The weather was very uncooperative in the morning.  Cloudy/foggy and then rained for several hours.  I did what I could with that.  Around 2pm, all that cleared and it was glorious sun and clouds.  The temperate was about 20 degrees cooler — maybe 80 tops?  Didn’t run the A/C once today.

Getting a very late start here in posting.  Lots of emails and misc. stuff.  Now it’s suddenly 1:20am — yikes!  So let’s roll right into the photos.  And I have quite a bunch!

I finally got around to some places that have been on my list for awhile.  Two of the categories (carousels & kiddie rides) at my website are troublesome because they are often located at big amusement parks or zoos with hefty admission + parking charges.  Most of the time, I can sweet talk myself in by speaking to an authority figure.  But sometimes, I’m forced to shell out $20 or so for 15 minutes of shooting.  If it’s a museum, I don’t mind so much.  Or a small amusement park.  But I still refuse to deal with the crowds and $40 admission for the big Six Flags places.  Plus there’s the added complication of what to do with the dogs while I’m inside.  Grem is usually barking her head off so I worry the Humane Society will be there with handcuffs when I get back.

But of course, I would never leave my dogs in a hot vehicle.  I always find shade.  And today was a blessing weatherwise.  I made it to Waldameer Park finally for some kiddie rides and to shoot the giant pirate.  And then the Erie Zoo.  I have really mixed feelings about giving zoos money.  Supposedly the money goes to wildlife conservation and “education”.  Can’t people just watch videos of these animals?   Anyhow, they got my $7 for their Endangered Species carousel.  The animals that I passed made me feel very sad.  Pacing, semi-autistic behaviors.  Tiny spaces.  Yes, the cages are gone at these places but there is just not nearly enough space for what I consider a healthy existence.  Check out Mr. Polar Bear and his tiny pool.  And he had to be pretty miserable this past week with 100 degree weather:

The entrance was nice though:

Ziggity-zaggety from Erie:

Dying a slow death — also in Erie:

A front yard adornment in Erie:

A couple old gas station signs — the location of this one must be here in my notes somewhere…  can’t find it… pretty sure it was Erie:

This one from West Middlesex, PA:

I finally got around to reshooting these guys.  Sculptures made with PENNDOT traffic signs in Meadville:

Also in Meadville:

Nik happy to pose for scale with today’s novel roadtrip snack.  (His ball is hidden behind and supporting the bag — a photographer’s trick.)  Actually, the bag was just a small one — and you probably aren’t sure how big Nik is anyway.   I expected this stuff to be nasty but it was incredibly good.  I’d get it again and I’m not even a potato chip eater ordinarily.  Extra thick as promised and mildly sweet:

The kids got lots of water romping in even though it was cooler.  The also got some water gazing in — Conneaut Lake.  Taken while driving, of course.  The clouds were spectacular today — worth putting up with all that rain for I guess.  The girls were in the back, probably snoozing (they are the “seniors” and need more rest).  Grem balancing on my left arm for the best view:

Nik, although still wet from swimming, wishing for more:

I took some videos of the dogs at the water today — but that’ll have to wait til tomorrow or the next night I finish up early.

More signs — this one from Greenville, PA:

Jug Handle Pizza from Transfer, PA (this one’s for you Rick!).  Seems this part of PA has those annoying jug handle u-turns like those in NJ.  If you want to turn left, you have to go all the way to the right and circle back around.  I like this literal interpretation.  And the hole in this guy’s head (from the revenoors?) leaking liquor:

Into Ohio, finally, for the next couple days.  This sign which must have been a “spinner” in Struthers:

At the Perfect Party Place — in Warren I believe:

Also in Warren:

And lastly, let’s close out with this crazy rant decorated building in Struthers:

Hope you enjoyed the show.  I’ll try to settle down sooner tomorrow — 2am here.  No proofing or spell check tonight!

Here we go!  This is going to be a marathon trip in this heat.  Thank goodness the A/C is working great because it hovered around 100 degrees all day.  The dogs got to swim in three different rivers today.  Though I’m a little nervous about rivers after those boys drowned in the Bronx this week.  I’m trying to pick calm, slow moving water.

