It was cold in Truckee (30s?) when we left and headed over some mountains into Lake Tahoe. I found this spot at a public park on the water to let the dogs run & sniff. The water obviously too cold for Nik to swim. The lake was emerald in color but it doesn’t show in this photo.

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After some picture-taking there, we headed over more mountains into the desert for stops in Minden and Carson City. Then it was on to Reno which is an incredible city if you’re into neon signs. Lots of other fun stuff as well. This casino pedestrian overpass is amusingly grandiose:

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This casino signage looks like it might have been designed by a 14-year-old girl:

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I’ve seen a couple other Jack LaLanne statues on this trip but I believe all the fitness centers have different names now:

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This water store/vend-o-mat has a modern but nice sign. I’ve never seen a whole row of water machines before. Is there something wrong with the water supply in Reno or is it just cheaper to buy from machines?

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A cute sign detail at a motel in Reno:

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Signature Landscapes in Reno has a couple nice sculptural pieces:

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A wedding chapel in Reno:

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Lots of classic motels still around in Reno:

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This one has a great wedding cake office entrance. The Farris Motel was built in 1949.

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I have never seen a Hamm’s sign before. This one was 3-D with the foam as the part with the highest relief.

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And lastly, a hand-painted sign at a mattress store:

The stuff in Sacramento took up most of the day. Then we headed on to smaller cities northeast of there, starting the push towards home. It was a shocker heading over the Sierra Nevadas (Donner Pass, no less!) and seeing snow and having to wear a jacket. The weather forecast for the cross-country drive home this week is not good. Lots of rain, maybe some snow here and there. Granted, I’ll be on I-80 most of the time. Maybe I should’ve stayed in CA and done the Bay Area after all and then done a killer drive home. Or maybe I’ll just get back a couple days early if the weather’s not conducive for taking pictures. Not the end of the world since I have a lot to deal with back home.

Anyway — lots of blog photos from today. Let’s start with this neat beekeeping store in Sacramento:

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A cool spaceship sculpture at a space-themed children’s playground called “Universal Universe” in Sacramento:

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In the afternoon, we checked out another dog park in Sacramento. Here’s a photo of the one in Granite Park. Decently big and secure chain link fencing than so I felt comfortable with Grem off-leash. Also kiddie pools which Nik really appreciated with his manic ball-chasing.

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Fix and Nik spent most of the day in the front seat together while Grip and Grem alternated between my lap and the back of the van. I think everybody will be relieved with the long interstate hauling back home so they can get some solid rest.

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An adapted Pioneer Chicken sign — here’s what they normally look like:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmewuji/892511/

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I don’t recall ever seeing a Canada Dry sign before:

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An adapted hamburger drive-in sign. The place is now vacant again so chances are good that this burger will get painted over by the next business.

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Lots of these signs in Sacramento. I’ve never seen prices assigned like this in any other city:

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This produce stand was closed in Loomis or I definitely would’ve gotten some goodies. Honestly, I do eat more than junk food! The sign might have been neon originally — hard to tell. I’m sure this painting is recent — but still very nice.

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And lastly, a trailer dealer in Auburn was selling these cute little trailers. Available in white, yellow or camo, if you prefer. There was also this igloo-ish structure. I imagine it’s purchase-able — but for what, I’m not sure. There was no bottom.

It’s been really fun exploring the Central Valley the past couple days. I have never been to these towns nor seen the old Route 99 treasures that still exist. Sadly, most of these classic motel neon signs seem pretty much doomed since they have been cut off by intensive highway improvements. They might be “improvements” for motorists, but it means these old businesses are now on hard-to-get-to frontage roads.

This old market in French Camp, with great Eskimo Pie signage, appears to be long closed. I contemplated for a moment quitting my day job and “adopting” this building, turning it into a cafe, the big back property into a dog park and….

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Here’s a sweet sign from Stockton:

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This Egyptian Revival building in Stockton was once the Dawson Storage Warehouse. It’s pretty obscured by trees now and has been stripped of some details.

