Day 3: Baltimore in Grey

Posted on March 14, 2010March 14, 2010 by roadsidenut

The rain stopped for the most part around noon which was a terrific change! But still the sun never came out so I hope you like photos with grey backgrounds. Traffic was horrendous in downtown Baltimore because of some running event going on. A St. Pattie’s Day related thing from what I could tell as there were green outfits and garland-y necklaces. Everybody on the street very happy – everybody in cars, miserable.

I’m now officially about two days behind – already! Virginia, as much as I love you, you’re really going to get skipped for the most part. I promise to make it up to you next spring. I’ve got DC stuff on the schedule for tomorrow and then I’ll have to painfully prioritize the VA stuff so I can get us into NC soon.

Some noteworthy events. Someone (not me!) had a little bout of diarrhea. All I know is I came back into the van after taking a photo and LORDY! I did what I could with Fantastic and paper towels and put the windows down with rain coming in for awhile. But I’ll be scouting for a laundromat tonight. I suspect it was Nik who kept hassling me while I was driving and I thought it was just boredom and lack of exercise. Sorry buddy.

The other weird thing was when I went to turn the engine off in the afternoon, I couldn’t get the key out of the ignition. I could turn the engine on and off but I could not get the key out of the draining battery mode. There were only two options: a) engine on or b) draining. I tried different gears. I tried moving the van forward and backward. Minor panic since I realized it would be futile to find a mechanic in downtown Baltimore on a Sunday afternoon. I continued on my photo-taking journey and figured I’d just have to park it and get towed in the morning to a garage with a dead battery. But since then, I’ve had no problem at all. Still, I will be very careful where I turn the engine off just in case I can’t get the key back in or start up again. I also noticed today that when I put my flashers on, which are on the steering column, I have to pull the buttom backwards and up. Very stiff. So maybe there is something going on inside the steering column? I might stop & get this checked out tomorrow. But the key has been moving in and out like butter since the incident.

Enough text – on with the photos! This sign cheered me up at the start of this dreary day. Backlit plastic put to good use (could live without the LED though). From Hagerstown:

A pretty pastel sign in Catonsville:

On into Baltimore — bumped into a former Fotomat. Not being used for anything apparently. Note the odd little addition:

More Fotomats, if you’re unfamiliar:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/fotomat/

Adaptive reuse: use-ta-be an IHOP – now what must be the world’s largest Enterprise office:

I was glad to see the Cafe Hon giant flamingo. Last I’d heard, it had been taken down:
http://wjz.com/local/cafe.hon.flamingo.2.1259385.html

A nice old pharmacy with vitrolite panels:

I deliberately cropped the bottom off this photo. It was too painful to look at what they did to that part of the building. At least the top was spared:

A former White Tower held together with spit and glue (note “carry-out” equals “take-out” in this part of the world):

What a White Tower should look like if you don’t know:
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/wt2.html

A former drive-in from 1947 and last I saw it, it was an ice cream place —
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/md.html
Now, it just seems very sad, even all spruced up, as a non-food use, used car dealership. Note the hamburger bulb sign (shown at that link) is also gone now:

A pretty facade to pick us up. From Laurel, MD – still in business. Great freestanding metal letters. And even if the neon is gone from the sign, it’s nice to see that they’re still keeping up with the paint:

And lastly, a view of Baltimore’s Domino Sugar factory & sign from across the harbor. I found this great, somewhat skanky spot to run the dogs. Too cold to go in the water I’m sure but they could have (and probably caught some waterborne disease). There was a big gravely lot and even some grass to the right and not a soul around.

Yes, it’s true. I haven’t included any photos of the dogs OR food yet. I will though. I’m still actually getting by with food brought from home. Gotta cut corners somewhere – these trips are expensive! So I don’t think you really want to see my cheese and peanut butter sandwiches (no, not together, but that might actually be good). I’m due for some junk food and the dogs are demanding a long run somewhere. Hopefully, tomorrow, in the sun!

Day 2: Rowing our Boat to Maryland

Posted on March 13, 2010March 13, 2010 by roadsidenut

Not exactly rowing our way — but it sure felt like it! The rain did not stop for a single minute. Not once. Until the sun went down. Argggggh! And it rained even harder than yesterday. My planned route through the mountains from Thurmont to Hagerstown was police barricaded off — impassable due to flooding. Yes, the rivers were wickedly wild everywhere we went. And yes, I’m being careful. I’m not one of those fools that tries to “gun it” and make it across water on the road. You won’t be seeing us on the news. Here’s a threatening little stream in Thurmont, MD. All that separates it from this house is a little concrete wall. When I drove by, the family looked like they were calmly watching TV. Sheesh.