I’ve been a little fearful about mechanical trouble but all is well.  For the past week, every time I start the engine there’s this humming sound.  It goes away after a couple minutes.  My mechanic can’t pinpoint it.  The belt, pulley & alternator have been replaced.  Still there’s that little sound when I first turn Sparkle on.  After she’s warmed up, no more sound for the rest of the day.  So I feel a little more confident after Day 1.  Car trouble can happen at any time I suppose.

Oh, followers of the Spring trip might be curious to hear the outcome of the key problem.  Turns out it wasn’t the key or ignition at all.  During the last PA mini trip, the key started acting up again (couldn’t turn the engine off).  Panic for about 10 minutes.  Then I moved the satellite radio over just a hair since it touches the gear shift arm.  That was it!  Just the slightest pressure was all it took.  What a relief and I’m so glad I didn’t spend $1,000 on a new ignition/key coding repair that would not have “fixed” the problem.

Also, from the Spring trip, I had the trouble about 75% of the way through the trip with a spot in the middle of each photo.  Cleaned lens, UV lens, even the computer inside the camera for cleaning — but still the dreaded spot.  Til about the last day when it went away and hasn’t reappeared since.  I guess the microscopic dirt or water granule dried up and fell off?

So now — on to the present.  Left Brooklyn at 3am and slept for a couple hours at a truck stop in the Poconos.  Less actually about 20 minutes sleep because of some guy calling “Simba” incessantly nearby.  I assume a lost dog or cat.  He didn’t seem panic-y though so I got the feeling it was a feral friend that he feeds.  I would have liked to make up the  time but the dogs were all rambunctious once the sun started coming up. 

I had hoped to bang out all my PA stops — got through about 85%.  Will finish up tomorrow and move on to OH.  Not exactly the most efficient route to MO & KS, I know.  But I really wanted to grab a lot of stuff on my way there.  I’ve allotted about 3 days each for OH, IN, IL at the beginning of the trip.  Won’t hit MO/KS until end of Week 2 I think.

So let’s get to the photos before I unexpectedly collapse from sleep deprivation.  Oh, and if you’re new to this blog, there’s an entirely different chunk of photos each day over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

From Moscow, PA — simple yet wonderful:

From Jermyn, PA — I put a close-up of the Avery’s Flowers sign over at Flickr.  This is the storefront shot — yep — iced coffee colored vitrolite (glass tile) and apparently original glass block:

I thought you might like an interior shot as well.  This Golden Retriever looked up at me as I peered through the glass then went back to sleep.  He/she has probably seen it all before.  The A/C was on for him.  I don’t know if the owners live in the back or what.  But he didn’t look like he was missing for meals.

This bar is now Stalter’s Cafe but the sign lives on — in Scranton:

More from Scranton.  This seems to be a modern mini golf course — or a half course that is.  Very cute.

A couple statues from Cooper’s Seafood House:

A “that-away” sign from Danville I believe.  I have no idea what it used to point to:

This bakery is in Montoursville:

From Williamsport – I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a quonset hut cleaners before:

And lastly, an early evening shot from Punxsutawney.  This must be a new sign in the style of so many vintage signs.  Nice job!

More from PA & OH tomorrow night.  I might be in bed before midnight tonight.  That might be a first on these trips.

I knew when I left home that I had an unaccomplishable amount of stuff to shoot.  More like a week’s worth judging from the stack of maps & lists.  That was pretty accurate but I did get to just about everything on my list for the southern part of the state, from east to west.  I might be able to sneak a few northern stops in on the way to the Midwest in a couple weeks.  Otherwise, it’ll all have to wait til next year I’m afraid.