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And yet a third heartbreak… this neat old ice cream shop in Lodi. Maybe it’s not closed after all. The hours on the door said Mon-Fri 10:30am – 12pm. So that means only open 1 1/2 hours per day? Maybe they serve breakfast food only — and ice cream to crazy people like myself who can eat ice cream any time day or night. But wouldn’t weekends be busier? I’m mystified. Anyway, the building and interior had nice glazed brick, old wood cabinets, cute tables/counters and a visible kitchen production area.

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Speaking of food… it’s time to share one of my favorite road snacks for those late afternoons when I don’t have time for a real meal while I’m chasing down stuff on my list as the sun is setting. There are many brands out there but they all seem to taste the same. Peachie-Os are peach-flavored gummy candy — but not as chewy as your typical gummy bears. Crazy mix of sweet and tart — and they taste like peaches. Three of my dogs will eat them. Grem just swallows (she eats dirt and leaves with glee, so she’s not choosy). Nik bobs his head up and down and makes faces. Grip holds it in her mouth for a moment, motionless, and then overdramatizes the chewing aspect. And Fix — no WAY will she eat the stuff. At least one of the five of us has sense!

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The dogs got ample exercise today. We revisited the giant mall-to-be field in Turlock first thing. Then in the afternoon, we visited Partner Park in Sacramento(cityofsacramento.org/parksandrecreation/parks/dogpark1.htm). It was a decent size with lots of trees. The bars seemed a little narrow and I gave it a little thought. Then when Nik’s ball went through them at one point — and he followed with a little squeeze — I immediately scooped up Grem as if to prevent her from seeing what just happened. I kept her busy the rest of the time retrieving balls in the center of the park. I guess most dog parks were designed with your Shepherd Mix in mind and not your Chihuahua. If it were my regular park, I’d insist on chicken wire all the way around the bottom couple feet.

Scare #2 of the day, non-dog this time. While I was taking a photo of a neon sign just east of downtown Sacramento, in a really busy area, I saw this giant bird strolling around. Then he/she decided to cross the busy street (G Street?) — “doop-de-doo, think I’ll go this way”. I was assisting the best I could with holding up fast moving traffic. He went into a more residential area and I figured that’s about all I could do for him and wished him well. Now, was this a wild turkey? I tried to get better photos but they all came out horribly blurry. I’m not good with the camera when I’m stressed out.

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I hate speed bumps. I really detest them. In supermarket parking lots, I’ll go the long way around just to avoid them. Rotaries are a much better solution for slowing traffic down — but some streets just aren’t wide enough I realize. Some speed bumps are so narrow/tall (usually in the worst neighborhoods, where I’m most inclined to be taking photos), that even at 5mph you’re worried about shortening the life of your shocks or worse. Today, in Sacramento, I saw signs warning about “Undulations Ahead”. Never heard them called that before. And then, this one made me chuckle — another new name to me:

Fresno ended up taking up about 80% of the day. I had many things to shoot there. Still, there was no traffic, and most of the stuff was pretty close together. So I have no idea where the time went. More perfect weather. My fourth oil change of the trip — checked the odometer. Yes, more than 12,000 miles so far and I’m still about 3,000 miles from home.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the trip was that the Forestiere Sunken Gardens in Fresno was closed when I got there in the afternoon. Seems it had been open in the morning. My hotel had been practially across the street. Damn! That was something I wanted to see for many, many years. However, I know my pictures would’ve probably not turned out. I have not mastered indoor/flash photography with this camera at all.
http://historicfresno.org/nrhp/forest.htm

I did find a dog park in Fresno today but little Grem found a gap under the chain link and was then FREE, free at last! The park was plenty big but, no, she had to see what was on the other side and then took off running. I’m sure this is how she ended up leaving her previous home(s). So I was hobbling the best I could on my still bad knee, all over kingdom come til she found something interesting enough to sniff/eat and I could nonchalantly snag her. Geesus.

