The building - two tall golden arches flank a slanted flat roof, and red and white tile wrap around the bottom. Walls of glass allow guests to walk up to the window and place their orders. The Speedee sign to the left.

The World’s Oldest McDonald’s

August 22, 2018, 7 Comments

Right here in Southern California, in the LA suburb of Downey (a place my father lived during part of his childhood), is the world’s oldest operating McDonald’s. It’s a unique claim to fame, and one some may pay no attention to, but, like it or not, fast food is an invention of America, and thus,…

Me enjoying the fun atmosphere of the drive-in, wearing a purple, blue, and green floral halter top, purple shorts, and wood tiki brooch. Behind a carved wood sign reads "Snack Bar" and paintings of Hawaiian beaches hang on either side.

Mission Tiki Drive-In

July 9, 2018, Leave a Comment on Mission Tiki Drive-In

Well, it only took three and a half years, but we finally made it to a drive-in movie theatre here in southern California, the Mission Tiki Drive-In. If you remember my days in Oregon, then you probably remember our summer visits to the 99W Drive-In in Newberg, and how much I utterly adored that drive-in.…

Linbrook Bowl's sign, with "Bowl" spelled out on the left, and a large bowling pin reading that they offer 40 lanes.

Linbrook Bowl: Anaheim’s Neon Gem

May 19, 2018, 2 Comments

I won’t lie, I have a soft spot for bowling. I mean, who doesn’t love throwing a ball to try to knock over things? Anyway, I have been meaning to check out Linbrook Bowl, Orange County’s oldest bowling alley (according to the OC Register) for sometime, and earlier this week we finally made it with…

Americana Along Beach Boulevard

April 9, 2018, 4 Comments

Photographing old signs has long been one of my favorite passions. And California has a plethora of them. Just the other day I decided to drive down Beach Boulevard (also known as California Route 39) through Buena Park, Anaheim, Stanton, Westminster, and Huntington Beach to take pictures of the fair amount of signs this short…

Shields Date Garden

March 12, 2018, 4 Comments

Shields Date Garden has been on my radar for sometime, but there was always something else I wanted to do in and around Palm Springs more every time I was there! But this time I was hellbent on going and getting my hands on a famous date shake! Shields Date Garden was founded by husband…

I Brake for Vintage Neon

April 20, 2017, Leave a Comment on I Brake for Vintage Neon

Throughout our entire trip there was lots of yelling “I’m pulling over!” or “Pull over!” depending on who was driving. Sometimes it was quite frantic. I have been called “dramatic” at times. But I just can’t help myself when I see a good vintage neon sign! And boy were there a lot of good ones!…

The Art of Reno’s Old Motel Signs

April 18, 2017, 4 Comments

I literally took thousands of photos on our road trip, 3322 to be exact. Most were of abandoned buildings and killer vintage signs, which are my two favorite things to photograph, and our road trip was full of them! So much so my photos are coming to you in three, yes, three, separate posts! First…

Rock-a-Hoola Waterpark – The Abandoned Waterpark Rotting in the Mojave

April 7, 2017, 3 Comments

When it comes to my passion for photographing abandoned Americana, my love really is with places from the mid-20th century or older. However any place that is abandoned I’ll check out, even if it was abandoned just thirteen years ago, which is the case with Lake Dolores’ Rock-a-Hoola Waterpark off Interstate 15 in Newberry Springs. Originally,…

Ghost Towns along Highway 49

September 16, 2016, 8 Comments

I am sorry to report I don’t have any images from our time spent in Portland. I was incredibly busy constantly visiting with friends and family, and shopping of course! What I do have to show for our trip though are some shots I took of some ghost towns. we visited during our journey back…

Salvation Mountain

March 14, 2016, 4 Comments

Each time I would visit Palm Springs and return home I would get asked “Did you go to Salvation Mountain?” Here’s the funny thing about where Salvation Mountain is… It’s hardly “close” to Palm Springs. Palm Springs, and its neighboring cities of Palm Desert, Cathedral City, and Indio are the closest cities of any real consequence…

Atomic Redhead

Roadside Americana

The World’s Oldest McDonald’s

Mission Tiki Drive-In

Linbrook Bowl: Anaheim’s Neon Gem

Americana Along Beach Boulevard

Shields Date Garden

I Brake for Vintage Neon

The Art of Reno’s Old Motel Signs

Rock-a-Hoola Waterpark – The Abandoned Waterpark Rotting in the Mojave

Ghost Towns along Highway 49

Salvation Mountain