We started the day in Breezewood — once the “City of Motels” (is that old sign still there? I didn’t get a chance to check).  But now the motels are mostly the big chain hotels.  And scads of fast food places.  The old “Souvenirs from 50 States” gift shop is still there which is always a relief (to see it still open).  But there are still two oldies right there amongst the glut — but only the first still open (and probably barely).  The second must’ve been part of the Super Motel chain judging from the shape of the plastic sign on top that’s now missing:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidenut/3378083931/

At a repair garage in Bedford, I came upon this Alignment Bear sign.  I’ve never seen a plastic one like this before.  They are usually metal — see bottom of this page for examples:
http://www.agilitynut.com/signs/ca2.html

Blocking a clear frontal shot of the Summit Diner in Somerset was this thing.  Isn’t that the Munsters car?
http://www.morticiasmorgue.com/mu/MunstersCar.JPG
The back of the car had a sign that said “Widowmaker”.

It was sad to see this “makeover” of this sign in Greensburg.  Patina & personality — gone.  Here’s what it looked like in 2007:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/1470740902/

Apparently, these arrow laundromat signs were mass-produced by Westinghouse (see itty bitty text at the top).  This one is in Perryopolis:

The former Zerambo’s Gulf station is in Bentleyville.  The pumps were on the left front where the flower planter is now:  The station’s office is a plainer house-like building at the left out of the frame:

From Canonsburg — Humble Carpet is probably not the original tenant, but they’ve been kind enough to keep the beautiful green and black glass tile:

A trio of shots from McKeesport — I love the Golden Rule furniture store’s ruler sign and mid-century touches:

The Theatre Bar’s freestanding sign letters are a knock-out.  And the curved entrance sucks you in like a vacuum.  Cars really in the way here — did the best I could:

Fun checkerboardy pattern and scripty letters:

A couple fun statues to wrap things up.  In Pittsburgh, on the roof of the “Big Day Wedding Center” store:

And from Jellystone Park in Mill Run — a quick hi and bye from Yogi and the kids.  It was a quickie trip after all and I haven’t gotten any shots of them in yet.  I would’ve posed Grippie & Gremmie inside the basket with Nik & Fix but you could barely see the tops of their heads.  I held their attention with my nearly empty peanut butter jar.  They love peanut butter as much as I do.  It’s a roadtrip staple.  Jif Chunky, if you must know.  Great on a bialy or on crackers or straight off the spoon.

I didn’t write down the mileage for this one but I know it was at least 2,000 miles.  And no speeding tickets!  Actually, there was one close call on I-80 in nowhereland where another car and I were equally speeding and changing places here and there.  He got stopped and I didn’t.  Whew!

Come on back to join us here in a couple weeks (July 26) for the next Biggie.  I’m working on the maps and lists right now.  Five weeks to focus on MO & KS but there will be plenty of stops in OH, IN, IL, IA, etc. as well.   Thanks for providing the encouragement and companionship on these trips.

This trip was a success in every way except for my blog postings.  Sorry bout that — don’t know why I was so exhausted.  Maybe it was the 100+ degree heat coupled with 13 hour days of driving & shooting?  I don’t know how I’m going to hold up during the August trip but I’ll try to get these things out nightly.

Catching up then — this post and one more that I’ll get out tomorrow morning.

Lots of miles between stuff today — yes, lots of corn fields.  But I still racked up lots of great photos thank to another day of glorious sun.

I love this sign at Diversified Exteriors in Parkesburg.  It looks like this roofer’s arm used to move up and down.  It would appear to be a new sign – but maybe the roofer came from an older sign?

This nice embossed plastic sign is at Pittsburgh Coatings & Supply in Lancaster:

A rather depressing re-use.  Better than nothing I suppose.  The former Joy Theatre in Mount Joy.

Here’s a typical pit stop / cool-down break for the kids.  This was in Columbia and that’s the mighty Susquehanna River.  The nicer part of the park (with the “no dogs allowed” sign) is off to the right.  Usually at these public parks on the water, there’s some little corner off to the side for the Rest Of Us.  Everybody had a good time.  Especially Nik who ran off when he caught a whiff of Dead Fish.  I suppose I should have taken a photo of him rolling on it – but I wasn’t entertained at the time.  Luckily, I have smooth coated dogs so when this happens, a good swim takes off most of the schtink.