This little devil is quite the chewer as well. Here’s what she did to one of my flash drives in her spare time when I wasn’t in the van. Although the plastic cover is now gone, it still works and I’m still using it — but not for anything terribly important. She eats pens for snacks if I’m not paying attention. The ink is just delicious. This dog has a death wish!

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So, since Fresno is chock full of signs, that’s what I’ll be giving you for the blog today. I love these two guys (different businesses). The second of them was probably neon at one time but they’ve done a nice job with him nevertheless.

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I wonder if this one has been the subject of any controversy over the years?

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I did not know until now that Hopalong Cassidy is the mascot for Producers Milk. This signage is at their plant in Fresno.

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This giant sheet music for “Amazing Grace” is on the side of a church building downtown:

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This giant green thing really has me curious. It’s kind of like a leaf — but not. Does anyone know what it used to represent?

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And lastly, a giant sign that was apparently part of a motel.

The rest of the CA portion of this trip will probably be confined to the Central Valley. Hopefully, I’ll get to the Bay Area this Fall. Lots of good old stuff to shoot along this corridor. I must have 60 things to shoot in Fresno alone. I must have been to these towns when I was a kid but I don’t remember any of it.

Here’s a nicely done advertising mural in Fresno:

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Lots of agriculture in these parts. I’ve been passing lots of vineyards and orange groves with sweet-smelling blossums. This bar in Lindsay had nice tile & glass and a painted sign:

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Across the street was this building with boarded-up windows concealed with artwork:

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This painted sign is from Fresno where I’ll be spending a good chunk of time this morning:

The day started off dreary and then turned to rain. I’ve had what feels like 20 straight days of perfect weather so I really can’t complain. Still, a lot of photos came out pretty marginal. Here are a couple fun signs from Pismo Beach where you can see the rain streaks:

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I can’t remember the name of these flowers but we had a yellow version in my yard when I was growing up. They pretty much grow like weeds in Southern California. What I like about them is how they close up at night to stay warm. Seems awfully smart and animal-like to me.

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The dogs got to see lots of wildlife today: ostriches, buffalo, longhorn cattle, goats, etc. But what really sent them into a tizzy was this colt or filly at the Madonna Inn. The youngster, probably only a couple weeks old, was running laps and acting like an idiot. But my dogs were acting even more idiotic. Nik does what I call pogo-ing (bouncing up and down as far as he can without hitting the roof) and barking like mad. The rest of the family always chimes in, too, and Gremlin hits decibels that will make your ears bleed. I didn’t manage to get a shot of the young horse running but he’s here at the center of this photo:

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These cute statues are at the Splash Cafe in San Luis Obispo. I assume they are clam people? The two shots are of the one on the ground, the other is on the roof.

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The rain finally subsided during a torturously long trek from the coast across the mountains to the Central Valley. I got to Fresno late afternoon and then headed up another mountain to visit my mother in Lake Isabella. I hadn’t seen her in over ten years so it was great to finally get together.

or that my high school (Buena High) had Mid-Century details:

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Inside that auditorium was a cosmic lamp fixture that must’ve been there when I was there. Of course, we only ever entered from the side and I probably never even saw the building’s legs or this thing:

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I do remember the “Orange Peel” (not sure if it’s still called that) — I guess named for its abstract shape in back. This is where they did big school announcements and the stage from which we graduated. It’s in the center of the school on a big patch of grass on the “Quad” (although I never really saw what was so quad about it). The Peel wasn’t painted these bright colors back then.

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Ventura also has this mid-century library which I spent a lot of time in during my youth. The photo doesn’t show it well but there are freestanding letters in front. The color was a lighter blue back then. I’m glad they haven’t messed with the facade.

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Perhaps the oldest business in town (1900s?) was Peirano’s, across the street from the Mission on Main Street. It was still a market when I left in 1980 but, alas, is a restaurant now. I just wish they had kept their name off the original brick glass. Main Street is still an interesting mix of new businesses and thrift stores.

