Myself, leaning against the concession stand, wearing a straw hat, a black t-shirt that reads "Ian Malcom was Right" and green shorts, in the background one of the screens is visible.

One More Summer at the Mission Tiki Drive-In

July 21, 2022, Leave a Comment on One More Summer at the Mission Tiki Drive-In

Lost Places Update: The Mission Tiki Drive-In been recategorized as a Lost Place. On January 22nd, 2023, without any fanfare, the Mission Tiki Drive-In went dark. * * * Due to Oregon’s rainy weather my local drive-in growing up, the 99W, only operated seasonally, opening sometime in the late spring and staying open until autumn.…

A gas station doing in an ornate Spanish Revival style, with a small cupola at the top. Faded letters read "Barnsdall Oil Co. and Rio Grand Oil Co." Blue and white tile frame old doorways and windows.

I Pulled Over for This! Neon Lights and More from our Bay Area Road Trip

July 19, 2022, 1 Comment

Sometimes when out and about I stumble across a neat sign or abandoned building, a place really cool to look at, but perhaps not much more than that and doesn’t need a blog post all to itself. This is always the case with road trips, so today I bring you a round up of some…

A large concrete jukebox frames the door to the diner. In the arch reads "Peggy Sue's DIner"

Eat to the Beat at Peggy Sue’s 50s Diner

April 25, 2022, 2 Comments

I’m always game for a visit to a 50s style diner, and when we went to Calico I knew we had to end our day at the icon of Yermo, Peggy Sue’s 50s Diner. A giant jukebox welcomes hungry patrons at Peggy Sue’s and when they pass through they enter a chaotic but delightful 50s…

The tops of some of the trees, which include an antique phone, "Enter Only" sign, and chair.

The Weird and Wonderful Glass Forest of Bottle Tree Ranch

February 23, 2022, 3 Comments

In my Amboy Crater post, I mentioned Patrick and I are intermittently traveling the full stretch (or as much of it that is accessible) of Route 66 through California, with the eventual plan to do a lengthly blog post sharing the unique sights from the Arizona border to the sunny shores of Santa Monica. However,…

A red painted building sits behind overgrown bushes. A large sign out front reads "Gene Valla's Blue Gum Luncheon-Dinners." A neon martini glass tops the large sign.

Photo Essay: Americana Through the Eyes of a 16 Year Old

January 26, 2022, 8 Comments

Recently Patrick and I went did a massive clean out and reorganization of our garage. Part of it involved me sifting through boxes of photos. Yes, real, glossy, shot on film type of photos. Growing up in the infancy of digital photography means my early memories were captured on film, and I learned the ropes…

A yellow building features a yellow and white sign next to it reading "Nick's Liquor Parking Cigars" and features a small arrow.

The Vintage Neon and More of Highway One: From Santa Monica to Dana Point

August 4, 2021, 1 Comment

California has many legendary roads criss-crossing the state. From the fabled Route 66 to the infamous Sunset Strip, there is plenty of history along these stretches of blacktop. One of these is the Pacific Coast Highway (often abbreviated to PCH) also known as Highway One. It stretches nearly the entire length of the state, often…

The Larry's neon sign sits at the corner of a fenced off outdoor eating area for Larry's, which features several picnic tables with red and white umbrellas near the outdoor order and pick-up windows. A large sign on the roof features a cartoon dog and reads "Larry's"

The Happy Little Neon Dachshund of Larry’s Chili Dog

July 14, 2021, 4 Comments

A good way to get me to go to nearly any restaurant is a killer neon sign, so when I spied Larry’s Chili Dog one day in Burbank I knew I had to visit, because it has absolutely one of the cutest neon sign’s I’ve ever seen! Larry’s Chili Dog has been around since 1953…

A green neon sign reads "Wool Growers Restaurant Cocktails" and features a sheet by a fence.

Neon Sheep! A Giant Shoe! And More! Exploring Bakersfield’s Americana Gems

May 19, 2021, 4 Comments

As mentioned in my last post, Bakersfield has a lot of vintage neon still out in the wild, plus a few pretty amazing backlit plastic signs, which was one of the reasons we wanted to visit. And boy did we find some great signs, plus we stumbled upon some abandoned locations as well. “John’s” 14441…

Visiting Merle Haggard’s Home and More at Kern County Museum

May 17, 2021, 4 Comments

Being vaccinated means I feel a bit more comfortable going out and doing some things, and I’ve been itching to get on the road for a little day trip. I recently heard that Bakersfield had a wealth of great neon signs, which are a favorite subject of mine, including an entire courtyard display dedicated to…

Faded blue neon sign for the Frontier Motel and Restaurant. A mural painted on the side of the building features a chef and the word "Cafe"

Fading Icons of Arizona’s Route 66

September 27, 2019, 9 Comments

As mentioned in earlier Arizona posts, most of our journey took us along the Mother Road, Route 66. The legendary stretch of blacktop is dotted with a combination of still functioning tourist attractions and long forgotten buildings, all begging to be photographed. So, in my concluding Arizona post, I share with you a sampling of…

Atomic Redhead

Roadside Americana

One More Summer at the Mission Tiki Drive-In

I Pulled Over for This! Neon Lights and More from our Bay Area Road Trip

Eat to the Beat at Peggy Sue’s 50s Diner

The Weird and Wonderful Glass Forest of Bottle Tree Ranch

Photo Essay: Americana Through the Eyes of a 16 Year Old

The Vintage Neon and More of Highway One: From Santa Monica to Dana Point

The Happy Little Neon Dachshund of Larry’s Chili Dog

Neon Sheep! A Giant Shoe! And More! Exploring Bakersfield’s Americana Gems

Visiting Merle Haggard’s Home and More at Kern County Museum

Fading Icons of Arizona’s Route 66