Two Art Deco beauties in Harrisburg.  That’s the former Paxtang Theatre on the left:

Just down the street, now “The Cafe”, is this old Hershey’s sign.  These are getting to be pretty rare now.  This one’s in great shape.

Last one for the day — on the same block (Derry St.).  I would assume under all that mess is a former gas station:

So, yeah, I never did catch up last night.  But I’ve got the photos ready for this one and hopefully after this post, I can whip up some of today’s photos & get on track.  Tomorrow night (Mon.) will be a hustle home, so the final post will be from home, most likely Tuesday.

More perfect weather today.  Great sun for shooting.  But it must’ve been over 100 degrees.  Bank clocks that I saw in the morning and afternoon were in the 90s.  The A/C is running good.  I took the dogs for a walk with me mid-afternoon while I tried to find a good angle to shoot the Cyclorama in Gettysburg.  We all nearly died.  I try to Nik & Grem a good, hard grassy run in first thing in the morning.  Then focus on water opportunities for everybody the rest of the day.  All the barking and jumping around in the van is just not enough to wear down these animals.

On with it.   I know there are lots of these Guggenheim-esque spiral parking garages around the country.  But I never get tired of them.  I will soon be starting another blog for these trips entitled “For the Love of Concrete”.  Just kidding.  If I didn’t have website obligations and a full-time job though I might.  This one from Allentown:

A couple shots from Quakertown.  A neat five and dime store still in business.  The lettering projects from the building:

And from a news stand that is no more:

In the by-gone beverage department.  At least, I think both of these brands are gone.  This one in Allentown:

And this one from Northampton.  “A-Treat” seems to be a regional brand.  I’ve never seen signs for it elsewhere — but must have seen five today:

An old barber shop in Allentown.  I love the skeletal barber pole on the right:

Also in Allentown.  A nice grill or screen thingie on the left.  What makes it come alive is the turquoise paint:

From Whitehall.  Today’s high calorie snacks:   a couple donuts from this place.  Very heavy — what I call “doorstop donuts”.  But then I realized they were something like a cross between a donut and a biscuit.  And then I really loved them. Each one was like a meal though.  Great if you’re on a budget like me.

Oh, and if you’re stealing this photo… you might want to PhotoShop out that Sherwin-Williams sign in the background before dumping it into your blog or website.  Just kidding.  Kind of .  I’ve had a LOT of infuriating discoveries lately (my photos appearing all over the place without permission or credit).  Why are people so freaking lazy and disrespectful?  Another topic for another time.

From Tamaqua.  One of those half-full / half-empty finds.  So wonderful — yet so sad that it’s closed and those letters and glass tile might disappear any day now:

From Ryan.  An adapted gas station — but the recessed letters and vintage clock are nice touches:

Very much coal country today.  Though it didn’t have the same depressing, shantytown feel of SW Virginia where I was just a couple weeks ago.  Towns named Coaldale, mining museums, businesses with coal references… and this miner statue tribute in Minersville: 

A couple sign photos from Mount Carmel.  This one, originally Miller Furs (?)  Shoes.  Adapted to Miller Bros. Market.  But now, whatever-it-last-was is closed.  Store as storage.  Lovely pale green vitrolite (glass tiles):

A really nicely done, recent hand-painted sign.  Although the laundromat below has one of those for sale signs out in front and you gotta worry what will happen with this nice bit of artwork:

Also in Moutn Carmel, an incredible fire station.  Extra credit for the neon sign:

From Reading. Here’s an out the window, stuck in traffic shot.  Really nice curved entrance windows and steps:

Running out of sun for the day in Fraser.  Hard to judge scale from this — but this bowling pin sign must’ve been at least six feet tall.

And the accompanying building with bulging roof and scripty letters.  Point to ponder: why do so many of these vintage bowling alleys have dome-y roofs?  Is that to trap sounding from the clattering pins?  For A/C units?  What?

