rubbing enough to create a hole and leaking.  They would replace for free.  Which is good — but they couldn’t get the part til maybe Friday.  FRIDAY?!  After my freaking out — and a bunch more phone calls — the part should arrive at 11am tomorrow.  So my troubles and the time waste-age are still not over.

By then it was 3 pm and more than half the day was gone.  For nothin.   Nothin actually fixed.  And I’m not feeling especially confident.  What if the wrong part comes?  What if that’s STILL not what’s wrong?  I hear Iowa (the next state coming up) is 110 right now.   But what are my options?  I even called the Chevy dealership across they street — they were booked up til August 2, appointments only.  What the?  So the Firestone guys filled up the freon temporarily for me and said they could hear it hissing.  They pessimistically predicted it would probably last maybe a half hour.  And with Chicagoland at 99 degrees today —  that would be that — and off to the hotel we’d go as fast as Sparkle could fly.

But actually, the A/C held out til around 7pm — and I got some shooting in which helped get me out of my funk and stress.

From Wilmington — the Van Duyne Motel:

 

 

 

A close-up of the wooden fish piece — which looks pretty vulnerable (wooden peeling apart) & might just fall off tomorrow.  Evidently, there was some neon something there before the fish (different or same name of motel?).

 

 

From La Salle, IL:

 

 

E.F. Budnik’s in Lemont — a pharmacy, cigar shop, etc. from 1922.   It closed in 2010 but the interior still had lots of original cabinetry, a giant steel cash register, and display cases.  Very sad.  Here’s more about the place:
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/lemont/topstories/x43868216/An-inconvenient-closing

 

 

And, finally, here’s how we roll at night.  After a long, hot day this Motel 6 is like a four-star hotel.  All I need to crank out these Flickr uploads & blog posts:  Diet Coke, the laptop, and lists.  Nik lets me have the front third of the chair.

 

 

Alright then — better luck tomorrow.  The Firestone guy said the repair would probably be two hours.  Which probably means four.  And we’ll see if the part really arrives magically at 11am.  The forecast for the next few days sounds pretty miserable — thunderstorms, showers, and relentless heat.  But I wouldn’t bet one penny on anything they say.

Hectic and hot (90s) today.  But Sparkle is running fantastic and the A/C is keeping us icebox cool.   A full day of sun!!  The dogs got some romps in Lake Erie — and managed to find some dead fish.  Luckily, only Grem actually rolled on the fish — and she spent enough time in the water afterwards that the smell is mostly gone.

I got through my Ohio list which puts me slightly ahead of schedule.  Which I’m gonna need I think since I just glanced at the Illinois packet.  Even without Chicago proper in this batch, it’s probably at least two days worth of stuff.  Just a few stops in Indiana tomorrow and I’ll get to work.  Landed late here in South Bend and it’s already 1am after dealing with emails and such.  Glad I got a decent night’s sleep last night.

 

Let’s start with this Malley’s Chocolates sign in North Olmsted — looks like it was a “spinner”:

 

And on to Cleveland — this sign’s been recently restored — here’s a shot from 2009:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10707024@N04/3612190884/

Now lots of protective plastic to protect the neon:

 

The Steve’s Lunch sign could use some re-habbing — though the neon still seems to be working:

 

So much to love here.  Pink is an unusual color choice for an auto-related business, no?

 

Stunning:

 

I finally got to shoot the Whippy’s sign.   Apparently, the artist’s intent was for the boy to point at the ice cream — but it sure looks like he’s flipping off potential customers:

 

A beautiful ghost sign in Oberlin.  I have no idea what motel it advertised for originally:

 

Also in Oberlin — here’s a vintage view of this one when it was still on the pole and had more text:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellmutt/4679221470/

and it looks like it was the Bee-Vin before that:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/bonanzleimages/afu/images/5529/9961/beevinmotel.jpg

 

On to Sandusky — this trio is located at the Best Budget Inn:

 

Also Sandusky:

 

In Toledo — I always passed on shooting this one because I thought it was probably modern.  But now I’m not so sure — and the sign has grown on me.  It’s triangulated (with three panels) so it’s visible from just everywhere:

 

And lastly, let’s pay tribute to Swan Cleaners in Port Clinton — and just as importantly — the business that kept the signs and facade (yup, that’s peachy vitrolite):

 

2 am — not bad!   I’ll meet up with you tomorrow in Illinois.  Night….