But I’m skipping ahead. The day started in NJ. In Stratford, I passed this Safeway-esque building gone Goodwill. At least I don’t think this was every a Safeway based on the shape of the sign at the left. I’m ashamed that I don’t know what this was and am relying on my food store junkie friends to chime in.

Can I get a bumper sticker that says “I brake for bowling pin signs”? Can we sell them at the SCA Conference and make a ton of money? This one was in Stratford as well:

This simple yet elegant pin sign has apparently weathered many eras and names and now has to tolerate flashing red obnoxiousness beneath it. Now there’s a run on sentence that I’m not going to fix. Here’s something I’ve never understood. How can cities get away with prohibiting neon signs and forcing their removal for being roadside “distractions” when what could be more distracting than changing-text LED signs? And who’s going to be distracted by a neon sign when they’re already completely distracted by their cell phones while driving. Don’t get me started!

What’s not to love about Fornaro’s Liquor in Pennsville, NJ:

The Penn Jewelers sign is also in Pennsville. Until one second before I took this photo, there was a blackbird in the broken gap in the diamond at the left. Damn! I love getting birds into shots for scale. Better rush if you want to see or shoot this sign as the building is now vacant.

Moving on to Maryland. If you grew up in the Churchville area, this is probably heartbreaking. This used to be the site of both the Big M Drive-in Restaurant and Movie Theatre. It closed five years ago and this is what remains.

OK — this is getting to be a bit of a downer — maybe it was all the weather, ya think? So let’s see if I can end on a cheerier note. This interesting building (house?) was in Middletown. I assume it was a blacksmith’s / grinding place from the grinding wheel and the giant anvil on the wall. The crescent moon shutters are sweet. But the knife over the door was what had me backing up dangerously on a very busy highway. (Don’t worry!)

In case I forget to mention it on the 17th, Happy St. Patrick’s Day! This place is in Thurmont:

Day 1: New Jersey

Posted on March 12, 2010March 13, 2010 by roadsidenut

Surprise! I snuck out a day early to get this trip started. I had an errand to run in South NJ so I took the day off from work and got a few hours start on my list. The weather is really horrible, crummy, lousy, awful with unrelenting rain. The forecast is for another three days of the same. A rather depressing and frustrating way to start a trip. Tim Gunn would say, “make it work”. The traffic added an additional challenge today. Still, I got some decent photos for the blog & Flickr.

The dogs were overly hyped and barking constantly. I made a few pit stops so they could run but it was obviously not enough. The van and my pants are already nice and muddy on Day 1. The dogs usually settle into the road routine on the 3rd day. Til then, I’m doing a lot yelling and warning Grem that I’ll pull over and put that collar on her. Gulp, the threat of the citronella barking collar is usually enough to quiet her down. For a couple minutes anyway. MinPins were born to bark.

So let’s move on to the photos – the reason that you’re all here! Since the weather was so crappy, I focused on gathering goodies for the blog rather than the important stuff for the website & Flickr.

First up, a couple side-by-side motel signs in Absecon or Galloway. Google can’t decide which. The Ten Acres (although spelled Tenacres on the sign) has busted neon but it looks like they’re keeping the paint up.

And next door – don’t know the name but I doubt it was really the “Poo Motel” (grin). This wooden sign is pretty much buried in the trees and probably what’s holding it up. The motel itself is long gone. Note you can see the Ten Acres sign in the distance.

A rather eerie mannequin driving this covered wagon at Pistol Pete’s Saloon in Pleasantville:

A nice Chevy bow tie “scaffold sign” on top of an updated showroom in Egg Harbor Township. I’m betting that this one is still lit at night:

Also in Egg Harbor Township – love this guy! The holes suggest he had neon at one time. Or maybe, from their irregularity, he was just the victim of target practice:

From Mays Landing. The Custard Castle is closed for the season or maybe just sensibly closed on Fridays when it rains. Love the roof detail:

A gardening cowboy from Hogbin’s Nursery in Williamstown. I don’t know if he’s old or new. But it doesn’t matter since he’s fantastic. A metal sign, gaining a bit more rust today. That’s Sparkle waving “hi” from the right.