OK — I’m going to go hunker down now & see if I can miraculously get today’s batch in order.  Although it’s 11pm and not looking good.

Alright — I’ll have a go at catching up.  But it’s after 11pm and I’m two days behind.  Fantastic weather — all sun and long days since it’s summer.  Makes for a very long but productive shooting schedule.  Although, since it’s 4th of July weekend, I’ve had a lot of extra traffic — both in the cities and the bumpkin routes.  I’ve found tons of golf course-like mowed fields for the dogs to run in.  All is good — way more than good.

Let’s get to it.  A few quick pitstops in NJ first en route to PA.  Bumped into this place in East Windsor.  This is apparently an adapted gas station.  But I can’t explain the tower on the roof.  Guess they just tried to make it charming?  I love hand-painted signs — and this one gets extra credit for the painted hand.  Seems to be long vacant now:

A real vintage diner lurks under the roof & pebble stone of Fernando’s Grille in Hamilton.  Looks like this place is for sale:

I’d been wanting to see / shoot this place for awhile.  The Eet Gud Bakery opened in Trenton or Hamilton (depends who you talk to) in 1929.  Lots of neon and personality.  Yes, that’s Sparkle in the background of the first photo — who will come very close to the 250,000 milestone on this trip:

And, yes, I picked up some snacks for later — gotta show my support!  Here’s a “cherry meltaway” — displayed in my classic pose now — on the dash with the maps & itinerary for the day.  The scale might be hard to tell from this shot — think donut sized:

In Philadelphia, I bumped into a nice mid-century library — another inadvertent appearance from Sparkle.  Really, I can’t help it.  I’m always hopping in and out and parking illegally.  I try to keep both me and her out of the shots the best I can.  Birds always seem to love these plastic letters:

I discovered this place in Philadelphia about 10 years ago and am always relieved that it’s still there.  This is the only example that I have seen of one of these turn-table gadgets.  When space it tight, you would drive onto the turntable, make a delivery or pick something up, and then you (they?) would spin your car the other direction on this to exit.  Not the best phrased explanation but I hope you get it.  Sadly, the turntable hasn’t been used for decades.  Are there any more of these things out there anywhere now?  Unfortunately, this place has updated their sign with a much plainer one.  This was how it looked in 2003:

Lots more Philadelphia.  I’ve never seen a Texaco sign like this before.  It points at the former station across the street.

No time for Google searches — but I assume this building is modern — meaning contemporary not mid-century modern.  Somebody please correct me if I’m wrong.  This is part of the Moore College of Art & Design:

I finally sucked it up and forked out $13 bucks or so and parked the dogs in the shade to see the Giant Heart (see tonight’s Flickr stream) at the Franklin Institute.  While there, I found some other interesting things to make the expense worthwhile.  Here’s a revolving display of different animal hearts:

Some playground style arteries:

A bone bench:

A skeleton on an elliptical treadmill.  It was moving so you could see how the bones function:

A conceptually cool snack vending machine — Snack-o-Rama — when you select an option, it tells you facts about your choice (healthy or not).  My “meltaway” would have set off alarms I’m sure:

More on the food theme…  I haven’t been by the Philly Cheesesteak Center of the World lately.  I must say Geno’s has gone over the top on their signage — while Pat’s remains low-key and traditional.  Lines were just as long at both places:

In the spirit of the holiday, I gathered up three Uncle Sam offerings for you yesterday:

#1 — one of those air-filled-crazed things — can’t remember the proper terminology right now.  This guy was at Waltz Golf Farm in Limerick:

#2  — This guy in the window of the famous Termini Brothers Bakery in Philadelphia.  His upper torso moves back and forth rather creepily:

And lastly — this neat painted ad in the window of Guaranteed Plumbing & Heating in Philadelphia:

I hope you all are having a nice 4th.  I’ll start working on today’s stuff but I can’t guarantee I’ll get it done tonight.  Oh, and before I forget to mention it, the photos in these blog posts are clickable (clicking on them gets you a bigger size).  Also, I should mention to newcomers, that I upload different photos to Flickr every night on these trips as well:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

This little roadtrip began yesterday morning & ran very late .  We didn’t get settled in til 11pm.  And after only 2 hrs. sleep from the night before, well, I never made it around to playing with photos for Flickr & the blog.  But today, after much rest (six hours is a LOT for me), we’re back on the road.  Tonight, a double flickr & double blog.