And so begins the summer trip.  37 days ahead.  The focus will be Colorado and Wyoming.  But before we get there — there will be about a week of other states.  A couple of days in Indiana & Illinois, a couple in Iowa, a couple in Nebraska, etc.   The rough sketch of the route is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/7546126074/

Before we get to today’s photos — a few notes for the newbies on the bus:
Each night on these trips, I post about a dozen photos to Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/) and then about a dozen other photos here at this blog.  These photos are clickable — clicking on them with your cursor will open them to a larger size.  For more info about how I plan these trips, manage traveling with four dogs, all that — see the special blog pages — links over there in the right column.  Also, info about the website in general at the “About” page:  http://www.agilitynut.com/about.html

OK — since I left you on the last trip, I’ve been trying to squeeze in overtime at work and planning for this trip.  I also managed to get about a week’s worth of photos (four more weeks to go) from that spring trip up at the site — you can always follow my progress & see where/when I’m heading next at this page:
http://www.agilitynut.com/whatsnew.html

 

Alright then — enough links & information — I’m working on two hours sleep so it’s time to get to the photos.

The trip began as they always do — immediately after work.  Since I work nights, that means I leave home at 3am.  Drive til about 5am and find a quite place to park for a couple of hours then get back on the road.  With jumbo coffee.  Construction on the Brooklyn Bridge meant I had to detour through the Lower East Side of Manhattan to get to the FDR.  I grabbed a few shots on the way:

 

 

Some “sanity stops” off the interstate for a bit in Pennsylvania.  This is from Benton.  The angle was not my doing — the sign is really leaning like that:

 

On the roof of the Creekside Family Restaurant in Orangeville, PA.    There is a little ice cream stand round back:

 

 

How about some storefronts in Williamsport, PA.  Sadly, this camera shop (established 1935) is closed now:

 

 

 

Franco’s (probably not the original name) next door — still open.  Unfortunately, the hanging sign was apparently updated — pretty hideously:

 

 

Really neat stationers — still open (established 1899).  The place has a great interior that wouldn’t shoot well through the glass (too early for them to be open):

 

 

And on to Ohio.  This one from Lansing — the used car lot still open.  However, the neon cars on this sign seems to be stuck on Car #1.  The cars are protected behind plastic.  This sign has probably been reworked numerous times — still crazy fun like it is:

 

 

A couple of signs from Dillonvale:

 

 

And lastly for the night — the Neil Armstrong Memorial Park centerpiece in Warren, OH.  I was actually quite into the whole Apollo space program as a kid.  Glued to the TV set for the moon landings and walkies.  So, seeing this mini replica of the lunar lander was kind of a thrill for me:

 

 

The dogs were in their usual fine start-of-trip form today.  Deliriously happy and barking like mad.  It takes about 3 days for them to settle into a groove, start napping, and stop thinking that every time I put the van in park that they’re getting out for some big party.  Although the forecast was for “mostly sunny” — the sun didn’t come out at all until 4:30pm.  I don’t know why I even bother to look at the weather predictions at this point.  Although there were lots of grey crappy photos, it was quiet a pleasant relief (70s?) from the heat wave we’ve been having back in NYC for weeks (90s).

Alright — I hope this post was somewhat coherent.  It’s midnight and I’m toast.  Ambitiously hoping to finish up Ohio tomorrow. Stay tuned….

dj & the dogs

I took a day off from work (and myself – working hard on the website) to give Sparkle a little test drive before the upcoming biggie trip.  She’s had a little mechanical work done (wheel bearing, axle seal, etc.) and I wanted to make sure the A/C is blowing cold.  All seems to be in good order.  Got some good weather for the day and was able to bang through a little list of places.  Most of it reshoots of stuff that I shot long, long ago in crappy weather.  I’m guilty of neglecting stuff in my own backyard for far too long.  Hoping to make up for some of that with some little weekend trips in the fall.

Anyhow.  No photos of the dogs on this little daytrip.  But they got plenty of action.  Nik got to do a little lure coursing early in the day (that’s chasing a plastic bag attached to a wire that runs around a huge field).  He LOVES it.  And since there’s no guarantee that he’ll still be able to see next year, I wanted to get him over there at least once this year.  There were also a couple lakes for the dogs to do some chilling and retrieving.  It was at least 98 degrees.  A pounding heat that really saps you.  When I got home, I went straight to bed.  Not normal for me.

On with the photos.  I indulged in a pistachio ice at the Strollo’s Lighthouse in Long Branch.  Creamy, yummy and painfully cold:

 

On to Asbury Park.  I was very happy to see the Asbury Lanes sign had been repaired.  The plastic pin portion had been blown out in a windstorm in 2010.  And definitely new since the last time I was there — this UFO.  I also don’t remember the pin picket fence:

 

I don’t know where the UFO came from or anything about it.  It’s built on a wood frame and it looks like the plastic bubble on top could be lit:

 

From Belmar:  the St. Rose High School.  A little midcentury number with ribbon windows on the side and Mondrian-ish windows in front.  The front windows are textured clear glass (like headlight material) set in front of plastic paneling.  Maybe they are or were backlit?