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In addition to the Ventura stuff, I went way out of the way to see Grandma Prisbrey’s Bottle Village — a place I had always wanted to see and heard a lot about growing up. It has nearly been destroyed a few times and is truly a special place that deserves some true funding and restoration. Among the bottle houses, pathways and other interesting stuff were these pretty plants, succulents known as “hen and chicks”:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hens_and_chicks

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By the time I got to Santa Barbara, it was already getting dark but I think I managed to get the shots I need so I can move further northward tomorrow. In contrast to all the wealth and beauty of Santa Barbara was this “double decker” bus that sure appears to be from a different era:

I really cranked today to finish up the L.A. stuff. I can’t believe what I accomplished in the past few days. The rest of the trip will seem laid-back after this. No more mega cities with zillions of stops per hour. It may be less exciting, but I won’t miss the traffic. I really have to really trim things from my itinerary now. Only about ten days left and about half that time will be spent on the interstates hauling it back to New York.

The dogs were prisoners most of the day as Mama was an absolute maniac and there were few places to cut them loose. Poor Nik and Grem were driven crazy by the smells and sights of the ocean as we drove up Pacific Coast Highway from Malibu to Oxnard. I will make it up to them tomorrow somehow.

Just another Streamline Moderne building on the Miracle Mile:

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And just another gorgeous apartment building in Hollywood:

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Perhaps the most famous of all story book houses (the Spadena House in Beverly Hills):

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A mid-century detail that’s probably not long for this world. This was originally a waterfall with multi-colored glass pieces. It was originally a bank, now a church, and there is talk of demo-ing the place for something bigger & better.

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I haven’t seen these bushes in a couple decades. At least I know what this one is! Bottle brush, for obvious reasons:

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There’s really not much weird about “Hollyweird” anymore — but at least I found this place on Melrose (technically in L.A.). The Max Azria clothes store features an art installation of tree branches shaped to look like curly hair:

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Here’s a pair of nice rusty signs in Beverlywood:

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I love all the product paintings in L.A. I don’t remember them back home.

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And lastly, I have to include a Sunset Blvd. billboard. This one’s pretty sexist but I do love the giant bra add-ons anyway:

I think I set my own new personal record in the past two days, taking more than 400 photos for the website. I took Saturday night off from Flickr/the blog to visit an aunt and her husband that I hadn’t seen in over 20 years. Then, I was too wiped out from insane amounts of city driving and getting stuff up at Flickr last night to put together anything coherent here. So, well rested!, let me get this thing done while the sun is making its way up high enough to not make orange-y photos.

The dogs have been making do with abandoned lots as there haven’t been any dog parks in the heart of the city and I haven’t wanted to sacrifice valuable shooting time trekking back and forth to Laurel Canyon. As soon as we finish L.A. County (today I hope!), I promise them some good long running.

I’ve got tons of blog-worthy photos — where to begin? How about some buildings? One of the things I research and seek out on my roadtrips is storybook homes. You know, the Hansel & Gretel-y buildings with curvy roofs and details meant to make them look old. There’s a great book about them here:
http://www.amazon.com/Storybook-Style-Americas-Whimsical-Twenties/dp/0670893854/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

and there are tons of them in L.A. that I’m not going to get to on this trip. I’m resisting starting a new section at my website. I’ve got all the topics I can handle already. So I don’t really know what will become of these photos. Here are a couple from a neat little courtyard in/near Glendale:

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Another thing I seek out to shoot are Egyptian Revival buildings. So far I’ve resisted creating a section at my website for them, too. Their photos are just sitting on my hard drive for now. Here’s an example of an apartment building in Hollywood:

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Here’s another striking building from Hollywood. I know I have a little info in my notes somewhere but don’t have the time to dig it up right now. Maybe someone else can help me identify this house while I’m off shooting:

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Here’s a beautiful old building — but what’s with the shrubs?

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And here are a couple modern buildings. Actually, I’m not sure of the age on this one. It appears to be contemporary but it could be “tarted up” midcentury:

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And this one is much more impressive in person. Yes, that’s no optical illusion — the painted sides of the buildings are really shaped that way.