This is just a quick 4-day trip in PA.  The next biggie will be five weeks in the Midwest, starts end of July.  Much more later… dj & the dogs

It was an excruciating drive home.  Normally, with the anticipation of getting home and putting my life back together, I can bang out 11 or 13 hours at a time.  But last night, I was just beat and kept pulling over for naps.  I could tell it wasn’t safe otherwise.  Drove about two hours, then pulled over for an hour, repeat, times about a half dozen times.  Another nap when I got home and then off to work.  Ugh.

Anyhow, let’s wrap up.  Some stats:  five days, 2,743 miles.  I didn’t add up the gas money.  I did get one speeding ticket – no surprise yet.  Northern VA on the dreaded I-81 where if you go over the 65 limit at any point, you’re likely to encounter blue lights.  I bet half the state’s budget comes from the proceeds of that highway.  $136 for doing 80.  A “warning” ticket in NC.  Which was a relief.  Middle of farmland highway, following someone else but I was the one that got snagged.  I’m really trying to be more careful but it’s a delicate balance between obeying the law (or close to it) and actually maximizing the photo ops.  I did get tons of great photos on this mini trip.  95% of the time, fantastic sun.  I still had to ditch a lot of Western VA plans on the way home.  I’ll try to make that up next spring on the way to OK/TX. 

The temps back home here in NYC are a vast improvement:  highs in 80s with far lower humidity.  Never thought of 80s as “comfortable” til now.  On with the show —

A couple shots from Hickory, NC — a nice mid-century screen:

and on the side of a bakery building — must photo all signs with bakers and chefs:

An old billboard above the Sunbeam Bread bakery in Shelby, NC:

A perky plastic sign in Kingsport, TN:

A storefront in downtown Kingsport – you either love it or hate it:

Just across the street — a real novelty these days:  an entire store as newsstand:

A mystery building in downtown Kingsport.  Looks bank-ish.  Surely, the lettering on the sign was updated with those plastic letters.  And I’m betting that there was a clock on top:

Lots of long stretches of driving today meant much dozing for the dogs.  Grem parked on her favorite sofa (Nik) a good part of the day.  He barely noticed.

Into the hills (mountains?) in SW Virginia for things that have been on my list for years but I just never had the time.  Highway 23 which loops through there is known as the “Trail of the Lonesome Pine”.  Big Stone Gap has an old car dealership building with terra cotta letters that pays reference to this.  A vintage photo:
http://www.bigstonegap.org/pictures/lpmotorco.jpg

And in Coeburn is the long abandoned Lonesome Pine Drive-in theatre:

SW Virginia is coal country.  Banks and billboards have signs referring to the industry.  This sign is in Norton, VA:

That business is just next door to piles of coal and equipment.  Pretty depressing in terms of ecological and human impact.  Especially in light of the deaths during recent mining disasters.  And how little the industry and lives of coal workers seem to change.  

And then after a very, very long drive — back to my own and very different reality.  My personal “coal mine” in NYC — a far more safe and comfortable living.  But anything but glamorous or personally rewarding.   This trip concluded with a trek through the Holland Tunnel into Manhattan.  This photo is of the Municipal Building in Manhattan just before the turn onto the Brooklyn Bridge heading home.  The dogs go on alert with all noses in the air back at some point in NJ just before crossing the river into NY.  So by now they are all revved with the excitement of reclaiming their territory.  Add much barking, panting, whining sound effects to this photo:

And so concludes this mini trip.  I’ll be doing another mini trip in just a couple weeks.  4 days in PA.  I hope you’ll join us then for more photos & adventures starting July 2.  Then, a five-week biggie starts July 24 when the dogs and I take on the Midwest.