Also in Williamstown, I went to check out this “mini Pebble Palace”. It really was mini — just this one little clump of stone sculptures. But still kinda cool. I imagine it has or had some fountain action.

I have tried unsuccessfully three times over the years, including today, to find that other, larger Pebble Palace in Deptford. All my sources say on Rte. 47, just a few feet off the road. I’ve scrutinized the recent photos with the white house and drive up and back far, far in both directions. Still can’t find it. Can anyone provide a cross street or address for this place?

I’ve been wanting to see the “Nipper Building” in Camden for a long time now. Although the stained glass windows in the tower are recent replacements, they’re still very neat. This RCA building was one of several here – the others were demolished. The building now houses the Victor Lofts. Here’s some more about it:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=7426
I’ve also got some Nipper statues over at my website if you’re interested:
http://agilitynut.com/critters/dogs.html

Quite a paint job on this bowling alley in Brooklawn! Something tells me, not the original colors. Although the sign is missing both bulbs and neon, it still looks pretty cheery in lemon yellow.

I’d love to know the history of this motel in Brooklawn and see photos of it before the Red Carpet Inn bland-ified the rooms. There were hints of little turrets on the buildings around the big courtyard layout. I also can’t figure out what the screens on this sign tower are about. Postcards anyone?

One more sign before I go – the Pennant East rock club in Bellmawr. The sign is evidently from 1992 – I would’ve guessed older. The club was originally Dick Lee’s from 1956-1992. What did we do before Google!

So here’s the plan for the next few days. Tomorrow, I’ll be starting on MD. Probably about 3 days in MD and VA and then on to NC for about 3 days. I’ve been to these states many times before but stuff has piled up on my “To See/Shoot” list. Also, lots of ancient & ugly photos at my website for these states that really need reshooting and I’ll try to get to a lot of that, too. Do a sundance for me, will ya?

Name That Station #1: Phillips 66 vs. Pure Oil Cottages

Posted on March 11, 2010 by roadsidenut

I get lots of emails asking for help with identifying gas stations. While I don’t consider myself an expert, I have studied them for years and I’m happy to help when I can. The subject is way too big for one post so I’ll just offer some basics here about a couple brands & designs and revisit the subject between roadtrips later on.

There’s a lot of confusion out there between Phillips 66 and Pure Oil cottage-style stations so let’s start with some generalizations about them. It’s actually very easy to tell the difference. Here’s a classic Phillips 66 from Chandler, OK:

Note the chimney at the front (although not all P66 cottages had these) and the steep gable above the arched doorway. The round windows on the chimney and the side of the building originally had glass Phillips 66 logos. This station still has the multi-colored roof tiles.

Here’s another example of a P66 from Stratford, TX. Note that this station has the chimney is to the right side of the door. There’s also an original “P” on this chimney. Not all P66s had chimneys but the buildings all basically looked like this.

Even this early P66 in McLean, TX (the first built in TX) had a similar design:

Now then, here’s a typical Pure Oil station from Englewood, OH:

Although the siding has been added, the other building features are original. Note the differences between this design and the P66 design: chimneys on the sides of the building, the copper hoods above the left window and doorway, the flower box on the small window on the right, the step and hand rails at the door, the blue porcelain enamel roof tiles and chimney tops.

Here’s what Pure Oil’s “P” looked like on the side of their chimneys – skinnier and more Gothic in style than the ones that Phillips 66 used. This one is from Washington, NC:

The smaller Pure Oil windows had faux open shutters. The drainage spouts bore “Ps” as well. There were also brass lamp light fixtures. This Lyons, NY station still has all of these things. There would also have been a flower box below the shuttered window:

Pure Oil had a few variations of these cottages but with the same details. Here are a few other examples. From Dayton, OH. Even with the office details stripped, you can tell where the larger window would have been. Even with the roof extended in front a bit, the blue roof tiles and chimneys are there. The office was messed with quite a bit here: the door is now where the little window was & the details are all gone. The brick work here is original and has been emphasized with red and blue paint. This station has what I call the “slopey bay” on the left – another common design element used by Pure.

Here’s the same basic Pure Oil design with a canopy from Jacksonville, FL. Phillips 66 did not make a canopy version of their cottage stations. Note all the door & window details described above are still there:

Pure Oil also produced what I call the “fat chimney” design. This one is from Lynchburg, VA. The chimneys are still on the sides of the building and there’s that step-up doorway with railings. Notice also the weathervane on the service bay part of the building – another uniquely Pure Oil element used with the fat chimney design.