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Here are a couple more flowering trees that I can’t identify:

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The flowers on this beauty have yellow centers:

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I’ve seen this in a few cities on my trip: groups of novices on Segways. I remember seeing a group of senior citizens on them in — was it Tucson? How come you never seen experienced, fast-moving people on them? Actually, I did see a police force on them — was it in San Diego?

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Gremlin finds L.A. endlessly fascinating. The rest of the gang waits for her to bark at the “important stuff” and then get up to check things out.

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A pit stop in downtown L.A. — the place was actually called Famima which I found appropriate since I was famished. I believe they are a Japanese company expanding to the U.S. (http://www.famima-usa.com/) so they have lots of interesting Japanese items. I had to sample some of the ice creams. Sorry, in my haste to photo and get back to the van before getting a ticket, the upper right item is upside down.

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The root beer was nothing special and I didn’t care too much for the eggy things. I had hoped they would have yellow yolks. But they were just vanilla ice cream in a kind of chewy coating. The other goodie was better: like vanilla ice cream in a waffle cone — only shaped differently:

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I miss seeing these newsstands in Hollywood. In NYC, we just have the little street corner kiosks. But these are much more impressive — some of the ones in downtown Hollywood are what seems like a block long. Do they exist anywhere outside of L.A.?

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This cute guy, in Glendale I think, was on the roof of an Italian restaurant:

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I wash shooting an old Mobil gas station (the super rare drum type) and the owner had a lot of these vehicles around. He serenaded me with some kind of crazy political, religious, incoherent song as I took my photos:

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I went to shoot another old gas station and a wall made of bottles (which I never did find) in/near Echo Park. There were scary, I mean SCARY, steep hills that had me peeing my pants. I’m glad Sparkle had her brakes done recently. I recommend avoiding Baxter Street at all costs. It might not look so bad in this photo (sorry about the buggy windshield) but really, it was really a white-knuckler.

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Lots of incredible painted wall murals in L.A. — here are a couple examples:

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OK, so these guys are not “high art” but I still liked them:

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Time for some signs — far from original condition:

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I’m not sure how old this cute guy in L.A. is. He’s at a comic book store:

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And lastly, this impressive sign in the making. I thought they only used vinyl computer-generated signs on big buildings like this now. But from the scaffolding and paint-by-numbers style markings on the wall, it appears they are painting the whole thing:

I was all over the Valley today, desperately trying to finish that section out. Still a couple hours left for tomorrow though. And then finally onto the meatier parts of L.A. which will take me considerable time: Downtown & south of there, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Westchester. Then I’ll do what I can further north for a couple days. But it’s now official: no chance for northern CA and I’ll have to prioritize the stuff for the long haul home.

I took the dogs to the Laurel Canyon Dog Park today. Huge amount of space for running. Although there is no swimming, this was certainly one of the nicer & biggest parks I’ve seen. I read that there are often celebrities there with their dogs — but I didn’t notice anybody. Not that I would as I really don’t go to movies or watch dramas on TV.

I’m going to keep it short tonight as I’m really beat from staying up extra late last night catching up from my night off. I may get together with some long-lost relatives tomorrow night which might make for a Flickr & Blog-less evening.

On with the photos! This department store had some interesting Mayan and/or Aztec decorations:

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Later in the day, I encountered another interesting building with Mayan and geometric patterns:

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This amusing sign with a giant paper airplane is located near the Van Nuys Airport:

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This midcentury Wells Fargo Bank office tower is giant compared to its surrounding buildings. It’s nothing that special otherwise except that there is a huge faded mural on this one side:

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An lastly, an old school stamp shop might just be a personal turn-on. I used to make and sell rubber stamps with a girlfriend for about three years. We had a little business called Detailed Rubber Stamps and did wholesale and retail. I worked my butt off in a dark basement making the stamps in a vulcanizer and cutting/sanding the wooden mounts. Since we were into producing offbeat stuff rather than teddy bears, we barely broke even. Most stamps these days are made cheaply out of photopolymer (plastic) rather than rubber. Stores like this are definitely a vanishing breed: