Sometimes when Patrick and I go out we find ourselves pulling over when we spy a vintage sign, or a unique or abandoned building. Often these places never have enough meat to them for their very own post (and more often than not, the photos get forgotten about as a result), or they get relegated to a folder for a future post of “Sights from [insert name of city/stretch of road here]” that seems to never come to fruition. Then there are the times were I fully intent to write a post, but, for one reason or another, the post never makes it past the draft stage. We also take a lot of photos, which I’m sure you already knew. So at the beginning of every year, Patrick culls things and puts the previous year’s photos into a backup hard drive. While doing that for 2022’s photos, he felt there were quite a few of these random photos that he knew were probably never going to get featured, and had the idea to just do a post with these random snapshots of the last year. So here we have it, the remnants, remains, and random snapshots of 2022!

Heart’s Coffee Shop 16918 Saticoy Street, Van Nuys. Operational.

Heart’s is one of those places I fully intended to do a dedicated blog post about, but at the end of the day didn’t feel like there was too much to say. However it is a delightful little diner worthy of a visit. Please see their Facebook page for info and updates.

Tony’s Schwinn Bike Shop 1112 S. Atlantic Boulevard, Los Angeles. Operational.

Tony’s Schwinn Bike Shop opened in 1946 and is still going strong.

Alta Dena Drive-Thru Dairy 2135 S. Atlantic Boulevard, Commerce. Abandoned.

I had the idea that I wanted to do a blog post all about California’s drive-thru dairies, of which they are many, both abandoned and operational. But have I pursued it much further? No, not really. However there are a few that may get their own blog post in the future.

Los Amigos Club 2069 S. Atlantic Boulevard, Commerce. Abandoned.

We took a wrong turn when doing some photos for our Route 66 post (a collection of photos type post that I hope will see the light of day) and we stumbled upon a small grouping of interesting signs and buildings. Once again, I intended to do a “Sights of Barstow Off Route 66″ post, but that never happened.

Shady Lane Trailer Park 36445 Soapmine Road, Barstow. Operational.

Unknown Building (Possible Service Station) 29927 Old Highway 58, Barstow. Abandoned.

Casablanca Inn 29823 N 1st Avenue Barstow. Abandoned.

Group of Stucco Buildings (Possible Motor Court) 1600 N 1st Avenue, Barstow. Abandoned.

Taco Bell 821 N. Milpas Street, Santa Barbara. Operational.

Awhile back I wrote about the oldest still operating Taco Bell, which has since shuttered. However, there are a few more remaining restaurants still operating out of their original structures, including this one in Santa Barbara.

Shakey’s Pizza Parlor 5639 Holt Boulevard, Montclair. Operational.

This Shakey’s is another example of “Oh, I’ll do a ‘Signs of Holt Boulevard!’ post” that never came to light, mainly because I was putting off doing it until we dined at Vince’s Spaghetti, and write about it before doing the overall sign post. However, I keep putting off eating indoors. While Shakey’s is a chain, few have their original neon signs intact.

Ontario Ice Skating Arena 1225 W Holt Boulevard, Ontario. Operational.

The Ontario Ice Skating Arena is another victim of the never written ‘Signs of Holt Boulevard’ post. This spectacular sign is a part of the second oldest ice skating facility in Southern California, which was built in 1957.

Carl’s Donuts 784 W. Holt Avenue, Pomona. Operational.

Recently this sign fell down, but thankfully they are working on reinstalling it!

Dynasty 732 W. Holt Avenue, Pomona. Operational.

While the lettering of this shell of a neon sign is less than spectacular, I simply adore the little cocktail glass!

Pomona Wine Cellar 468 E. Holt Avenue, Pomona. Operational.

U-Drive Boats 510 Palm Street, Newport Beach.

The address is actually for the Auto Ferry of Balboa Island. But the sign is also easily found when visiting the Balboa Fun Zone. The sign was originally installed in 1933, and has been restored a handful of times, most recently in 2014.

California Theatre of the Performing Arts 562 W. 4th Street, San Bernardino. Operational.

This gorgeous theatre was originally built in 1928 as one part of the Fox Theatre chain, but today is home to the California Theatre of the Performing Arts, offering wondrous stage productions for those in the Inland Empire.

Hollywood Forever 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles

In October Patrick and I attended a screening of Marvel’s Werewolf by Night at Hollywood Forever. I fully intended to write about the experience, but my frantic need to secure a good spot, and lack of friends in attendance to watch over said spot while we took photos meant we didn’t take many photos. But Patrick snapped this one of the eerily lit crypts near the screening area, and en route back to the car we spied a statue of an angel that was crated up and just too bizarre of an encounter not to photograph. We previously visited Hollywood Forever for one of Karie Bible’s amazing tours, which you can check out here.

Well that wraps up the nearly forgotten sights of 2022! I hope you enjoyed this peek into our life and blogging process!