So I hope that helps. Other oil companies produced cottage stations as well but the details described above should lead you to correct conclusions. For lots of other examples of Phillips 66 and Pure Oil stations, have a look at the gas station section at my website:
http://www.agilitynut.com/gas/main.html

snapshots from home (part 2 of 2): dogs & buildings

Posted on March 10, 2010March 10, 2010 by roadsidenut

My mornings are spent with my dogs in Prospect Park which is just a block from my apartment. Dogs are allowed off-leash before 9am so I drag myself out of bed after 4 hours sleep to get us there every day. Dogs are only allowed off-leash in the “meadow” but that area is huge, absolutely HUGE. I don’t know how many acres it is but it’s more than any dog park I’ve been to anywhere in the country. It’s not fenced so you do want to train a recall and carry tasty morsels with you. The roads are pretty far away so there should be enough to keep your dogs busy and safe. There’s also a great local organization, FIDO Brooklyn, that organizes monthly Coffee Barks, an annual Bark the Herald Angels event, seminars and helps reunite lost dogs with their owners.
http://fidobrooklyn.com/

Looking north:

Looking south:

All this looked completely different until a few days ago. We got a ton of snow this winter and it was nothing but white and icy for months. Suddenly, we have 40 and 50 degrees days. The trees have no signs of buds yet. I should also say that this was a weekday morning. On the weekends, there are maybe five times as many dogs and people.

The sudden appearance of grass and dirt means the ground is now fascinating to the dogs. Here are the butts of my pack of four in the foreground:

And Grem finding something stinky enough to merit rolling in:

A Corgi enjoying a mudbath:

I took a bunch of photos of my dogs running after balls and bringing them back. But I believe I’ve posted a number of those already at this blog. So I’ll spare you those and just include a nice group shot. If you’re not familiar with the cast, left to right is “Grip” (Gripper), “Nik” (Sputnik), “Grem” (Gremlin), and “Fix” (Fix). You’ll be seeing a lot of them here I’m sure on the upcoming trip (leaving Saturday).

Here a couple of my good chums from the park: Glenn & Habibi and Douglas & Chi Chi:

People that get up at 7am every day to take their dogs to the park are a special “breed” themselves.

The Prospect Park dogs are an even mix of mutts and purebreeds, all sizes and shapes, and 99.9% well-mannered. I’m pleased to report that there are a lot of rescue dogs from shelters. Here are some charming park regulars:

While many owners are off at their day jobs, they pay dogwalkers to bring the dogs to the park. Most of the dogs lounge on this hill in an enormous pack.

OK, shall we move on out of the park for some buildings on the short walk home? Park Slope, my ‘hood, is part of “Brownstone Brooklyn” which is usually defined as an area that runs from the park to Brooklyn Heights (the closest neighborhood to Manhattan). Most of the residential buildings in the landmarked areas are from the late 1800s. Not really my era – I prefer 1920s onward and especially 1950s-1970s – but I’d have to be heartless not to think these buildings were stunning. The craftsmanship and variety is incredible. Here’s a little strip of repetitively gorgeous limestones:

And some details from other buildings:

There among all the architectural splendor is this anomaly: the Pink House. The owner painted it pink back in 1968 when there were no landmark laws against such things. There has been some talk of the owner, who is in his 90s, selling the place. In which case, the building would most likely be repainted. A house this size in Park Slope goes for about $2 million.

This old fire call box is right across the street from my building so I have great personal attachment to it. I believe it’s cast iron and probably from the late 1800s. There’s a modern-looking metal fire alarm device on the other side of it so I think it’s still functional.

A block away from me is this thing which I call the “freaky tree”. The bronze sculpture is actually called the “Tree of Hands” and is composed of two trees that wind around each other. The bronze hands convey some sort of message in sign language. I don’t know what they say but it’s probably some groovy peace & love sort of thing. Nevertheless, it scares me.

snapshots from home (part 1 of 2): work, work, work

Posted on March 9, 2010March 10, 2010 by roadsidenut

I thought I’d do a couple posts with a local and personal slant for a change. Some of you might think that I make a living doing this roadside thing. Far from true! I only make a couple hundred bucks per year from donations & magazines/books using my photos. So until the Travel Channel offers me a reality show, or Diet Coke or Chevrolet become sponsors, I’ll be toughing it out here in NYC, putting in 60-hour weeks to pay for these big roadtrips.