 

Busy B’s Launderette in Belmar — it doesn’t get more adorable than this!  The bee is holding a laundry basket:

 

From Lakewood Township — the Ocean Lanes.  I cropped & spared you the modern message board below.  This bowling alley opened in 1959.  This is probably the original sign with some updating.  Probably new letters and painting — and maybe replacement panels.  But I’d guess at least faithful to the original.

 

These little Hess gas stations are getting to be rare now so I shoot them whenever I find them.  This one is in Brick.  Soon all these mini convenience stores will be replaced with bigger ones to keep up with the competition.  I’m guilty myself of patronizing those humungo WaWas.

 

On to Trenton.  Some Streamline flavor here — but probably built in the 1950s.   “Parking in Rear” might have been a clock originally:

 

The last couple shots for this post — still in Trenton.  Hamilton Jewelers with the Neon Bar in the background:

 

The blade sign on the right looks like it was a “spinner”:

 

So, it’s all systems go for the summer trip.  Mark yer calendars for July 21 when the dogs and I will be heading west again — this time focusing on Colorado & Wyoming.  Lots of other states both going out & coming home, too.  I hope you’ll share the adventures with us.  There will be the usual nightly postings here and over at Flickr  I’ll be posting the route map to Flickr next week.

I also posted some other photos from this daytrip over at Flickr just now:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Have a great 4th of July!  

dj & the dogs

 

I got some gorgeous sun and clouds for the last day of the trip.  The morning was spent boogie-ing around Cincinnati for some reshoots and things I hadn’t known about on previous trips.  Then, it was off to the American Sign Museum for the second event:  the “Sneak Preview” fundraiser for the museum.  For those of you that couldn’t make it, the ASM will be officially opening on June 23 with regularly staffed hours.  Don’t balk at the $15 admissions charge — it’s far cheaper than an amusement park and so, SO more exciting.  This place is fan-tas-tic and deserves your support.  I guarantee you will learn so much about signs and their history from your tour guide.  And you will have a blast.  Go!
http://www.signmuseum.org/visit.asp

After the museum, I hit the highway.  I drove til around midnight then pulled into a truck stop interstate plaza and slept for about five hours.  Back on the road and got home around noon.  Which is great since it gives me most of the day to repair my life.  Much better than my Monday morning arrivals where I have to drag myself into work that very night.  Before moving on to the final photos, here are the numbers for those of you that like that sort of thing.

Trip stats:

Days on the road:  39

Miles driven:  15,712 (Sparkle now has 318,606 miles on her)

Cost of gas:  ~$3710 (I never keep track of motels or food)

Maintenance and repairs while on the road:
~ $1200:  five oil changes, four new tires & an alignment (two more were free)
~ $5500:  the accident & later replacing brake fluid reservoir & master cylinder which we damaged in accident
~ $1100:  A/C work
~ $700 purge valve & spark plug wires
Total $8,500
Plus ~$275 for cash advances for Silver City & Tucson repairs (no credit cards)

Tickets:  None!!  Except for the red light ticket from the accident from the heartless & diligent Silver City cops for $92.   And a parking ticket in St. Louis for $35

Number of photos taken:  6,011
553 photos appeared at this blog.  Another 492 photos were uploaded to the Flickr agilitynut account.
And more than 5,000 of the photos will appear at the website eventually.  I will barely make a dent before the next trip.  But you will be able to follow my project at the “What’s New” page:
http://agilitynut.com/whatsnew.html

If you haven’t been following along at the Flickr account, you’ve missed out on a LOT of this trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

or this trip has its own set, if that’s your preferred viewing method:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/sets/72157629790394937/

 

“Value” of this trip:  Priceless!   While I spent a lot of time in the shop and had some grey days, I’d say 90% of the time was awesome.  The dogs would say it was 99% awesome (the other 1% being when they got stickers stuck in their paws in the desert).  Besides all the amazing buildings, signs and statues, I have many doggie moments that will stay with me always.  Seeing them happy makes me ecstatic.