Meanwhile, I’m still pounding away at the website adding photos every chance I get.  There’s no way I’ll catch up by the Midwest trip but you can keep tabs on my progress here if you like:
http://www.agilitynut.com/whatsnew.html

ONE FINAL NOTE.  A friend pointed out that she didn’t know that my blog photos opened to full-sized photos when you click on them.  So maybe you didn’t know that either.  I guess most blogs don’t offer this but I think it’s an important feature.

I had hoped to bang through the NC list today and start on a wee corner of TN and get into VA.  Almost!  Tomorrow, I’ll try go get through the remainder of the western VA stuff and then scurry on home.  You’ll have to wait for the final blog chapter til Wednesday since I won’t be back in NYC til late late tomorrow (Tuesday) night.

It was another incredibly hot day.  I heard that yesterday broke 100 and that’s pre-heat index factoring.  Today must’ve been about the same.  Sparkle’s nice and cool though.  I even called my mechanic today to express my gratitude.  I think the dogs were kind of baffled today between the temperature difference between inside and outside.  I found some lakes here and there for them to romp in/around and still stay cool.

I had some emails to attend to and suddenly it’s 1am already.  How did that happen?  So let’s get on with the photos — another big batch of them.

A nice original storefront in Asheboro:

I love the Auto Bell car wash chain.  Their giant bells remind me of the bell that used to be suspended on top of the old Taco Bell buildings.  And these yellow bells are so cheery.  According to their website, the company was established in 1969.  Most of their locations are in NC but there are a few in SC and GA as well. 
http://www.autobell.com/
This one is in Concord:

A law office with a little mid-century detailing — also in Concord:

A damned shame what they’ve let happen with this former movie theatre in Albemarle:

Just up the street — what the?  Criminal!

And just across the street from those buildings — is this trio of miraculous survivors.  The storefronts of Starnes Jewelers and Satin & Lace are faced with vitrolite:

And this guy next to them has really fun & unusual overhangs (there’s gotta be a better word):

Back in Charlotte — wasn’t I just here?  Yes, a couple months ago — but it was pouring rain and I wanted to reshoot a short list of things.  Stumbled upon this place — the biggest canopy I’ve ever seen.  Ever.  Could there possibly be more of these buildings?

The only doggie-related photo today – promise!  This cool bus was parked on the Dog Bar lot.  Looks and sounds like a really fun place.  Not open when I was there but I will put on my list to visit another  time.
http://www.dogbarnoda.com/

It’s getting to be a tradition on these roadtrips that I post a self-portrait so you can see just who this nutjob is that never sleeps & is oh so so serious about buildings, signs & statues.  And I do SO hate having my photo taken.  But now that I’ve entered my 50s, I  just give up already.  Wrinkles, grey hair, whatever.  I’ve earned all of it.  I took this one with the camera to the side of my head next to this statue that I shot on the last Charlotte trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidenut/4452695283/
It’s kind of a neat effect.  I like how it singled out the finger pressing the camera button.  But I could live without the squinting in the sun expression.

Diner lovers must be excited about this brand spanking new diner that’s being installed.  I’m not that up on modern diners but I know just enough to know that this has to be either a Starlite or a Dinermite.  I’m sure someone will chime in immediately with a comment.  I much prefer the old diners but this is sure a novelty in downtown Charlotte.  This wasn’t here at all two months ago.

A fun group of signs in Charlotte.  There are maybe a million neon ice cream signs out there — but I can only think of a couple neon pizzas.

And finally — I know some of you have been holding your breath — road snack!  This is the first ice cream of the trip despite the heat.  Actually, the first dessert-y food of the trip.  I was holding out for the vintage Wilkinson Blvd. DQ in Charlotte — and boy, was it worth the wait!    You’re looking at a Strawberry Blizzard (which is vanilla soft serve with strawberries) with adds-ons of chocolate chips & walnuts.  $4 something.  Dinner.  Wonderful.  And the dogs thought so, too.