Here are a couple buildings that have been part of my daily life for many years. This is one of my favorites that I pass every day on my walk to the subway to work. Known as the Montauk Club, it was built in 1891 in the Venetian Gothic style. It was inspired by the Ca’ d’Oro in Venice. The building is used a lot for movie shoots and weddings.

terra cotta details with Montauk Indians & European settlers:

cast iron fences:

I’ve worked in this building in Manhattan for about 14 years now. The building at the left with the “Credit Suisse” nameplate is actually a separate building. My building is the Art Deco one on the right. It has a stunted look because it was never finished. There were plans for 100 stories but then the Depression happened and they just capped the building off at 29 floors.

Lots of nice exterior details:

including several of these still functioning bronze & glass lamps which must be about five feet tall:

It was originally Metropolitan Life’s North Building and there is still a skywalk connecting the two buildings. I don’t believe the skywalk is used any more:

I’d love to take some lobby photos but I’m sure the guards would tackle me. I can only find one interior photo on-line which doesn’t show much but you get the idea: loads of marble, oil portraits, and high ceilings.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37896716@N00/191148893/

From the 20th floor, here’s a view of the Met Life Building and its clock. There are clocks on all four sides of the building. The modern building to the left was completed last year:

And here’s my desk — for the day anyway. We are moved around where needed like little document processing soldiers. When asked what I do for a living, the simplest answer is “fancy typing”. I know nothing about technical computer stuff — but I can do just about anything in Word, Excel or Powerpoint.

Canada Dry Buildings

Posted on March 8, 2010 by roadsidenut

I have long been fascinated with bottling plants. As a child, I remember going on a field trip to the local Coca-Cola plant in Ventura, CA. It was spellbinding watching the assembly line conveyor belts with bottles being filled and loaded into wooden boxes. I don’t remember what that building looked like but I don’t believe that it’s still around. There are probably 100 or so old Coca-Cola buildings that survive around the country. However, there are very few examples of buildings from other brands. I don’t know if it’s that the buildings were not noteworthy or if they were destroyed.

Anyhow, I wanted to share this great little page of photos and research that traces the history and remaining examples of Canada Dry plants.
http://silverspringhistory.homestead.com/canada.html

I have several examples of these 1940s Canada Dry buildings scattered around my website — here are a few:

In Silver Spring, MD – from 2006 when the building was being converted into the Silverton condos:

here’s the finished product:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdmarkus66/3233989985/

In Minneapolis, MN – from 2008 when I believe it was being used as some sort of warehouse:

In Cincinnati, OH – from 2006 when it was home to the Giminetti Baking Co (which I believe is still there):

In San Diego, CA – from 2009, now obviously converted into a furniture store:

[photo above courtesy of Gregory May]
also, a photo of the front of the building at the store’s website:
http://www.consignmentclassics.net/

Keep an eye out for these distinctive buildings and let me know if you find any others. If you’re interested in Coca-Cola and other bottling plants, here’s a link to that section of my website:
http://www.agilitynut.com/beverage/main.html

Little Taverns

Posted on March 7, 2010March 7, 2010 by roadsidenut

If you’re not familiar with Little Tavern restaurants, or even if you are, I think you’ll really enjoy a peek at what Spencer Stewart has put together on the subject. Spencer has been photo-ing and researching diners for many years. He’s now become obsessed enough with Little Taverns that he’s been making models of them — one nearly life-sized. His recent post contains loads of info and vintage photos:
http://dinerman.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/little-tavern-locations-updated-list/

I’ll give you a quick “snapshot” here. Little Taverns were inspired by White Castle restaurants. By the 1940s, there were nearly 50 of these little porcelain enamel clad buildings installed in the DC/Baltimore area. Here’s a photo from 1972 of Harry Duncan, the founder of Little Tavern, posing with a model of what the buildings looked like originally:

photo credit: http://silverspringhistory.homestead.com/LittleTavern.html

Although the last location closed in 2009, a handful of Little Tavern buildings still survive. This location in Laurel, MD was the most intact example of the chain in 2004 when I took this photo. I hope these signs have been stashed away somewhere because as far as I know, these were the last remaining examples of them.

By 2008, the signs were gone, the door bricked up & building details removed as this building was converted into a donut shop:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/army_arch/2787171142/

This location in Baltimore was demolished shortly after I took this photo in 2003. Note the then intact “Buy ’em by the Bag” sign on the side of the building:

Not all the news is bad. This location in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC was restored over several years and put to use in 2007 as “Sweetgreen” (a salad and frozen yogurt place):

For more photos and info, I have a couple pages about Little Taverns at my website:
http://agilitynut.com/eateries/lt.html

And be sure to check out Spencer’s post mentioned above.