One little event that I didn’t tell you about which I shall remember forever.  In Gila Bend, at dusk, I was letting the dogs have one last run for the day.  A big open area of sand and some desert version of shrubs.  Grem, who’s been very good all trip, went missing.  I was calling and calling and starting to panic.  Fearing she’d be eaten by a coyote or some other animal if out there overnight.  I noticed lots of holes in the ground and the thought of rattlesnakes crossed my mind.  I put the other kids in the van and started calling her name more crazily.  Freaking.  I knew there was the possibility that she was off digging somewhere for some underground rodent-like animal.  In the past, she would never leave such a challenge.  But after about 10 minutes, here she came a-running, from the direction I wasn’t looking.  All panting and covered with dirt and the biggest grin I’ve ever seen on a dog.  Who knows.  I just gave her about a half a pound of cheese for coming back.

 

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

On with the photos —

 

Some really nice stained glass:

 

A “sign” that it’s time to go home?

 

A sign with everything:  corrugated plastic, plastic letters, a neon and bulb arrow:

 

A lot of fun details:

And the restaurant has yellow porcelain enamel roof tiles — plus a chicken topped weather vane.  I wonder how many restaurants claim to have the “world’s best fried chicken”?

 

Back to Terry’s Turf Club for some daytime shooting.  I don’t know of any Jerry’s Restaurant signs that are left on display (except this one).  I believe they all used to be part of a much larger sign:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/424727513/

 

Inside Terry’s, there are two or three of these (functioning!) Bevador coolers:
http://www.vintagevending.com/jewett-bevador-cooler

 

Off to the museum.  They had changed the letters on the message board of the sign at the entrance to the parking lot for the event:

 

Another sign in the parking lot:

 

Inside — another shot of a “Main Street” storefront:

 

A detail shot of a textured glass backlit letter:

 

While at the museum, I had the pleasure of meeting Jamie Jensen, the author of Road Trip USA (now in its 6th edition).  He was truly a lot of fun.  If you don’t have his book, you might want to grab a copy.  It is DENSE with all kinds of subjects, photos, details — a must-have for all you roadside lovers:
http://www.amazon.com/Road-Trip-USA-Cross-Country-Adventures/dp/1598809253/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338768636&sr=1-1

 

And then… home.   The approach to NYC via the Lincoln Tunnel from NJ — a rarity without traffic.  I always associate this approach with the smell of gasoline.  My first trip to NYC in 1980 with a girlfriend and we had stopped in NJ to get gas.  I started to fill up and the pump handle came off in my hand.  Gas exploded out of the hose everywhere and I was drenched.  The guy ran out of the office all cursing at me.  I didn’t know you couldn’t pump your own in NJ.  So I guess that pump was out of order without a sign.  I didn’t get to shower for a couple hours and luckily no one around me lit any matches.

 

I try to avoid the Lincoln Tunnel since it has more traffic on the West Side Highway to Brooklyn — and a longer view of the Hudson River.  But I got in the wrong lane and, oh well.  This is just before Nik and Grem started screaming at the top of their lungs and embarrassing the hell out of me.  I thought you might like the taxis in the mirror:

 

Meanwhile, Fix knew from the aroma that we were home.  “Thank God!” she would’ve said.  She likes these trips okay — but I think she’d prefer to stay home where there’s more interaction with people, grass, and no hail.  And you sleep in the same bed every night.  And meanwhile, Grip slept in my lap through our entire arrival, even with the barking.  She was exhausted.

 

While stuck in West Side traffic, I got a view of the progress that’s been made on the new World Trade Center.  I can’t believe how long it’s taken — but lately the progress has been quick.

 

And then out for a quick stroll around our neighborhood.  When we left, this fountain on the circle next to our building was still off and people were wearing winter coats.  I had forgotten that it would be summer when we got home.   Funny, how that happened.

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

When’s the Next One?

The dogs and I will be hitting the road again in a mere six and half weeks.  The focus of this trip will be Colorado and Wyoming.  There will be some Utah and probably Montana in there.  As well as other states en route.  This will be another five-weeker.  37 days, starting on July 21 if you want to mark your calendars.  After that trip, I’ll be buckling down, working on adding about 10,000 photos to the website — while working at my “real job” probably six and seven days a week to pay for these trips.  If you still want to donate to the Sparkle Repair Fund (not too late) or just make a general donation to 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 to the agilitynut@hotmail.com account.

I hope you enjoyed tagging along on this trip and are inspired to get to some of these places or others before they disappear.  See ’em and shoot ’em while you can folks!  It may seem from my blog, Flickr stream, and website that there’s a lot of stuff out there.  But that’s only because I plan my stops and route like a maniac so I can shoot the most stuff possible.  Some of the stuff is usually gone just a year later — sometimes, even before I get home.

See you here again in a few weeks!