Revving the Engine

Posted on March 6, 2010March 6, 2010 by roadsidenut

A long overdue hello to my virtual passengers. With another big roadtrip just a week away, I thought I’d touch base and make sure I remembered how to log in and post to this blog. Yes, I’ll be posting here nightly as the dogs and I head South for a month. I got Sparkle checked out this week and spent close to $1,000 for new front & rear brakes, a tune-up, etc. So hopefully this will be a safe and trouble-free trip.

I’ve been toying with a new blog approach for awhile now. Not that I’m ready for a big commitment but I would like to post now and then from home base when I come upon something I consider noteworthy or fascinating. To me anyway. I have a few ideas and will post them between now & the trip. These little quickie posts will probably be mostly links to other sites that I hope you find interesting.

First item of this “series”. Last August in Chicago, I came up this nice building feature & posted it here at the blog:

Well, one bit of info led to another as things often do when you’re surfing the ‘net. Turns out, this is a partially obliterated Stege Brewery logo. And part of a phenomenon known as “tied houses”. The Schlitz Brewery was the most prolific producer of these and there are still lots of really nice examples remaining. The Forgotten Chicago website has a fascinating, photo-rich discussion of them here:
http://forgottenchicago.com/features/chicago-architecture/tied-houses/

There are also lots of nice photos of these Schlitz buildings at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=schlitz%20building&w=all

Day 31: 8/09 Heartland Tour (final post)

Posted on August 31, 2009September 1, 2009 by roadsidenut

The last day of the trip was pretty unexciting. Not much to shoot on I-80. But there was a quick stop in Harrisburg, PA to shoot a few things. Glad I forced myself to take that break. There’s only so much that coffee and radio can do.

Across the street from a diner that I shot were these twin garages:

Some nice details on the one at the left:

And taking a lazy route back to the interstate, I came upon this funky sign. Probably faux deco rather than the real thing but still fun:

The worst part of the drive was the last hour and a half. Traffic backed up for about an hour in NJ waiting to get into the Holland Tunnel. Ugh. Bad enough but torture when you have to pee. And then the hunt for parking for about a half hour. Ah, life in the Big City.

So, let’s recap with some of the stats of this trip. 30 days, 11,900 miles, and $1942.56 in gas. Sparkle ran flawlessly and now has over 220,000 miles on her. Whoever says you have to get rid of a vehicle when it has 100,000 miles must never have had the pleasure of owning an Astro Van. Grem only ran off, what, three times? But I came home with all four of my monsters — and managed to help reunite a fifth dog with its owner.

The rain, yes, the rain hampered my shooting a bit. I haven’t counted up the photos but based on previous trips, I probably have about 4500 photos for the website. Which will take some time to get ready, research, and insert. I’ll make Xmas my goal. You can keep an eye on the “what’s new” page at the website to monitor my progress if you like:
http://www.agilitynut.com/whatsnew.html

Settling back into the groove here. I’m anxious to get back to the Midwest for Part II next summer. I have untouched stacks of maps and lists right here staring back at me. If somebody wants to send me say $10,000, I’ll go back there next week and finish up.

If you’ve been slogging through my blog on a daily basis and will now be suffering from withdrawal, you might want to check out the more “serious” stuff — the photos taken and uploaded simultaneously over at Flickr during this trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/sets/72157621743650868/

No food photos for you (although I could’ve gotten my NYC bagel I suppose) but I took a few of the dogs this morning for you to close with. For those of you that are not familiar with “stoops”, they are a big part of city life at least out here in the Northeast. Used kind of like a tiny porch — people hang out on the steps to talk, eat, have “stoop sales” (like garage sales). Anyhow, this one is one of my favorites with the leafy detail right across the street from my apt.

And then, this is my stoop — a larger shot to show you the worn but still nice detail on the front of it. The steps lead up from the left to this part. I’ve lived in this apartment for about 18 years so it’s about time I took a photo of this!

I hope you enjoyed our trek through the Midwest. Come join us again in the spring when we head south. Or just maybe I can sneak in a week or two before that to take a blogable trip in the long ignored Northeast. Til then — may your own roadtrips and trips around town be enhanced with fun discoveries, tasty snacks, and great companions.